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Concordance of sexual dysfunction and dissatisfaction by self-report and those by partner’s perception in young adult couples

International Journal of Impotence Research volume 27, pages 133–139 (2015)Cite this article

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Abstract

We evaluated concordance levels of young adult spouses (N=107 couples, total N=214) with regards to sexual satisfaction by using Golombock–Rust Inventory of Sexual Satisfaction (GRISS). Each spouse of the couples filled out both female and male forms of the GRISS. Self- and spouse-reported scores were analyzed in terms of inter-rater correlation and agreement. The prevalence of overall sexual dissatisfaction was 10.3% and 26.2% in wives and husbands, respectively. The correlation coefficient (r) between the self-reported overall sexual satisfaction scores and those assessed by the spouses was 0.25 (P=0.014) and 0.04 (P=0.680) for wives and husbands, respectively. The sensitivity for perception of partner’s sexual problems ranged 11% to 47%, and the specificity was around 64% to 100%, except for vaginismus, which had a sensitivity of 83% and a specificity of 25%. The prevalance-adjusted and bias-adjusted kappa (PABAK) value for overall sexual dissatisfaction reported by themselves and that assessed by their spouses was 0.68 and 0.16 for the wives and husbands, respectively. For specific female sexual problems, the PABAK value was the highest in female dissatisfaction (0.81) followed by anorgasmia (0.78), female avoidance (0.44), vaginismus (0.44), infrequency (0.33), non-communication (0.14) and female nonsensuality (0.14). For specific male sexual problems, the PABAK value was the highest in male nonsensuality (1.00), followed by male dissatisfaction (0.78), infrequency (0.46), non-communication (0.42), male avoidance (0.36), impotence (0.27) and premature ejaculation (−0.04). Our findings suggested that in this clinical sample the partner’s perception of sexual dysfunction and dissatisfaction did not correlate well with the subject’s self-reported sexual problems, and generally male sexual problems were less correctly perceived by the partners than were female sexual problems. This result may provide helpful information for clinicians who take care of patients’ sexual problems.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Assistant Professor Turker Turker and Professor Selim Kilic for supporting the statistical analyses of our data. A special note of thanks to our anonymous reviewers. Their expert guidance have improved the quality of this manuscript to a great extent.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Gulhane School Medicine, Ankara, Turkey

    S Gungor, U Keskin, S T Ceyhan & A Ergün

  2. Department of Psychiatry, Gulhane School Medicine, Ankara, Turkey

    M Gülsün & M Erdem

Authors
  1. S Gungor
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  2. U Keskin
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  3. M Gülsün
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  4. M Erdem
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  5. S T Ceyhan
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  6. A Ergün
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to S Gungor.

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Appendix

Appendix

Golombock–Rust Inventory of Sexual Satisfaction—Male (GRISS-M)

  1. 1

    Do you have sexual intercourse more than twice a week?

  2. 2

    Do you find it hard to tell your partner what you like and dislike about your sexual relationship?

  3. 3

    Do you become easily sexually aroused?

  4. 4

    Are you able to delay ejaculation during intercourse if you think you may be coming too quickly?

  5. 5

    Are you dissatisfied with the amount of variety in your sex life with your partner?

  6. 6

    Do you dislike stroking and caressing your partner’s genitals?

  7. 7

    Do you become tense and anxious when your partner wants to have sex?

  8. 8

    Do you enjoy having sexual intercourse with your partner?

  9. 9

    Do you ask your partner what she likes and dislikes about your sexual relationship?

  10. 10

    Do you fail to get an erection?

  11. 11

    Do you feel there is a lack of love and affection in your sexual relationship with your partner?

  12. 12

    Do you enjoy having your penis stroked and caressed by your partner?

  13. 13

    Can you avoid ejaculating too quickly during intercourse?

  14. 14

    Do you try to avoid having sex with your partner?

  15. 15

    Do you find your sexual relationship with your partner satisfactory?

  16. 16

    Do you get an erection during foreplay with your partner?

  17. 17

    Are there weeks in which you do not have sex at all?

  18. 18

    Do you enjoy mutual masturbation with your partner?

  19. 19

    If you want sex with your partner, do you take the initiative?

  20. 20

    Do you dislike being cuddled and caressed by your partner?

  21. 21

    Do you have sexual intercourse as often as you would like?

  22. 22

    Do you refuse to have sex with your partner?

  23. 23

    Do you lose your erection during intercourse?

  24. 24

    Do you ejaculate without waiting to almost as soon as your penis enters your partner's vagina?

  25. 25

    Do you enjoy cuddling and caressing your partner’s body?

  26. 26

    Do you feel uninterested in sex?

  27. 27

    Do you ejaculate by accident just before your penis is about to enter your partner’s vagina?

  28. 28

    Do you have feelings of disgust about what you and your partner do during lovemaking?

Golombock–Rust Inventory of Sexual Satisfaction—Female (GRISS-F)

  1. 1

    Do you feel uninterested in sex?

  2. 2

    Do you ask your partner what he likes or dislikes about your sexual relationship?

  3. 3

    Are there weeks in which you do not have sex at all?

  4. 4

    Do you become easily sexually aroused?

  5. 5

    Are you satisfied by the amount of time you and your partner spend on foreplay?

  6. 6

    Do you find that your vagina is so tight that your partner’s penis cannot enter it?

  7. 7

    Do you try to avoid having sex with your partner?

  8. 8

    Are you able to experience an orgasm with your partner?

  9. 9

    Do you enjoy cuddling and caressing your partner’s body?

  10. 10

    Do you find your sexual relationship with your partner satisfactory?

  11. 11

    Is it possible to insert your finger in your vagina without discomfort?

  12. 12

    Do you dislike stroking and caressing your partner’s penis?

  13. 13

    Do you become tense and anxious when your partner wants to have sex?

  14. 14

    Do you find it impossible to have an orgasm?

  15. 15

    Do you have sexual intercourse more than twice a week?

  16. 16

    Do you find it hard to tell your partner what you like and dislike about your sexual relationship?

  17. 17

    Is it possible for your partner’s penis to enter your vagina without discomfort?

  18. 18

    Do you feel there is a lack of love and affection in your sexual relationship with your partner?

  19. 19

    Do you enjoy having your genitals stroked and caressed by your partner?

  20. 20

    Do you refuse to have sex with your partner?

  21. 21

    Can you reach orgasm when your partner stimulates your clitoris during foreplay?

  22. 22

    Do you feel dissatisfied with the amount of time your partner spends on intercourse itself?

  23. 23

    Do you have feeling of disgust about what you do during lovemaking?

  24. 24

    Do you find that your vagina is rather tight so that you partner’s penis cannot penetrate very far?

  25. 25

    Do you dislike being cuddled and caressed by your partner?

  26. 26

    Does your vagina become moist during lovemaking?

  27. 27

    Do you enjoy having sexual intercourse with your partner?

  28. 28

    Do you fail to reach orgasm during intercourse?

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Gungor, S., Keskin, U., Gülsün, M. et al. Concordance of sexual dysfunction and dissatisfaction by self-report and those by partner’s perception in young adult couples. Int J Impot Res 27, 133–139 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/ijir.2015.6

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