Sexual functioning and experiences in young people affected by mental health disorders

Abstract The majority of mental disorders have their onset in late adolescence and early adulthood and this coincides with important stages of sexual development. Although sexual dysfunction is highly prevalent among people with mental health disorders, little is known about this topic among youth....

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Psychiatry research 2017-07, Vol.253, p.249-255
Main Authors: McMillan, Elizabeth, Adel Sanchez, Asiel, Bhaduri, Amit, Pehlivan, Nancy, Monson, Katherine, Badcock, Paul, Thompson, Katherine, Killackey, Eoin, Chanen, Andrew, O’Donoghue, Brian
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Antipsychotic Agents - therapeutic use
Anxiety
Bipolar
Borderline personality disorder
Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale
Depression
Female
Humans
Male
Mental Disorders - drug therapy
Mental Disorders - psychology
Prevalence
Psychiatry
Psychosis
Sexual and Gender Minorities - psychology
Sexual dysfunction
Sexual Dysfunctions, Psychological - epidemiology
Sexual Dysfunctions, Psychological - psychology
Surveys and Questionnaires
Youth
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Summary:Abstract The majority of mental disorders have their onset in late adolescence and early adulthood and this coincides with important stages of sexual development. Although sexual dysfunction is highly prevalent among people with mental health disorders, little is known about this topic among youth. This study aimed to evaluate the sexual functioning and subjective experience of sex in young people aged between 15 and 26 years attending a youth mental health service. One hundred and three participants were assessed with the Sexual Health Questionnaire, Sexual Functioning Questionnaire, Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale, Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms and the Medication Adherence Rating Scale. There were 43 males, 52 females, and 8 transgender and gender diverse participants with a range of mental health disorders. Eighty (77.7%) had experienced consensual sexual intercourse. Ninety-nine (95.8%) endorsed at least one item of sexual dysfunction and clinical sexual dysfunction was present in 37 (38.9%) cases. Sexual dysfunction was associated with greater severity of general psychopathology, negative symptoms, antipsychotic use, lower antipsychotic medication adherence, and negative subjective experiences around sex. Addressing this sexual dysfunction in young people could lead to both an improvement in subjective experiences of sexual relationships and potentially improvement in adherence to treatment.
ISSN:0165-1781
1872-7123
DOI:10.1016/j.psychres.2017.04.009