Characteristics of Attachment Style in Women With Dyspareunia

In this study, the authors explored the relations among painful experience during sexual intercourse, attachment style, and somatization. The authors assessed these variables by self-report of dyspareunia (painful vaginal intercourse) and by completion of the Experience in Close Relationships Scale and the short version of the Brief Symptom Inventory. The sample included 110 women, 45 of whom reported painful intercourse and were defined as the dyspareunia group, and the remaining 65 were defined as the control group. The dyspareunia group showed greater incidence, compared with the control group, of insecure attachment styles defined by higher scores of anxiety and/or avoidance as well as higher somatization levels. Regression analyses revealed that increased level of somatization and higher level of avoidance predicted higher probability for dyspareunia. The authors' findings suggest that women with higher frequency of physical complaints in various body areas and insecure attachment style are more susceptible to report pain during intercourse.