Cross-Cultural Analysis of Sexual Response and Relationship Satisfaction in Women With and Without Orgasmic Difficulty During Partnered Sex

Zainab Zadeh; Zainab Bhutto; Sean M McNabney; Julia A Kneusel; David L Rowland

doi:10.1080/19317611.2020.1864559

Cross-Cultural Analysis of Sexual Response and Relationship Satisfaction in Women With and Without Orgasmic Difficulty During Partnered Sex

Int J Sex Health. 2021 Jan 15;33(2):131-143. doi: 10.1080/19317611.2020.1864559. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Zainab Zadeh¹, Zainab Bhutto¹, Sean M McNabney^{2

3}, Julia A Kneusel², David L Rowland²

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Professional Psychology, Bahria University, Karachi, Pakistan.
² Department of Psychology, Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, Indiana, USA.
³ Department of Applied Health Science, School of Public Health, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA.

Abstract

Objective To investigate how orgasmic difficulty may impact women's sexual/relationship quality depending upon their cultural origin. Method: We used a cross-sectional, multinational survey designed to assess orgasmic difficulty during partnered sex and other sexual/relationship factors in 88 Pakistani and 188 U.S. women. Results: Pakistani women reported less orgasmic difficulty than U.S. women, but those Pakistani women having orgasmic difficulty reported lower relationship satisfaction, less interest in sex, and greater difficulty becoming sexually aroused compared to U.S. respondents with orgasmic difficulty. Conclusions: The presence of orgasmic difficulty affected sexual and relationship factors more in Pakistani women than U.S. women.

Keywords: Women; cross-cultural comparison; orgasmic difficulty; relationship satisfaction; sexual health.