The disturbance is not caused exclusively by Vaginismus or lack of lubrication. The patient often experiences genital pain with sexual intercourse. It is due neither to Vaginismus nor inadequate lubrication. Except for another Sexual Dysfunction, no other Axis I disorder explains it better. It causes marked distress or interpersonal problems.
Some disorders have similar or even the same symptoms.
Dyspareunia is a symptom of multiple and varied disease states and may have multiple causes with components of both organic and psychiatric dysfunction. Women with dyspareunia were found to have more physical pathology and greater psychological symptoms. They reported more negative attitudes toward sexuality, higher levels of sexual impairment, and lower levels of marital adjustment, but they did not report more physical or sexual abuse, either past or present. Subjects with the greatest psychological symptoms and marital maladjustment had no discernible physical findings on examination, and their levels of sexual function were similar to those of matched controls. Relaxation exercises may help a woman regain control over vaginal muscles, reducing pain and making sexual intercourse more pleasurable.