The relationship between sexual assertiveness and sexual satisfaction of married women of reproductive age referring to health centers in Qom, Iran

Sexual satisfaction and sexual assertiveness are both considered to be the most important factors in maintaining a successful, healthy and happy married life. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between sexual assertiveness and sexual satisfaction of married women of reproductive age in Qom province in 2021.

100 married women who referred to health centers in Qom, Iran participated in this cross-sectional study. Health centers were selected by clustering and a convenience sample was entered into the study from April to October 2023. The questionnaire of Hulbert's sexual assertiveness index and Larson Sexual Satisfaction were used. Data analysis was done by SPSS-22 software. Pearson's correlation coefficient and one-way analysis of variance were used to analyze the data.

The results showed that the mean of sexual satisfaction score (SD) was 99.40 (15.41), the mean of sexual assertiveness was 56.19 (20.04), and there was a high correlation between sexual assertiveness and sexual satisfaction r=0.74 (P <0.001). There was a significant difference between the averages of sexual assertiveness and age of women and spouses (P <0.001). A significant difference was found between the average sexual self-expression of women with the number of children (P=0.03) and between the average sexual assertiveness and the education groups of spouses (P=0.04).

Considering the positive correlation between sexual assertiveness and sexual satisfaction, it is suggested that in order to increase women's sexual satisfaction, service providers should increase their sexual assertiveness through various counseling and educational methods.