Dyspareunia: More than bad sex

Dyspareunia is generally described, in both psychiatric nosologies and gynecological texts, as a recurrent acute pain experienced primarily during intercourse. A condition rare in men, dyspareunia affects an estimated 10–15% of sexually active women (Laumann et al., 1994). Despite the high estimated prevalence of this disorder, there has been little controlled research on it (Meana and Binik, 1994). The etiological theorizing has also been mostly dualistic, with gynecology focusing on cases associated with observable peripheral pathology and psychiatry/psychology focusing on cases where no such pathology was evident