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Maintaining Affection Despite Pain: Daily Associations Between Physical Affection and Sexual and Relationship Well-Being in Women with Genito-Pelvic Pain

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Abstract

Provoked vestibulodynia (PVD) is a recurrent, genito-pelvic pain condition that affects 8–12 % of women and has negative implications for sexual and relationship functioning. Many women with PVD report avoiding physical affection because they are concerned that affectionate behavior will lead to painful sexual activity. In community samples, physical affection is associated with improved sexual and relational well-being; however, no research has assessed the influence of physical affection on well-being in women with PVD. The current study examined day-to-day, within-person associations between affectionate behavior (hugging/kissing, cuddling) and sexual satisfaction, relationship satisfaction, sexual functioning, and pain intensity in women with PVD. Seventy women diagnosed with PVD completed an 8-week daily survey. Data were analyzed using multilevel modeling. All outcomes were assessed on days involving sexual activity (n = 401 days). Physical affection was assessed on days with and without sexual activity. Hugging/kissing was positively associated with sexual satisfaction, relationship satisfaction, and sexual functioning within any given day and when predicting the next day. Hugging/kissing was unrelated to pain intensity. Cuddling was not associated with any outcomes. Results persisted for affection that occurred on days with and without sexual activity. Findings suggest physical affection is beneficial for the sexual and relationship well-being of women with PVD. These results may inform interventions that encourage women coping with PVD to engage in more daily physical affection with their partners.

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Funding

This research was supported by a postdoctoral fellowship awarded to the second author from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and by grants awarded to the second and fourth author from the CIHR and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council.

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  1. Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Life Sciences Centre, Dalhousie University, 1355 Oxford Street, P.O. Box 15000, Halifax, NS, B3H 4R2, Canada

    Sarah A. Vannier, Natalie O. Rosen & Sean P. Mackinnon

  2. Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, IWK Health Centre, Halifax, NS, Canada

    Natalie O. Rosen

  3. Department of Psychology, Université de Montréal, Montreal, QC, Canada

    Sophie Bergeron

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  1. Sarah A. Vannier
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  2. Natalie O. Rosen
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Correspondence to Sarah A. Vannier.

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Vannier, S.A., Rosen, N.O., Mackinnon, S.P. et al. Maintaining Affection Despite Pain: Daily Associations Between Physical Affection and Sexual and Relationship Well-Being in Women with Genito-Pelvic Pain. Arch Sex Behav 46, 2021–2031 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-016-0820-5

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