Genitopelvic Pain in Sexually Minoritized and Heterosexual Women: Differences in Disability and Distress

Genitopelvic pain, defined as recurrent pain in the genital or pelvic area, is common but understudied, with especially limited research in minoritized populations. Cognitive variables such as pain acceptance play an important role in genitopelvic pain and its treatment. However, most research on clinically relevant cognitive variables has been conducted in heterosexual samples. This gap in the literature may limit efforts to address sexual distress and pain-related disability in sexually minoritized individuals. The present study therefore examined whether sexual minority status was associated with pain- related disability, sexual distress, and pain acceptance among women with genitopelvic pain. We also explored associations between pain acceptance and pain-related disability and sexual distress. Participants completed baseline measures of a longitudinal study on genitopelvic pain, using validated self-report scales. Group differences and associations were analyzed using t-tests and regressions. Compared to heterosexual women, sexually minoritized participants reported lower pain-related disability (p = .034) and sexual distress (p = .020), and greater pain acceptance (p = .033). Among minoritized participants, greater acceptance was negatively associated with both sexual distress (p = .002) and pain-related disability (p = .010). These findings reinforce the value of acceptance-based interventions for minoritized individuals. Additionally, pain acceptance may function as a protective factor in sexually minoritized women with genitopelvic pain. Limitations include the cross-sectional design, use of self-report measures, and a small sample size (n = 33 minoritized, n = 35 majoritized). Future research should test these relationships within larger diverse samples and use longitudinal designs.