O-20: Commencing in Darkness: Narratives of Iranian Unconsummated Couples about Their Unmet Sexual Educations Needs

Background: The inability to have vaginal intercourse despite several attempts, defined as unconsummated marriage (UCM). It is a problematic worldwide sexual disorder. Lack of sexual knowledge has been shown affected UCM couples, so, we designed a qualitative narrative study to explain how a sample of Iranian unconsummated couples experienced sexuality when they were children and to explore what and how they learned about sexuality. Materials and Methods: Data were collected through individually and jointed sexual history and life story interview with 20 UCM couples at Isfahan psychosexual clinic. Results: Two main themes were emerged regarding sex educations: Formation of sexual self-concept and formal sex education. Participants discussed how Haya (conscious embarrassment) through their childhood and premarital period play a role as a barrier for openly discussion about sexual matters between them and their parents. They also narrate how magnification and catastrophizing through transmission of misinformation by their parents and peers lead to their unmet needs about sexual education, so they experienced uncomfortable feelings with their own sexuality. Conclusion: The findings explain how the majority of the participants blamed the shortage of formal and informal sex education as the main reason for their repeated failures in sexual lives. They wish to change disciplines for sex education in their community, to an idealized multistage systemic formal education if they regressively comeback through their life stories.