Couple’s Experience with Multiple Sclerosis in the Context of their Sexual Relationship

• DOI: 10.1007/s11195-007-9054-8
• Publication Date: 2007-09-11T09:43:32Z
• Authors: Shaniff Esmail; Brenda Munro; Nancy Gibson
• Keywords: Sexual relationship

Sexuality is an important aspect of a couple’s relationship, but is often neglected in literature which focuses on the dysfunction associated with illness or disability. This study considers the impact of Multiple Sclerosis (MS) on the couple’s sexual relationship. The purpose of the study was to understand the “lived experience” of couples in which the female partner was diagnosed with MS during the relationship. An in-depth semi-structured interview was used with each partner separately. Participants identified the primacy of communication in coping with the effects of MS. The women with MS live with the unpredictable course of their disease and doubts about their worthiness, attractiveness, and identity. The male partners of these women with MS perceived little impact on the women’s sexuality, likely because the women went to great lengths to maintain their customary roles and to buffer their male partners from the full impact of the disease.