The role of anxiety in vaginismus: a case-control study.

INTRODUCTION

Previous research suggests that anxiety may play a large role in the symptoms of vaginismus.

AIM: We aimed to (i) determine the degree of self-reported general anxiety in women with vaginismus; and (ii) establish whether general anxiety is a consequence of the condition or a predisposing factor.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Participants reported state and trait anxiety, five-factor personality scores, history of anxiety disorders, and their perceptions of their symptoms and history.

METHODS

We compared responses of 244 self-identified women with vaginismus with a control group of 101 women using an online questionnaire.

RESULTS

The women with vaginismus were higher in trait anxiety and neuroticism, and lower in extraversion, than the controls. There was also a trend toward a greater prevalence of diagnosed anxiety disorders in the vaginismus group. Levels of state anxiety were high among the women with vaginismus, particularly when they felt unsupported by their partners or pressured to cure the condition.

CONCLUSION

Levels of general anxiety are elevated among women with vaginismus and the data suggest that anxiety-proneness may be a predisposing factor for the condition. We conclude that although vaginismus is a multidimensional condition, it may have common predisposing factors with anxiety disorders.