Spinoni Marta, Cucurachi Giorgia, Porpora Maria Grazia, Grano Caterina
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引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: In the context of vulvodynia, a gynecological disorder characterized by chronic vulvar pain affecting an estimated 10% of women, with significant impacts on sexual health, mental well-being, and productivity, the Common-Sense Model of Illness Self-Regulation, a well-established framework for understanding the impact of illness perceptions and coping strategies on mental health, has not yet been empirically tested.
Aim: We aimed to explore whether illness perceptions and pain-specific coping strategies-namely, pain catastrophizing and chronic pain acceptance-influence the relationship between vulvar pain severity and depression in women with vulvodynia.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on a total of 119 women with reporting diagnosis of vulvodynia.
Outcomes: Through an online questionnaire, we assessed demographic and clinical characteristics, vulvar pain severity, illness beliefs, pain catastrophizing, pain acceptance, and depressive symptoms.
Results: The path analysis showed that vulvar pain positively influences directly illness perceptions (β = .56, P < .001) and depressive symptoms (β = .24, P < .001). Negative perceptions of the illness were significantly associated with increased pain catastrophizing (β = .66, P < .001), and decreased pain acceptance (β = -.59, P < .001), resulting in heightened depressive symptoms (β = .33, P < .001, β = -.27, P < .001, respectively).
Clinical implications: Interventions that challenge negative illness perceptions and promote more positive views could reduce maladaptive coping strategies, enhance pain acceptance, and ultimately diminish psychological distress.
Strengths and limitations: This study's strengths lie in its foundation on a theoretical, well-established model and the use of validated measures. However, the cross-sectional design precludes concluding causality between predictor and outcome variables, and the clinical information was self-reported and could not be verified with medical records.
Conclusions: The findings underscore the importance of targeting illness perceptions and coping strategies in shaping psychological outcomes for women with vulvodynia.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Sexual Medicine publishes multidisciplinary basic science and clinical research to define and understand the scientific basis of male, female, and couples sexual function and dysfunction. As an official journal of the International Society for Sexual Medicine and the International Society for the Study of Women''s Sexual Health, it provides healthcare professionals in sexual medicine with essential educational content and promotes the exchange of scientific information generated from experimental and clinical research.
The Journal of Sexual Medicine includes basic science and clinical research studies in the psychologic and biologic aspects of male, female, and couples sexual function and dysfunction, and highlights new observations and research, results with innovative treatments and all other topics relevant to clinical sexual medicine.
The objective of The Journal of Sexual Medicine is to serve as an interdisciplinary forum to integrate the exchange among disciplines concerned with the whole field of human sexuality. The journal accomplishes this objective by publishing original articles, as well as other scientific and educational documents that support the mission of the International Society for Sexual Medicine.