Sexual dysfunction, depression, and marital dissatisfaction among Brazilian couples.

BACKGROUND: Health professionals treating sexual dysfunction and relational dissatisfaction recognize that they are multifactorial phenomena, and depression can be bidirectionally associated with both. AIM: The purpose of this study was to investigate sexual dysfunction in heterosexual couples in relation to the quality of their marital relationship and depression symptoms. METHODS: The sample consisted of 100 heterosexual couples recruited in Brazil. Both partners of each couple completed the Golombok-Rust Inventory of Sexual Satisfaction and the Golombok-Rust Inventory of Marital Satisfaction, which were translated and adapted, and the Beck Depression Inventory, which was validated for the Brazilian population. Both partners completed their questionnaires separately, and the couple's surveys were linked to preserve conjugal data for dyadic analysis. The Actor-Partner Interdependence Model was used to understand how sexual dysfunction in couples is related to depression and relationship quality among and between partners. RESULTS: Sexual dysfunction was found to be strongly associated with dissatisfaction in the relationship (husbands, ß = 0.57, P < 0.001; wives, ß = 0.60, P < 0.001), and a positive association was found between depressive symptoms and marital dissatisfaction (husbands, ß = .32, P < .001; wives ß = .40, P < .001). CLINICAL IMPLICATION: The results suggest that it is important for health professionals to be aware of the dyadic impact of struggles with both sex and the relationship and the presence of depression symptoms in patients who seek care for sexual complaints or depression and who are in a marital relationship. STRENGTHS AND LIMITATIONS: The different results found for men and women may shed light on the biopsychosocial dimensions of human sexuality. When treated as a purely physical experience, sex is myopic. In this study we demonstrated psychosocial aspects associated with gender and sexuality, and the partner's variables were found to have a greater impact on women than they did on the men. A limitation of this study is that the sample is not generalizable as it is not demographically representative of all socioeconomic groups in Brazil. Furthermore, the participants in this sample did not have clinical levels of depression, so the results cannot be extended to couples in which one or both spouses have depressive disorder. CONCLUSION: It was found that sexual dysfunction is strongly associated with the quality of the couple relationship, and that the quality of relationship plays a mediating role between depression and marital quality, especially for the women.

Beliefs About Sexual Activity During Pregnancy: A Systematic Review of the Literature.

The aim of this review is to present the beliefs related to sexual activity during pregnancy. We identified 13 studies (3,122 participants). The main positive beliefs about sex in pregnancy were that it makes labor easier, promotes marital harmony, prevents infidelity, and improves fetal well-being. Negative beliefs were more frequent: that sex could harm the unborn child (cause injuries, miscarriage, or fetal infection) and endanger the pregnancy or maternal health (cause membrane rupture, bleeding, preterm labor, and maternal infection). These findings are useful to clinicians and educational program developers.

The Perceptions of Domestic Violence by a Family Member Who Uses Crack or Cocaine: A Secondary Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the relationship between crack/cocaine use and domestic violence perpetration from the perspective of substance users' families. A secondary retrospective cross-sectional study, with 3162 family members of crack/cocaine users seeking treatment in the Recomeço Família Programme in São Paulo/Brazil was undertaken. Family members of crack/cocaine users reported that their relatives were more involved in domestic violence such as stealing (money and objects) at home [Odds Ratio Adjusted ORA = 2.17 (CI 95% 1.87; 2.53)], the family gave money to the user to buy drugs [ORA = 1.27 (1.08; 1.48)], and having problems with the judiciary [ORA = 1.48 (CI 95% 1.28; 1.71)]. Relatives of snorted cocaine users reported that there was physical and interpersonal violence, such as fathers being assaulted [ORA = 2.50 (CI 95% 1.08; 5.82)], assaulted someone else [ORA = 1.86 (CI 95% 1.32; 2.60)], threats of violence fights, arguments when the family talk about problematic drug use [ORA = 1.50 (CI 95% 1.13; 1.96)] and threatened some family members [ORA = 1.52 (CI 95% 1.14; 2.04)]. In this sample, there was a connection between crack/cocaine use and the perpetuation of domestic violence, corroborating with important implications for public policies, substance use treatment and prevention of domestic violence interventions.