The Comparison of Violence and Sexual Function between Fertile and Infertile Women: A Study from Iran

Abstract

Introduction: Fertility is one of the most important variables. Infertility and others’ attitudes towards this factor make infertile couples vulnerable to mental and emotional disturbances, which ultimately lead to sexual dysfunction and domestic violence. Aim: To investigate violence and sexual function among fertile and infertile women. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional study on 346 individuals (147 infertile women and 199 fertile women) visiting women’s clinic in Jahrom, Iran from April to October 2017. The research tools were Domestic Violence Inventory and Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI). t-test was used to compare means between the groups and chi-square was used to investigate the relationship of domestic violence with other variables. Results: Comparison of dimensions of domestic violence between fertile and infertile women showed that physical violence (p=0.01), sexual violence (p=0.02) and psychological violence (p<0.001) were higher in infertile women than fertile women and this increase was statistically significant. Comparison of sexual function dimensions between the two groups showed that all dimensions were significantly lower in infertile women than fertile women (p<0.05). No significant relationship was found between domestic violence and sexual function in infertile women. Conclusion: The results showed that dimensions of violence were higher in infertile women than fertile women and sexual function was lower in infertile women than fertile women. Therefore, health managers and politicians should pay specific attention to infertile women and include psychological and sexual counselling alongside infertility treatments. On the other hand, screen for domestic violence should be practised in infertile women as high-risk group.

Keywords

• domestic violence
• female sexual function index
• non-physical abuse
• sexual dysfunction