DYSPAREUNIA - SEXUAL DYSFUNCTION OR PAIN SYNDROME

This study investigated the clinical attributes of dyspareunia and the variables used to classify it. A systematic clinical description of t he pain symptomatology was obtained through the administration of a st ructured interview and standardized pain measures to 112 women sufferi ng from dyspareunia, ranging in age from 19 to 65. Subjects also under went three different gynecological examinations and completed standard ized measures of psychopathology, marital adjustment, and sexual attit udes, the results of which were used to test the ability of three diff erent classification systems, including the DSM-IV, to predict physica l and psychosocial outcomes. Using classification analysis, temporal p at-tent and location of the pain were found to be the best predictors of physical diagnoses, although none of the taxa in the three classifi cation systems tested were related to psychosocial outcomes. Sexual im pairment of women suffering from dyspareunia notwithstanding, the resu lts support the consideration of dyspareunia as primarily a pain syndr ome, rather than a sexual dysfunction.