Climacteric complaints, female identity, and sexual dysfunctions.

Forty early menopausal women seeking relief from sexual symptoms within a long-term marital relationship and 40 matched women seeking relief of climacteric complaints completed questionnaires concerning three subject: vasomotor and psychosocial symptoms, sexual dysfunctions, and female identity. Results showed that women with sexual dysfunctions were more likely to suffer from vasomotor and psychosocial complaints and their feminine identity was based mainly on ideals of motherhood and beauty. In addition, sexual desire disorders were present significantly in those women with higher psychosocial symptoms, while sexual arousal disorders were particularly evident in women suffering more vasomotor symptoms.