Interview of wives: A necessary adjunct in the evaluation of impotence

Clinical reports have suggested that involving wives in the evaluation of their husbands' sexual dysfunction is important, but data are scant. Our study shows that interviews with wives (or other significant sexual partners) are essential, not only for assessing the possible role of marital conflict in impotence etiology, but also for correcting patients' misinformation and for gaining insight into the wives' sexual and psychological dynamics which will be necessary for optimal referral if medical treatment for the impotence is not indicated. Over a period of six months, 49 currently married or substantially involved men were evaluated for impotence in our Male Sexual Dysfunction Unit. Forty of their wives or primary sex partners were interviewed by the Unit psychologist yielding significant medical and psychosocial information and concrete details of erectile and ejaculatory performance. In several cases, this information contradicted that obtained from the patients themselves. In many instances, the information was an important supplement and affected treatment recommendations.