Endometriosis and Sexual Functioning: How Much Do Cognitive and Psycho-Emotional Factors Matter?

Valentina Rossi, Roberta Galizia, Francesca Tripodi, Chiara Simonelli, Maria Grazia Porpora, Filippo Maria Nimbi
International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022 · vol. 19(9) , pp. 5319 · doi:10.3390/ijerph19095319 · PMID:35564711 · W4280545059
article OA: gold CC0 ⤵ 19 in-corpus citations
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⚙ AI-generated summary by claude@2026-06, 2026-06-08 ⓘ

This study compared women with and without endometriosis, finding that endometriosis patients reported more pain, sexual distress, psychological symptoms, negative emotions, and specific cognitive schemas related to sex.

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Abstract

Women with endometriosis often suffer from genito-pelvic pain. The objective of the present study was to analyze the relationship between cognitive and psycho-emotional factors and sexual functioning of women with endometriosis, comparing women with and without endometriosis. A total of 87 women with endometriosis (EG) and 100 women without endometriosis (CG) completed a socio-demographic questionnaire; the short-form of McGill Pain Questionnaire (SF-MPQ); the Female Sexual Functioning Index (FSFI); the Sexual Distress Scale (SDS); the Symptoms Checklist (SCL-90-R); the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20); the Positive and Negative Affects Scale (PANAS); the Sexual Dysfunctional Belief Questionnaire (SDBQ); the Sexual Modes Questionnaire (SMQ); and the Questionnaire of Cognitive Schema Activation in Sexual Context (QCSASC). EG obtained worse scores than CG in SF-MPQ, Pain subscale of FSFI, and SDS. EG reached higher scores than CG on almost all scales of SCL-90-R and lower scores in the "Identifying Feelings" scale of TAS-20. Furthermore, EG reported more negative emotions toward sexuality than CG (PANAS) higher scores on the "Affection Primacy" scale of SDBQ and the "Helpless" sexual cognitive schema of QCSASC than CG. No significant differences were found in SMQ. Sexual health professionals should address psychological, emotional, and cognitive factors since they seem involved in patients' sexual experiences.

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Condition tags

mesh:D004414mesh:D004715mesh:D017699endometriosis

MeSH descriptors

Dyspareunia Dyspareunia Dyspareunia Dyspareunia Dyspareunia Dyspareunia Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Endometriosis Sexual Dysfunction, Physiological Sexual Dysfunction, Physiological Sexual Dysfunction, Physiological Sexual Dysfunction, Physiological Sexual Dysfunction, Physiological Sexual Dysfunction, Physiological Cognition Cognition Cognition Cognition

Citation neighborhood

Papers in the corpus that this work cites (lower rings, blue) and that cite this one (upper rings, green). Dot size scales with the paper's in-corpus citation count — bigger dot = more influential within the endo/adeno field. Click a dot to open that paper. [ expand to 2 hops ] — adds papers reached through this work's immediate citers/citees. Heavier; up to 60 extra dots.

References (100)

Cited by (19)

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europepmc
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License: CC0 · commercial use OK