Psychosexual adjustment following sterilization: A prospective study on Chinese women

Abstract

The present study aimed to identify significant predictors of Chinese women's psychosexual adjustment after sterilization. One hundred fifteen multiparous Chinese women, aged 25–51 years, were interviewed before and after elective laparoscopic or postpartum sterilization. Eight-seven women were also interviewed about their psychosexual adjustment at 1 year after sterilization. Results showed that the fear of negative evaluation by others, family cohesion and adaptability, and preoperative psychological distress were robust predictors of adverse psychosexual outcome immediately and 1 year after sterilization. There was significant improvement in women's mental health following sterilization, and their sexual adjustment such as coital frequency and sexual satisfaction were not adversely affected at 1 year follow-up. Women with either elective or postpartum sterilization had similar adjustment throughout, except the latter group tended to experience more physical discomfort at 1 year follow-up. About 3.4% of the women experienced regret at 12 months after sterilization.