Do complaints related to menopause affect sexuality and marital adjustment?

Abstract

This study was designed to reveal the relationship among the complaints experienced by women in menopausal period, their status of experiencing sexual problems, quality of their sexual life, and marital adjustments. The study included 248 women who have been in menopause for at least 1 year, have sexual partners. The data were collected with Patient Information Form, Menopause Rating Scale, Female Sexual Distress Scale-Revised, Sexual Quality of Life Questionnaire-Female Scale, and Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scales. Urogenital complaints of those with sexual dysfunction were statistically significantly higher (p = 0.002). Marital adjustment total score of those with Menopause Rating Scale score of <20 were statistically significantly higher than those with MRS score of 20 and higher (p = 0.041; p = 0.015). As menopausal symptom severity increased, marital adjustment decreased. The urogenital complaint score in menopause period had a positive correlation with sexual distress and a negative correlation with the quality of sexual life and Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale (RDAS) score. As a result of the present study, it was determined that menopause-related complaints affected the quality of sexual life of women and thus their marital adjustment.