Relationship Between Sexual Pain and Neuroticism Among Malaysian Women: Does Age and Sexual Frequency Matter?

Abstract

Introduction: Sexual pain is part of female sexual dysfunction, and it affects females worldwide. The data available in Malaysia that investigated the relationship between sexual pain and neuroticism is limited. We aim to determine the association between these dyads and the factors associated with sexual pain in the Malaysian population. Material and methods: A total of 362 samples were recruited, and socio-demographic data were acquired from respondents. The instruments used were the validated sexual pain domain in the Malay versions of the Female Sexual Function Inventory (MVFSFI) and the neuroticism score in the Big Five Inventory (BFI) to assess females’ sexual pain and neurotic personality traits, respectively. Results: Most respondents are less than 40 years old, of Malay ethnicity, and have a tertiary education. The multifactorial Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) revealed a strong negative relationship between sexual pain score and neuroticism (p<0.001). We found the pattern of relationship between sexual pain score and neuroticism consistent across subgroups, except in age groups (p=0.023) and sex frequency (p=0.018), i.e. the pattern among those aged 50 and above was different from the rest of the age groups and a significantly different pattern between the two groups of sexual frequency. Other significant factors for pain were age (p=0.002), level of education (0.009), and contraceptive use (0.023). Conclusion: Women with neuroticism have a characteristic feature concerning sexual pain, and a strategy to cope with sexual pain needs further research, i.e., a prospective study for understanding these dyads in more holistic patient management.