Degree and Direction of Sexual Desire Discrepancy are Linked to Sexual and Relationship Satisfaction in Couples Transitioning to Parenthood

2017 ◽  
Vol 55 (2) ◽  
pp. 214-225 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalie O. Rosen ◽  
Kristen Bailey ◽  
Amy Muise
Keyword(s):  
Relationship Satisfaction ◽  
Sexual Desire ◽  
Sexual Desire Discrepancy

scholarly journals Strategies for Mitigating Sexual Desire Discrepancy in Relationships

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Marika Vowels ◽  
Kristen P Mark
Keyword(s):  
Relationship Satisfaction ◽  
Sexual Desire ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Mixed Methods Study ◽  
Thematic Content Analysis ◽  
Effective Strategies ◽  
Sexual Desire Discrepancy ◽  
Individual Strategies

Sexual desire discrepancy, when one member of a couple experiences more or less sexual desire relative to their partner, is among the main reasons for couples to seek therapy. A great deal of prior research has examined the complexity of sexual desire and the role of sexual desire discrepancy in long-term relationships, but little research has specifically examined strategies used to mitigate sexual desire discrepancy when it arises. Thus, the purpose of the present mixed methods study was to identify the strategies that individuals in long-term relationships use during times of desire discrepancy and to address whether the use of specific strategies influenced sexual and relationship satisfaction and sexual desire. We collected data from 229 participants and our thematic content analysis produced 17 strategies, divided into five main groups (disengagement, communication, engagement in activity alone, engagement in other activity with partner, and have sex anyway). Specific strategies were associated with sexual and relationship satisfaction but not with sexual desire. Specifically, partnered strategies were associated with higher levels of sexual and relationship satisfaction compared to individual strategies. Additionally, participants who reported that their strategies were very helpful had higher levels of sexual and relationship satisfaction compared to participants who found them somewhat helpful followed by not at all helpful. These results have implications for clinicians, educators, and researchers and highlight the importance of using effective strategies to deal with desire discrepancy and communicating about them in relationships. The use of effective strategies can have implications for overall couple well-being. Preregistration available at: https://osf.io/e3dcnData and materials available at: https://osf.io/634us/

scholarly journals Strategies for Mitigating Sexual Desire Discrepancy in Relationships

2020 ◽  
Vol 49 (3) ◽  
pp. 1017-1028
Author(s):  
Laura M. Vowels ◽  
Kristen P. Mark
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Desire ◽  
Sexual Desire Discrepancy

scholarly journals Associations Between Daily Positive Communication and Sexual Desire and Satisfaction: A Comparison Between Traditional Analyses and Machine Learning

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christine Leistner ◽  
Laura Marika Vowels ◽  
Matthew J Vowels ◽  
Kristen Mark
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Relationship Satisfaction ◽  
Sexual Satisfaction ◽  
Hierarchical Linear Modeling ◽  
Sexual Desire ◽  
Communication Strategies ◽  
Linear Modeling ◽  
Positive Communication ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Data Analytic

Communication is an important component of many healthy sexual and romantic relationships. Positive communication strategies including expressing fondness and affection, exchanging compliments, and disclosing information about oneself with a partner are associated with relationship and sexual satisfaction, but less is known about its association to sexual desire. Most of the current literature has used traditional statistical analyses that assume errors are normally distributed and that associations between variables are linear. Our study aimed to examine the ways daily levels of four positive communication strategies are associated with relationship satisfaction, sexual satisfaction, and sexual desire among 246 mixed sex couples (N = 492). We also compared traditional hierarchical linear modeling with machine learning to compare results from the different data analytic techniques. Findings indicated that daily positive communication received from a partner was associated with all outcome variables of interest that day for both partners in the couple. All positive communication strategies predicted daily levels of desire, sexual satisfaction, and relationship satisfaction for the individual and each had unique associations with partner outcomes. Unique nonlinear interactions were found using machine learning. Findings have implications for practitioners and provide insight into the differences in findings between traditional analyses and machine learning.

Pornography use and romantic relationships: A dyadic daily diary study

2020 ◽  
Vol 37 (10-11) ◽  
pp. 2802-2821 ◽  
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.

Understanding the phenomenon of sexual desire discrepancy in couples

2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 141-150 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siobhan E. Sutherland ◽  
Uzma S. Rehman ◽  
Erin E. Fallis ◽  
Jackson A. Goodnight
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Desire ◽  
Sexual Desire Discrepancy

Dialing Up Desire and Dampening Disinterest: Regulating Sexual Desire in the Bedroom and Sexual and Relationship Well-Being

2021 ◽  
pp. 026540752110547
Author(s):  
Rebecca M. Horne ◽  
Stephanie Raposo ◽  
Amy Muise ◽  
Cheryl Harasymchuk ◽  
Emily A. Impett
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Relationship Satisfaction ◽  
Sexual Satisfaction ◽  
Sexual Desire ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Romantic Partners ◽  
Low Sexual Desire ◽  
Diary Studies ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Mixed Gender

Romantic partners often regulate their emotions and affection to achieve certain goals, but research has yet to explore how partners regulate their expression of sexual desire during sex and its implications for couples’ well-being. In two multi-part dyadic diary studies of primarily mixed-gender couples in longer-term relationships residing in North America, we examined three questions. First, is amplifying desire and suppressing disinterest during sex associated with both partners’ daily sexual and relationship satisfaction? Second, do these associations differ by level of sexual desire and gender? Third, tested in our second sample, can these associations be explained by feelings of sexual inauthenticity? Across both samples (Ntotal = 225 couples, 450 participants), amplifying desire was associated with lower sexual satisfaction, while suppressing disinterest was not associated with daily satisfaction. Importantly, sexual desire played a role in the links between desire regulation during sex and satisfaction: on days when people were low in sexual desire, amplification was associated with both partners’ lower sexual satisfaction, while suppression was associated with a partner’s higher relationship satisfaction. In addition, amplification (on low desire days) and suppression (regardless of desire level) were associated with lower sexual authenticity which, in turn, was linked to lower relationship satisfaction. The findings suggest that desire regulation during sex plays an important role in couples’ daily sexual satisfaction and relationship satisfaction—in part because it feels sexually inauthentic—with the implications of this regulation being particularly strong when people feel low sexual desire.

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