Sexual Satisfaction in People with Spinal Cord Injury

The objective of this study is to extend knowledge regarding sexual satisfaction, comparing the findings among pre- and post-lesion periods and a control group. From Brazil, the participants were 90 men, of whom 40 had a spinal cord injury (SCI) and 50 had no physical disability. The instrument used...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inSexuality and disability Vol. 26; no. 3; pp. 137 - 147
Main Authors Mendes, A. K., Cardoso, F. L., Savall, A. C. R.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Boston Springer US 01.09.2008
Springer Nature B.V
Subjects
Aging
Behavioral Science and Psychology
Community and Environmental Psychology
Control Groups
Injuries
Original Paper
People with disabilities
Physical Disabilities
Physical Education
Psychology
Rehabilitation Medicine
Sexual Behavior
Sexuality
Spinal cord injuries
Urology
Brazil
Sexual satisfaction
Spinal cord injury
Sexuality
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Summary:The objective of this study is to extend knowledge regarding sexual satisfaction, comparing the findings among pre- and post-lesion periods and a control group. From Brazil, the participants were 90 men, of whom 40 had a spinal cord injury (SCI) and 50 had no physical disability. The instrument used was a structured open and closed–ended questionnaire. Of the 40 men with SCI, 29 had paraplegia and 11 had tetraplegia. The participants were asked about their level of sexual satisfaction: 72% of the control group declared themselves to be very satisfied; 80% of the men with SCI in the pre-lesion period also reported being very satisfied, while in the postlesion period this number fell to 47.5%. In the pre-lesion period and in the control group sexual satisfaction exhibited positive correlations with: sexual frequency; sexual stimulation; sexual desire and intensity of orgasm. Meanwhile, in the post-lesion period there were correlations between variables that are modified by the SCI: erection sufficient for penetration; reaching orgasm; achieving penetration and finding sex possible without penetration. Noteworthy, the study found that there are changes in the sexual satisfaction of men with SCI. In many cases this change results from the difficulty in maintaining a sex life similar to that experienced pre-lesion. Furthermore, new correlations with sexual satisfaction appear in the post-lesion period.
ISSN:0146-1044
1573-6717
DOI:10.1007/s11195-008-9083-y