UNDERSTANDING HYSTERECTOMIES - SEXUAL SATISFACTION AND QUALITY-OF-LIFE

Citation
Ca. Darling et Ym. Mckoysmith, UNDERSTANDING HYSTERECTOMIES - SEXUAL SATISFACTION AND QUALITY-OF-LIFE, The Journal of sex research, 30(4), 1993, pp. 324-335
Citations number
41
Categorie Soggetti
Psycology, Clinical","Social, Sciences, Interdisciplinary
Journal title
ISSN journal
00224499
Volume
30
Issue
4
Year of publication
1993
Pages
324 - 335
Database
ISI
SICI code
0022-4499(1993)30:4<324:UH-SSA>2.0.ZU;2-7
Abstract
Because a hysterectomy is one of the more frequently performed surgica l procedures in the U.S., we used a model to study those women who had and had not experienced a hysterectomy. Using family stress theory, w e examined the quality of life of these two groups of women as it was related to physiological and psychological health stressors, family st ress, resources, meaning of the stressors, and the perceived sexual sa tisfaction. A survey research design was employed with a national rand om sample of women (N = 346) between the ages of 45 and 60 who were me mbers of an association of college-educated women. Research instrument s included the Family Inventory of Life Events and Changes Scale, Wome n's Health Questionnaire, Family Crisis Oriented Personal Evaluation S cale, Index of Sexual Satisfaction, and Generalized Life Contentment S cale. There was no significant difference in the quality of life of th ose women who had and had not experienced a hysterectomy, but women wh o had a hysterectomy perceived greater sexual satisfaction than those who had not experienced a hysterectomy. For those women who had experi enced a hysterectomy, the proposed model indicated that psychological health stress, family stress, and the meaning of the stressors had the greatest total association with the quality of life. The greatest tot al relationships to quality of life for those women who had not experi enced a hysterectomy were psychological and physiological health stres sors, but not family stress. An important implication of this investig ation is the need to understand further the role of physiological and psychological health stressors, as well as family stress, in the lives of women.