When insecurity dampens desire: Attachment anxiety in men amplifies the decline in sexual desire during the early years of romantic relationships

Romantic relationships help people meet needs for connection and emotional and sexual fulfillment. In the current research, we investigate an unexplored response to feeling sexually and relationally unfulfilled: reflecting on positive sexual experiences with past partners (or sexual nostalgia). Across three studies, people low in attachment avoidance (i.e., comfortable with closeness) who were (a) single or (b) sexually or relationally dissatisfied reported greater sexual nostalgia, whereas people high in attachment avoidance (i.e., value autonomy) did not calibrate their feelings of sexual nostalgia based on their current relationship status or satisfaction. Sexual fantasies about past partners (i.e., sexual nostalgia) were distinct from other types of sexual fantasies (Study 1) and the effects could not be attributed to general nostalgia (Study 2) or sexual desire (Study 3). Chronic sexual nostalgia detracted from satisfaction over time. The findings have implications for theories of nostalgia and attachment and for managing unfulfilled needs in relationships.

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FACILITATORS OF ROMANTIC ATTRACTION AND THEIR RELATION TO LOVESTYLE

Social Behavior and Personality An International Journal ◽

10.2224/sbp.1992.20.3.227 ◽

1992 ◽

Vol 20 (3) ◽

pp. 227-233 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

John R. Jacobs

Keyword(s):

Factor Analysis ◽

Romantic Relationships ◽

Sexual Desire ◽

Experimental Studies ◽

Partner Choice ◽

Future Research ◽

Social Expectations ◽

Romantic Attraction ◽

Internal States ◽

External Conditions

A questionnaire was developed based on findings in experimental studies and from clinical speculation that various internal states and/or external conditions facilitate romantic attraction. 305 subjects responded to thirty items which were submitted to a principal components factor analysis and four factors emerged accounting for 50.5% of the variance. The four facilitators are distress, identity enhancement, aging and social pressures, and sexual desire. The internal consistency of the four scales were .82, .78, .80 and .86 respectively. As predicted, experience of intensification of any of the facilitators was found to be significantly related to lovestyle. Subjects experiencing an intensification of distress report more agapic interactions, those experiencing an intensification of identity enhancement report more mania, those experiencing an intensification of aging fears and social expectations report a more pragmatic lovestyle and subjects experiencing an intensification of sexual desire report less friendship interactions and more erotic lovestyle than those not experiencing an intensification on the respective facilitator. Future research might employ the facilitators of romantic relationships to account for partner choice and satisfaction.

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Leading Better Sex Lives: Is Trait Charisma Associated with Higher Sexual Desire and Satisfaction in Romantic Relationships?

Archives of Sexual Behavior ◽

10.1007/s10508-021-02138-x ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Eric Tu ◽

Stephanie Raposo ◽

Amy Muise

Keyword(s):

Romantic Relationships ◽

Sexual Desire

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Pornography use and romantic relationships: A dyadic daily diary study

Journal of Social and Personal Relationships ◽

10.1177/0265407520940048 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 37 (10-11) ◽

pp. 2802-2821 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Marie-Pier Vaillancourt-Morel ◽

Natalie O. Rosen ◽

Brian J. Willoughby ◽

Nathan D. Leonhardt ◽

Sophie Bergeron

Keyword(s):

Romantic Relationships ◽

Relationship Satisfaction ◽

Sexual Activity ◽

Sexual Desire ◽

Daily Diary ◽

Negative Effects ◽

Same Sex Couples ◽

Daily Diary Study ◽

Pornography Use ◽

Daily Diary Design

Pornography use is now considered a normative sexual activity, including for partnered individuals. Although there are documented positive and negative effects of pornography use on romantic relationships, studies to date suffer from key limitations, narrowing their clinical relevance. Most rely on vague recall measurement that may inadequately capture actual pornography use, and all are exclusively based on mixed-sex couples. This study used a 35-day dyadic daily diary design to examine the associations between an individual’s daily pornography use and their own and their partner’s relationship satisfaction, partnered sexual desire, and probability of partnered sexual activity in mixed-sex and same-sex couples ( N = 217 couples). For women, regardless of partner’s sex, using pornography was associated with their own and their partner’s higher sexual desire and with higher odds of partnered sexual activity. For men, regardless of partner’s sex, using pornography was associated with their partner’s lower sexual desire; for men coupled with women, with lower odds of partnered sexual activity, and for men coupled with men, with higher odds of partnered sexual activity. For all participants, pornography use was unrelated to relationship satisfaction. The current study demonstrated that an individual’s pornography use is associated with same-day couple’s sexual dynamics, with different associations according to users’ and their partners’ sex.

