A kiss is not just a kiss: kissing frequency, sexual quality, attachment, and sexual and relationship satisfaction

Busby, Dean M.; Hanna‐Walker, Veronica; Leavitt, Chelom E.

doi:10.1080/14681994.2020.1717460

Cited by 10 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Secondly, couples who struggle to compassionately relate and respond to their partner (i.e., negative relationally compassionate attitudes) may also show negative sexual patterns. Notably, unhealthy couple dynamics that are anxious or avoidant are associated with lower sexual satisfaction ( Busby et al, 2020 ). However, less is known about how relational attitudes are related to other important dimensions of sexual well-being, which we explore in the present study.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Feeling It”: Links between elements of compassion and sexual well-being

2023

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IntroductionCompassion may be a particularly important component of a sexual relationship as it facilitates needed self-awareness, understanding, and connection to frame deeply intimate expressions of sexual emotion and vulnerability. Given the lack of research on how broad concepts of compassionate elements may be linked to sexual well-being, we examine how mindfulness (an ability to maintain awareness in the present moment), compassionate relational attitudes (i.e., accessibility, responsiveness, and engagement), and compassionate relational behaviors (i.e., forgiveness and gratitude), are linked to sexual well-being (sexual harmony, orgasm consistency, and sexual frequency), and sexual mindfulness (a state of being mindful during sex) for oneself and one’s partner.MethodsWe constructed an actor partner structural equation model with newly married couples (n = 2,111) and regressed sexual outcomes at time 1 and time 2 on each partner’s compassionate attitudes, behaviors and mindfulness reported at time 1.ResultsResults showed that cross-sectionally, nearly all elements of one’s compassion related to one’s own sexual well-being for both partners. Strongest paths included positive significant relations for women between mindfulness and non-judgment and from compassionate relational attitudes and behaviors to sexual harmony. Men’s compassionate behaviors were positively related to their own sexual awareness. Perhaps more importantly, women’s and men’s compassionate behaviors had significant effects on their partner’s sexual well-being longitudinally.DiscussionImplications include an emphasis on compassion as a key mechanism that can increase sexual satisfaction and strengthen relationships, particularly in the critical time of early marriage where patterns of interconnectedness are being established.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“Feeling It”: Links between elements of compassion and sexual well-being

2023

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“…It is a term used in a range of contexts with a range of denotations, and if not careful, its meaning can lack clarity. For example, a number of researchers recognise selling and buying sex as CSW (Stenersen and Ovrebo, 2020;Lathan et al, 2021;Charek et al, 2021. Sexual contact includes touching specific parts of the woman"s body (mainly in hetero-sexual contact), caressing, smooching, kissing, cradling and sexual intimacy, which are all or individually applicable in a range of contexts in CSW (Busby et al, 2020;Packheiser et al, 2020).…”

Section: Etymology Of Cswmentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards deconstructing urban tourism within the framework of commercial sex work in Uganda

Mwesigwa¹,

Oboi²

2022

J. Hosp. Manage. Tourism

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There is great anxiety that present day urban authorities are not considering the amount of heterosexual activities that are neither among legitimately married couples nor casually relating friends. This anxiety has brought much pressure onto the civil society that aims to promote morality in society in addition to the religious bodies that aim to encourage positive morals among their congregates. Yet, the extent to which commercial sex work is capable of increasing the level of urban tourism in the 21st century is fascinating. Bearing in mind the different challenges and the proof of dearth of statistics on commercial sex work in Uganda, the emphasis of this paper is on how urban authorities can exploit the growing industry of commercial sexual activities to enhance urban tourism. Through an intensive review of available literature, this paper has established that commercial sexual activities are one of the central tourist attraction products in a number of urban areas in Uganda even though it lacks official documentation. Consequently, neither the urban authorities nor the tourism agency cares paying attention to the huge tourism potential hidden in the commercial sex industry. It is encouraged that urban authorities document the number of participants in commercial sex work so that they can be used to enhance urban tourism. This study is useful to urban authorities and other key stakeholders working with urban populations particularly at a time when nations are turning to domestic tourism.

