Investigating the Experiences of Evangelical Couples Coping with Painful Intercourse During Early Marriage

<p>Women who internalize evangelical purity messages face heightened risk for persistent pain or difficulty with penile-vaginal intercourse. Drawing on research in communication, psychology, and sexual medicine, the aim of this multilevel qualitative study is to increase understanding of how evangelical couples communicatively cope with painful intercourse and the memorable messages they believe contribute to their experiences of coping. This study involved conducting qualitative interviews with 20 evangelical married couples (40 total spouses) who currently or recently experienced a wife’s persistent pain during (attempted) penile-vaginal intercourse and 16 female clinicians (pelvic floor physical therapists and mental health professionals) who regularly work with women or couples affected by painful intercourse. Interview data were abductively analyzed at the individual level, couple-level, and across data points using the flexible coding method and assisted by thematic analysis. Guided by the Theory of Memorable Messages, the findings of this study illuminate how sexual socializing messages received in and outside of religious contexts may set the stage for delayed support and subsequent emotional and communicative challenges, whereas other messages may intervene in the trajectory, facilitating couples’ ability to work as a team, seek support, and reframe their individual and shared experiences. This study supports and extends extant interdisciplinary literature by revealing the social context of female sexual pain, utilizing multiple data points to provide in-depth insight into the phenomenon of coping with painful intercourse, and illuminating timing and co-occurrence of memorable messages as important aspects of their function and memorability. Practically, the findings offer couples, practitioners, and evangelical Christian leaders possible points of communicative intervention that may empower couples and facilitate the coping process.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Doctor of Philosophy

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Communication

Year

2024

Author dc:creator

• Leonard Hodges, Arielle L.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Michelle Miller-Day, Ph.D.
• Jennifer Bevan, Ph.D.
• Vikki Katz, Ph.D.
• Elizabeth Hintz, Ph.D.

• sexual pain
• memorable messages
• coping
• support seeking
• religion
• Communication
• Health Communication
• Interpersonal and Small Group Communication

Repository record dc:identifier

https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/communication_dissertations/9

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:digitalcommons.chapman.edu:communication_dissertations-1008