Effect of Expressive Writing on Sexual and Marital Satisfaction in Women with Multiple Sclerosis

Abstract

Background and Objective: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a relatively common neurological disorder that often affects young women. The current study aimed to assess the effect of expressive writing on the sexual and marital satisfaction of women with MS. Materials and Methods: This randomized clinical trial was conducted to assess the sexual and marital satisfaction of 104 married women aged 18-45 years with MS referred to a selected specialized clinic in Tehran in 2022. The inclusion criteria entailed having minimal literacy, no use of psychotropic drugs, lack of other chronic diseases other than MS, and no pregnancy or breastfeeding. Sampling was performed consecutively, and samples were allocated to two groups based on the table of random numbers. The intervention group did writing at home at least once a week for four weeks. The personal characteristic questionnaire, Larson's sexual satisfaction, and Enrich's marital satisfaction questionnaire were used for data collection. The data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 21), and a p-value less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The two groups were homogenous in terms of all examined personal characteristics. The results of this study demonstrated that performing expressive writing at home at least once a week for four weeks caused a significant increase in sexual satisfaction scores (P=0.01) and marital satisfaction (P<0.001). Conclusion: As evidenced by the obtained results, expressive writing can improve sexual and marital satisfaction in women with MS.

Keywords

• multiple sclerosis
• sexual satisfaction
• written expression