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Sexual and Romantic Relationships in Young Adulthood

Annual Review of Sociology ◽

10.1146/annurev-soc-073018-022625 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 45 (1) ◽

pp. 133-153 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Kathryn Harker Tillman ◽

Karin L. Brewster ◽

Giuseppina Valle Holway

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Romantic Relationships ◽

Young Adulthood ◽

Intimate Relationships ◽

The United States ◽

Early Years ◽

Sociological Research ◽

Relationship Formation ◽

Race Ethnicity ◽

Economic Developments

Sociological research has long recognized the important role that intimate relationships play in young people's lives. In recent decades, relationship formation patterns and relationship trajectories during the early years of adulthood have become increasingly diverse and complex. In recognition of this, we review contemporary research on sexual and romantic relationships among young adults in the United States, noting how relationship attitudes, expectations, and experiences have changed in response to broader social and economic developments and how they vary by gender, socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity, and sexual identity. Data and methodological limitations are also considered. We conclude by identifying promising directions for future sociological research and data collection efforts.

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Perceptions of Conflict and Support in Romantic Relationships: The Role of Attachment Anxiety.

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology ◽

10.1037/0022-3514.88.3.510 ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 88 (3) ◽

pp. 510-531 ◽

Cited By ~ 331

Author(s):

Lorne Campbell ◽

Jeffry A. Simpson ◽

Jennifer Boldry ◽

Deborah A. Kashy

Keyword(s):

Romantic Relationships ◽

Attachment Anxiety

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The Large Glass Seen Anew: Reflections of Contemporary Science and Technology in Marcel Duchamp's “Hilarious Picture”

Leonardo ◽

10.1162/002409499553091 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 32 (2) ◽

pp. 113-126 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Linda Dalrymple Henderson

Keyword(s):

Sexual Desire ◽

Science And Technology ◽

Physical Object ◽

Early Years ◽

Relativity Theory ◽

Visual Languages ◽

The Public ◽

Large Glass ◽

Contemporary Science

Marcel Duchamp's The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors, Even (The Large Glass) of 1915–1923 is a unique image-text system in which the physical object is complemented by hundreds of preparatory notes the artist considered to be as important as the object itself. Although Duchamp talked of “Playful Physics” in his notes for the Glass, much of his humor and the breadth of his creative invention was obscured for later audiences when, after 1919, the popularization of relativity theory eclipsed the late Victorian ether physics that had fascinated the public in the early years of the century. Indeed, drawing upon contemporary science and technology, among other fields, Duchamp had created in the Large Glass a witty, multivalent commentary on the age-old theme of sexual desire, presented in the very newest verbal and visual languages. These ideas are explored in this article, reprinted from the conclusion of the author's book Duchamp in Context: Science and Technology in the Large Glass and Related Works.

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Women's Adult Romantic Attachment Style and Communication by Cell Phone with Romantic Partners

Psychological Reports ◽

10.2466/21.02.20.pr0.111.4.281-288 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 111 (1) ◽

pp. 281-288 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Robert S. Weisskirch

Keyword(s):

Romantic Relationships ◽

Attachment Style ◽

Cell Phone ◽

Cell Phones ◽

Romantic Attachment ◽

Romantic Partners ◽

Text Messages ◽

Attachment Anxiety ◽

Romantic Partner ◽

Attachment Avoidance

Cell phones have become important communication media for individuals in romantic relationships. The frequency of and methods used for communication may vary by adults' style of romantic attachment. Female university students ( N = 31) currently in romantic relationships responded to a questionnaire. They estimated the frequency of calls and text messages received from and made to their romantic partners and completed the Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised instrument, a measure of attachment anxiety and avoidance. Also, the participants reviewed their cell phones' memories and provided accurate frequency of communication to and from the romantic partner. Attachment anxiety was associated with more estimated text messages sent to and received from the romantic partners and actual text messages sent to and received from the romantic partners. Attachment avoidance was associated ( r = −.38) with fewer estimated calls made to the romantic partners and fewer actual calls made to the romantic partners ( r = −.34).

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