ABSTRACT
Recent studies have begun to examine the complexity and frequency of sexual and relationship problems amongst samples of community resident people with severe psychoses. For the purposes of this study, subjects with severe persistent psychoses and under the care of a single community team were interviewed using a semi-structured clinical interview and structured diagnostic interview of marital and sexual satisfaction. Functional disability was assessed by the Multnomah Community Ability Scale. Amongst those interviewed (n = 53) the prevalence of sexual difficulties was 47.5% and 30.8% for men (n = 40) and women (n = 13), respectively. The majority of men (82.5%) and some of the women (38.5%) were not in intimate relationships; 42.5% of men and 38.5% of women had never had a sexual relationship. Amongst community resident patients with severe psychoses, the level of unmet need for specific interventions (including assessment procedures, psychotherapeutic, pharmaco-therapeutic) for sexual and relationship dysfunction is high. This warrants evaluation of service structures and treatment packages tailored for this group.
Subject(s)
Marriage , Psychotic Disorders/epidemiology , Sexual Behavior , Sexual Dysfunctions, Psychological/epidemiology , Adult , Chronic Disease , Comorbidity , Cross-Sectional Studies , Female , Humans , Incidence , London/epidemiology , Male , Middle Aged , Psychotic Disorders/rehabilitation , Sexual Dysfunctions, Psychological/rehabilitationABSTRACT
This paper reports the findings of a survey of 39 men and 17 women who had been admitted to the acute psychiatric wards of an inner London psychiatric unit. The patients were seen within 7 days of their admission and were interviewed about existing sexual and relationship problems. The admissions consisted largely of single men with schizophrenia and married or cohabiting women with affective disorders. Of the men, 62% of those with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, between 63 and 75% of those with affective disorders and 17% of those with other diagnoses reported current sexual or relationship problems. Of the women, 25% of those with a diagnosis of schizophrenia, 50-100% of those with affective disorders and 25% with other diagnoses reported a sexual or relationship problem. The high prevalence of such problems amongst inpatients indicates that such matters should be enquired after and therapeutic interventions considered at the time of admission. We examined the limitations of this work and proposed areas of potential research.
