Pain during penis-in-vagina (p-i-v) sex has only received research attention in the last two decades. Within heterosexual relationships, most of this research has focused on women and whilst understanding women's experiences is hugely important, sex is an interpersonal experience and much less is known about the experience of the male partners.
The aims of this research are to better understand how men make sense of and respond to their partner's sexual pain; and to increase our knowledge of how men view pain during penetrative sex, how it influences the sexual relationship, the relationship in general and themselves individually.
The research will be used to inform therapeutic practice for both individuals and the couple and enhance support for anyone seeking help.
Participation in this study involves responding to an anonymous online survey.
In order to collect as many and varied opinions, thoughts and experiences as possible, the survey allows participants to answer the questions in their own words rather than ticking boxes.
To take part in this study, you must be:
- Male
- 18 or over
- UK-resident
- Be in or have been in, a relationship with a woman suffering from pain during penetration (or pain that prevented penetration). The relationship can be current or in the past. The pain must have been present for 6 months or more.
The survey takes about 30 minutes to complete, depending on how long your replies are. At the end of the survey, you'll be invited to request more information about a potential follow up interview if you'd like to talk more about your replies.
The survey can be directly accessed through the following link: https://tinyurl.com/mensexperiencesofsexualpain
Confidentiality of all data will of course be rigorously maintained.
Who is the researcher?
Debbie Lovell is a psychology postgraduate student in the Department of Health and Social Sciences, University of the West of England, Bristol. She is completing this research for her Professional Doctorate in Counselling Psychology dissertation project, and the research is supervised by Dr Nikki Hayfield and Dr Zoe Thomas.