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“…For example, Birnbaum et al's study (2006), which focused on the experience of positive or negative feelings during sexual intercourse, did not include other intimate behaviors. In a recent study, Busby et al (2020) found that the frequency of kissing was a strong predictor of both sexual quality and relationship connectivity, suggesting that "a simple question about kissing frequency may be one of the better barometers of both the day to day functioning of the sexual relationship and the global quality or connectivity occurring in the relationship" (p. 13). Hence, assessing different behavioral aspects of the sexual relationship, and differentiating between those behaviors, may help improve our understanding of the contribution of intimacy and sex on relational outcomes (Brennan et al, 1998).…”

Section: Towards a Differentiated Approachmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In contrast to prior studies on attachment and couple sexuality that either did not assess sexual frequency (Butzer & Campbell, 2008), did not include attachment orientations of both partners (Little et al, 2010;van Lankveld et al, 2021), or did not assess relationship satisfaction (Brassard et al, 2012), the current study includes all of these variables, while differentiating between intimate and sexual behaviors. To date, only a few studies have included different types of intimate behaviors (e.g., Busby et al, 2020;Fisher et al, 2015;Heiman et al, 2011), yet not one of them examined intimate and sexual behaviors in the context of attachment theory. The current study further departs from previous work (e.g., Birnbaum et al 2006;Little et al, 2010) in that it applies newer analytical techniques, including the actor-partner interdependence model (APIM) (Kenny et al, 2006), which allows for the simultaneous estimation of effects of each individual's characteristics on their own and their partner's satisfaction levels.…”

Section: Limitations Of Previous Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…So far, however, most studies have focused on individual attachment orientations; research that incorporates both partners' attachment orientations remains limited (Muise et al, 2018). In addition, although sexual behavior has been a variable of interest and can be considered an important aspect of sexual health throughout life (Mercer, 2014), there is a surprising lack of research on how attachment orientations in couple relationships are associated with different behavioral manifestations of sexuality and intimacy (e.g., kissing; cuddling; oral sex; penetration) (Brennan et al, 1998;Busby et al, 2020;Little et al, 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Attachment Orientations, Sexual Behavior, and Relationship Satisfaction in Young, Mixed-Sex Couples: A Dyadic Approach

Roels

Janssen

2021

Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy

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We examined if and to what degree attachment orientations of both partners moderate the link between different behavioral characteristics of the sexual relationship and relationship satisfaction in the early stages of romantic attachment. A sample of 126 young, mixed-sex couples (N = 252, mean age = 23.3, SD = 2.4; average relationship duration = 1.9 years, SD = 0.9) filled out questionnaires assessing attachment anxiety and avoidance, a range of intimate and sexual couple behaviors, and relationship satisfaction. Exploratory factor analyses revealed two behavioral factors: Intimate behavior (kissing, cuddling) and sexual behavior (oral sex, coitus). Although frequency of sexual behavior was not directly associated with relationship satisfaction, we found a significant positive interaction with anxious attachment, indicating that higher frequencies of sexual behavior were associated with greater self-reported relationship satisfaction in more anxiously attached individuals.Exploration of the effects of intimate behaviors on relationship satisfaction revealed significant positive associations as well, but, unexpectedly, only for avoidantly attached individuals. These results call for a dyadic and differentiated approach to the study of sexuality in couples and are in line with prior findings that the impact of intimate and sexual behaviors on relationship satisfaction varies depending on attachment orientations.

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A kiss is not just a kiss: kissing frequency, sexual quality, attachment, and sexual and relationship satisfaction

Cited by 10 publications

References 31 publications

“Feeling It”: Links between elements of compassion and sexual well-being

“Feeling It”: Links between elements of compassion and sexual well-being

Towards deconstructing urban tourism within the framework of commercial sex work in Uganda

Attachment Orientations, Sexual Behavior, and Relationship Satisfaction in Young, Mixed-Sex Couples: A Dyadic Approach

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