Investigation of the Social Determinants of Sexual Satisfaction in Iranian Women

Introduction: A person's sexual satisfaction reflects their judgment and analysis of their own sexual behavior. Factors that affect sexual satisfaction vary in different societies and cultures. Aim: This study investigated the determinants of sexual satisfaction in women referred to health centers in Sari, north of Iran, in 2016. Methods: This cross-sectional study investigated 490 women who had been referred to health centers in 2016 and who were qualified for the study; the population was selected using convenient sampling method. Main Outcome Measure: The main outcome of this study was sexual satisfaction that assessed by the Larson's sexual satisfaction questionnaire. Other Data were 2 questionnaires: the general health questionnairee28 and a researcher-made questionnaire developed on factors related to sexual satisfaction. Data were analyzed with IBM SPSS software using the one-way analysis of variance, Pearson correlation coefficient, and t-test. To determine the predictors of sexual satisfaction, all the significant independent variables were incorporated into a linear regression model. Results: The average age of the women in this study was 33.6 years, and average sexual satisfaction score was 99.26. The results of the linear regression model showed that the spouse's job as a laborer (P = .003), a low income (P < .002), insufficient income of the spouse (P < .001), and dissatisfaction with being a woman (P < .001) were the main social determinants of sexual satisfaction (r(2) = 0.54). Conclusion: It can be concluded from the findings of this study that several factors influence women's sexual satisfaction. The main social determinants of women's sexual satisfaction were dissatisfaction with their gender, the spouse's job as a laborer, low income, and insufficient income. Sexual healthcare providers can play a prominent role in increasing women's sexual satisfaction, thereby, improving the quality of their sexual life by identifying and discussing ways to control them. Copyright (C) 2020, The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of the International Society for Sexual Medicine.