SEXUAL SATISFACTION IN MALE INFERTILITY

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Abstract
Infertility is proposed to be a continuing stressor for couples suffering from involuntary childlessness. A long duration of the desire for a child and, correspondingly, a longer period of diagnostic and treatment procedures could have a negative impact on sexual satisfaction, thus leading to an unfavorable psychological circuit. The present evaluation should clarify the state of sexual satisfaction and relationships, with relevant parameters in 68 men with fertility problems, of couples with involuntary childlessness. Subjects reported relatively high average levels of present sexual satisfaction with only nonsignificant lower scores (p=. 08) compared to recalled sexual satisfaction prior to diagnosis of infertility. Multiple regression analyses revealed that a positive age difference between men and their spouses (p=. 042) and a higher weekly coitus frequency (p=. 002) were the only significant parameters associated independently with higher sexual satisfaction. Neither the age of partners, attitudes toward sexuality, treatment duration, duration of the partnership and the duration of the desire for a child, nor andrological findings had an influence on present sexual satisfaction. The results propose that treatment duration and duration of the desire for a child may not necessarily be connected to lowered sexual satisfaction in infertile males and that coitus frequency seems to be an indicator of sexual satisfaction in this patient group.