Sexuality in Women with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

• Published in: Journal of sex & marital therapy 2001-05, Vol.27 (3), p.273-277
• Main Author: Aksaray, Berkant Yelken, Cem Kaptanoğlu, Süleyman Oflu, Murat Özaltin, Gökay
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Anxiety Disorders - complications; Anxiety Disorders - diagnosis; Anxiety Disorders - epidemiology; Anxiety disorders. Neuroses; Biological and medical sciences; Female; Humans; Medical sciences; Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - complications; Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - psychology; Obsessive-compulsive disorders; Personal Satisfaction; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Severity of Illness Index; Sexual Dysfunction, Physiological - complications; Sexual Dysfunction, Physiological - diagnosis; Sexual Dysfunction, Physiological - epidemiology; Surveys and Questionnaires
• ISSN: 0092-623X; 1521-0715
• DOI: 10.1080/009262301750257128

This study assessed the effect of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) on sexual function. Twenty-three outpatients who met Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV; American Psychiatric Association, 1994) diagnostic criteria for OCD were obtained from consecutive cases recruited to Osmangazi University Department of Psychiatry and were compared to a group of 26 generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) female outpatients. Psychiatric, psychological, and sexual information was obtained with the Maudlsey Obsessional-Compulsive Inventory (Hodgson & Rachman, 1977), the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (Spielberger, Gorsuch, & Lushere, 1970), and the Golombok Rust Inventory of Sexual Satisfaction (Rust & Golombok, 1986). We found that the women with OCD were more sexually nonsensual, avoidant, and anorgasmic than the women with GAD. These data suggest that OCD may be a risk factor for sexual problems in women.