Examining the psychological and emotional experience of sexuality for men after spinal cord injury

Abstract

Sexual rehabilitation for men after spinal cord injury (SCI) has focused on physical challenges and has neglected psychosocial factors. Utilizing a descriptive phenomenological approach, the lived psychological experience of sexuality was described for six men (age 24–49) with complete or incomplete SCI (C4-T12; <1 year to 29 years post-injury) who participated in one in-depth, standardized, open-ended interview (68–101 minutes). Participants described the emergence of a new perspective of sexuality placing less emphasis on any one physical act and more importance on emotional factors. Understanding the evolving meaning of sexuality for men after SCI is imperative for delivering effective sexual health information.