Interpersonal Experiences with Persistent Genital Arousal: Connections between Symptom Disclosure, Partner Responses, and Catastrophizing on Relationship Adjustment and Symptom Severity

Abstract

Increased research attention to interpersonal factors in genitopelvic pain conditions, such as vulvodynia, have led to more comprehensive understanding of couple dynamics in pain, sexual, and relationship outcomes. There has been very little examination of interpersonal factors in Persistent Genital Arousal Disorder/Genitopelvic Dysesthesia (PGAD/GPD), a distressing condition involving persistent sensations of arousal and often pain. The aims of the present study were to examine whether individuals disclose their symptoms to intimate partners and whether interpersonal variables (e.g., partner responses, symptom disclosure, and catastrophizing) are related to relationship adjustment and symptom severity. Seventy-six individuals with symptoms of PGAD/GPD participated in a one-time anonymous online survey. Over three-quarters (85.5%) of the sample disclosed their symptoms to their partners in some way. Greater supportive partner responses and lower symptom catastrophizing were related to better relationship adjustment among participants with PGAD/GPD symptoms. Greater symptom catastrophizing also predicted greater PGAD/GPD symptom severity. Partner responses were not related to PGAD/GPD symptom severity. Although interpersonal factors have been linked to symptom severity in chronic pain and genitopelvic pain conditions, the results of the current study suggest that interpersonal factors may play a slightly different role in PGAD/GPD symptom experiences and in the conceptualization of PGAD/GPD more broadly.