Qualitative Study of Married Women's Perception on the Meaning of Sexual-Marital Activity

Sexual intercourse is not a biological process, but it is an experience emerged in combined interpersonal, intrapersonal, and cultural contexts. This study aimed to deeply explore and clarify married women’s perception on the meaning of sexual-marital activity.
This qualitative study was carried out on 65 married women aged 16-60 years attending prenatal care, family planning, and gynecology clinics in an educational hospital in Rasht City, Iran, during 2012-2013. Data were collected through 9 focus group discussions. Participants were recruited using purposive sampling method and maximum variation. All interviews were continued until the data saturation was achieved. Data analysis was done based on Graneheim and Lundman conventional content analysis approach.
Four main categories and several sub-categories were extracted from the data. The main categories included “the role of sexual sensation and perception on sex”, “intrapersonal and interpersonal sexual challenges”, “lack of knowledge vs. knowledge”, and “sexual self-sacrifice (task-oriented sexual activity)”.
According to this study, married women’s perception on the meaning of sexual-marital activity has been clearly identified. On one hand, participants expressed a dynamic meaning of sexual-marital activity. On the other hand, their interpretations emerged a new meaning of sexual activity as task-oriented or responsibility-centered of sexual activity.