ARTICLE INFO

Article Type

Original Research

Authors

Hemati   L. (1)
Shayan   A. (2)
Soltani   F. (*2)






(1) Student Research Committee, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran
(2) Midwifery Department, Midwifery & Nursing Faculty” and “Mother & Child Care Research Center”, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran

Correspondence

Address: Midwifery & Nursing Faculty, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Shahid Fahmideh Avenue, Hamadan, Iran. Postal code: 3869865178
Phone: +98 (81) 38380535
Fax: +98 (81) 38380447
farzanehsoltani2008@yahoo.com

Article History

Received:  July  27, 2019
Accepted:  January 26, 2020
ePublished:  June 20, 2020

BRIEF TEXT


Lack of adequate sexual knowledge and attitude can lead to women's sexual anxiety.

… [1-6]. Various studies have shown a positive relationship between sexual anxiety and sexual dysfunction [7-9]. Stephenson & Maston believed that fear and anxiety about sex in women is an influential mediating variable between sexual anxiety and sexual function [10]. Brizandin also points out that stressed women are less likely to express their feelings and desires because cortisol inhibits the function of oxytocin in women's brains and prevents women from engaging in sexual and physical intercourse [11]. It has shown that being anxious about talking about sexual issues is consistent with low sexual satisfaction and for women, and especially for those who are anxious about many sexual issues during sexual intercourse, sex is not satisfactory [8, 12]. … [13-18].

The purpose of this study was to predict the sexual anxiety according to sexual knowledge and attitudes of women on the brink of marriage.

This research was a descriptive cross-sectional study.

This study was carried out on 556 women on the brink of marriage referring to the family health center of Hamedan in 2018.

The sample size of 556 subjects was determined using Cochran's formula and considering the correlation coefficient of 0.15, the power of 90%, the estimated error of 0.05%, and also the possible attrition of 20% [19]. Sampling was performed by the available method.

Data collection tools included the personal information questionnaire, Davis's Sexual Anxiety Inventory, and the Sex Knowledge and Attitude Scale (SKAS). 1- Personal information questionnaire: This questionnaire contained questions assessing age, spouse's age, level of education, spouse's level of education, job, spouse's job, premarital relationship, and type of marriage (consanguine and non-consanguine marriage). 2. Davis's Sexual Anxiety Inventory: this scale was developed in 2006 by Davis to assess sexual anxiety [20] with 18 questions that is scored on a 5-point Likert scale from one to five (I don't agree at all, I don't agree, I don't have an opinion, I agree, and I strongly agree). Therefore, the total score ranges from 18 to 90 and a higher score indicates greater sexual anxiety and vice versa. Its internal reliability using Cronbach's alpha method was reported at 0.93. Also, Andres reported its reliability of 0.83 using the retest method and acceptable validity, as well [12, 21]. 3- Sex Knowledge and Attitude Scale (SKAS): This scale was prepared in 2014 by Farajnia et al. based on similar questionnaires [13, 18]. SKAS has 20 items that are classified into two components: sexual knowledge and sexual attitude. It is scored on a 5-point Likert scale as follows: "I totally agree (5)," "I agree (4), "somewhat agree (3)," "I disagree (2)" and "I totally disagree (1). Also, the range of scores varies between a minimum of 20 and a maximum of 100; with higher scores indicating higher sexual knowledge and attitudes. After data collection and coding, the data were analyzed using SPSS 24 software and descriptive statistics (measures of central tendency and dispersion according to data distribution) and analytical statistics (Pearson correlation coefficient and multivariate linear regression).

The average age of the studied women was 27.1 ±3.69 years and the average age of their husbands was 29.014 ± 3.66 years. Most of them were housewives with a non-consanguineous marriage type (Table 1).There was a significant correlation between sexual anxiety, and sexual knowledge and attitude; this means that with increasing knowledge and sexual attitude, sexual anxiety decreases, and vice versa (Table 2).Sexual knowledge and attitude could explain 15.3% of the variance of sexual anxiety, and sexual knowledge with the coefficient of the effect of -0.279 and sexual attitude with the effect size of -0.1766 showed a negative and inverse relationship with sexual anxiety (Table 3).

… [22-24]. Our results showed an inverse and significant correlation between women's sexual knowledge and attitude and sexual anxiety. Sexual knowledge and attitude were able to predict women's sexual anxiety on the brink of marriage, and women with higher levels of sexual knowledge, as well as more positive sexual attitudes were less likely to have sexual anxiety. Contrary to the findings of the present study, Lou et al. in a study on the relationship between sexual behavior and knowledge and sexual attitude in Taiwan, found no significant relationship between sexual knowledge and attitude and healthy sexual behaviors in adolescents [25]. According to Nohi et al. study, the attitude level in the studied cases was at the desired level based on their attitude average score, which is consistent with our results indicating the average score of sexual attitude and knowledge at the desired level [23]. … [26-30].

It is recommended that future studies examine sexual attitudes and function before and after childbirth.

One of the limitations of the present study was its time limit and cross-sectional design.

The sexual knowledge and attitude of women on the brink of marriage can predict sexual anxiety in them and by increasing sexual knowledge and improving sexual attitude, women's sexual anxiety on the brink of marriage decreases.

The authors are thankful to the Higher Education and Research Department of the Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, all those who participated in the study, the staff of the Family Health Center, and all who helped us in this research.

None declared.

This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences (IR.UMSHA.REC.1397.401).

This research was supported by the Research Vice-Chancellor of Hamadan University of Medical Sciences.

TABLES and CHARTS

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