Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2024 Nov 30;10(23):e40798.
doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e40798. eCollection 2024 Dec 15.

Genital self-image and sexual distress in married women with and without sexual intimate partner violence experience in Iran

Maryam Farjamfar  1 , Zeinab Hamzehgardeshi  2 , Afsaneh Keramat  3 , Masoud Yunesian  4   5 , Mina Malary  6
Affiliations

Genital self-image and sexual distress in married women with and without sexual intimate partner violence experience in Iran

Maryam Farjamfar et al. Heliyon. .

Abstract

Objectives: The impact of sexual intimate partner violence (SIPV) on female genital self-image and sexual distress is not well understood. We aimed to assess whether women with and without SIPV experiences differed in terms ofgenital self-image and sexual distress.

Methods: An online survey was conducted among married, reproductive-age women registered at healthcare centers in Amol, northern Iran. A total of 722 eligible women completed the survey between March and June 2022. Genital self-image and sexual distress were measured using the Female Genital Self-Image Scale (FGSIS) and the Female Sexual Distress Scale-Revised (FSDS-R), respectively.

Results: Overall, 28.7 % of the women reported experiencing SIPV. Independent t-tests revealed significant differences between the SIPV and non-SIPV groups in mean FGSIS and FSDS-R scores (21.18 ± 3.92 vs. 21.91 ± 3.76, p = 0.002 and 13.18 ± 11.45 vs. 7.54 ± 9.75, p < 0.001, respectively). In multivariate regression analysis, income satisfaction remained independently associated with both FGSIS and FSDS-R scores. Age and having a child were associated with FGSIS, while SIPV experience was only associated with FSDS-R.

Conclusion: Women with SIPV experiences had lower mean FGSIS scores and higher mean FSDS-R scores than those without such experiences. However, in multivariate analysis, only the FSDS-R score remained significantly associated with SIPV experience.

Keywords: Genital self-image; Intimate partner violence; Sexual distress; Sexual violence; Women.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Similar articles

See all similar articles

References

    1. Devries K.M., Mak J.Y., Garcia-Moreno C., Petzold M., Child J.C., Falder G., et al. The global prevalence of intimate partner violence against women. Science. 2013;340(6140):1527–1528. doi: 10.1126/science.1240937. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Organization W.H. World Health Organization; 2014. Violence against Women: Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence against Women: Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Have Serious Short-And Long-Term Physical, Mental and Sexual and Reproductive Health Problems for Survivors: Fact Sheet.
    1. Sardinha L., Maheu-Giroux M., Stöckl H., Meyer S.R., García-Moreno C. Global, regional, and national prevalence estimates of physical or sexual, or both, intimate partner violence against women in 2018. Lancet. 2022;399(10327):803–813. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(21)02664-7. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Vu A., Adam A., Wirtz A., Pham K., Rubenstein L., Glass N., et al. The prevalence of sexual violence among female refugees in complex humanitarian emergencies: a systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS Curr. 2014;6 doi: 10.1371/currents.dis.835f10778fd80ae031aac12d3b533ca7. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Saffari M., Arslan S.A., Yekaninejad M.S., Pakpour A.H., Zaben F.A., Koenig H.G. Factors associated with domestic violence against women in Iran: an exploratory multicenter community-based study. J. Interpers Violence. 2017 doi: 10.1177/0886260517713224. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources