Sexual functioning in women with chronic pelvic pain: The impact of depression, support, and abuse

Many studies have documented associations among sexual functioning, depression, experiences of childhood sexual abuse, relationship support, and chronic pelvic pain, but none have addressed the interrelationships among all of these variables in a unified model. The aim of this preliminary study was to construct an integrative model predicting sexual functioning for women with chronic pelvic pain. Women (n = 63) with chronic pelvic pain completed measures of sexual functioning for use as the criterion variable, and measures of the impact of chronic pain, depression, experiences of sexual abuse, and relationship support as predictors. Depression mediated the effects of child sexual abuse and partially mediated the effects of relationship support on sexual behavior and satisfaction with the sexual relationship. In addition to its indirect relationship through depression, relationship support also independently predicted sexual function. Thus, in this nonclinical sample, the effects of child sexual abuse on sexual function depended on the extent of depressive symptoms, while the influence of relationship support depended in part on depression.