Effects of relationship duration, cohabitation, and marriage on the frequency of intercourse in couples: Findings from German panel data

Schröder, Jette; Schmiedeberg, Claudia

doi:10.1016/j.ssresearch.2015.01.009

Cited by 36 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 47 publications

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“…We did not find that having children played a major role in a couple'ssexualsatisfaction,whichisremarkableasresearchhasshown that sexual frequency is heavily influenced by the existence and age of children (Call et al, 1995;Schröder & Schmiedeberg, 2015).…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 59%

Does Sexual Satisfaction Change With Relationship Duration?

2015

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Despite a large body of empirical literature on sexual satisfaction, its development over the course of a relationship is still unclear. Only a small number of studies, most of which have relied on cross-sectional data of convenience samples, have explicitly focused on relationship duration, and empirical evidence is mixed. We analyzed how sexual satisfaction changes over the course of a relationship using three waves of the German Family Panel study (pairfam). We concentrated our analyses on young and middle-aged heterosexual individuals in committed relationships (N = 2,814) and applied fixed effects regression models, which have the advantage of estimations based on changes within individuals over time. We found a positive development of sexual satisfaction in the first year of a relationship, followed by a steady decline. This pattern persisted even when controlling for the frequency of intercourse, although the effects were, in part, mediated by intercourse frequency. We explained the non-linear effect of relationship duration on sexual satisfaction with an initial learning effect regarding partner-specific sexual skills, which is then outweighed by a decline in passion at later stages of a relationship. Moreover, we found significant effects for the control variables of health status, intimacy in couple communication, and conflict style, as expected. In contrast to past research, however, cohabitation and marriage were not found to play a role for sexual satisfaction in our data. Further research is required to deepen the understanding of the reasons why sexual satisfaction changes with relationship duration.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 59%

Does Sexual Satisfaction Change With Relationship Duration?

2015

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“…In a related vein, it is plausible to assume that having children will influence the association between relational intimacy, sexual desire, and sexual activity. It has been found that parenthood lowers sexual interest and sexual frequency (Call, Sprecher, & Schwartz, 1995;Liu, 2000;Schröder & Schmiedeberg, 2015). Another relational variable that may be particularly relevant when examining sexual responding is relationship satisfaction.…”

Section: Variability In Sexual Respondingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Having children also seemed to decrease women's daily appraisals of relationship quality. It is plausible that, when evaluating the relationship as more satisfying than usual, women are more motivated to engage in sexuality in order to deepen the emotional bond and boost feelings of (sexual) attractiveness (Debrot et al, 2017;Schröder & Schmiedeberg, 2015). Interestingly, the negative effect of sexual desire on sexual activity decreased when having no children, suggesting that the absence of children increases the opportunity for women to attend to and act on their feelings of sexual desire.…”

Section: The Presence Of Childrenmentioning

confidence: 99%

Exploring the Link Between Daily Relationship Quality, Sexual Desire, and Sexual Activity in Couples

Dewitte

Mayer²

2018

Arch Sex Behav

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Current models of sexual responding emphasize the role of contextual and relational factors in shaping sexual behavior. The present study used a prospective diary design to examine the temporal sequence and variability of the link between sexual and relationship variables in a sample of couples. Studying sexual responding in the everyday context of the relationship is necessary to get research more aligned with the complex reality of having sex in a relationship, thereby increasing ecological validity and taking into account the dyadic interplay between partners. Over the course of 21 days, 66 couples reported every day on their sexual desire, sexual activity (every morning), and relationship quality (every evening). In addition, we examined whether the link between these daily variables was moderated by relationship duration, having children, general relationship satisfaction, and sexual functioning. Results showed that the sexual responses of women depended on the relationship context, mainly when having children and being in a longer relationship. Male sexual responding depended less on contextual factors but did vary by level of sexual functioning. Several cross-partner effects were found as well. These results verify that relational and sexual variables feed forward into each other, indicating the need to incorporate interpersonal dynamics into current models of sexual responding and to take into account variability and dyadic influences between partners.

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“…Several studies confirmed this decline (Acker and Davis, 1992 ; Tucker and Aron, 1993 ; Sprecher and Regan, 1998 ; Lemieux and Hale, 2002 ; Ahmetoglu et al, 2010 ). More recent study (Schröder and Schmiedeberg, 2015 ) has identified pregnancy and time, when couple has small children, as a temporary period of decreased sexual activity, hence indicating a U-shape trajectory of passion. Studies revealed mixed results in terms of shifts in intimacy (Acker and Davis, 1992 ; Lemieux and Hale, 2002 ), although shifts in passion and intimacy may be highly related to one another (Baumeister and Bratslavsky, 1999 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Love Influences Reproductive Success in Humans

et al. 2017

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As love seems to be universal, researchers have attempted to find its biological basis. However, no studies till date have shown its direct association with reproductive success, which is broadly known to be a good measure of fitness. Here, we show links between love, as defined by the Sternberg Triangular Theory of Love, and reproductive success among the Hadza—traditional hunter-gatherer population. We found that commitment and reproductive success were positively and consistently related in both sexes, with number of children showing negative and positive associations with intimacy and passion, respectively, only among women. Our study may shed new light on the meaning of love in humans' evolutionary past, especially in traditional hunter-gatherer societies in which individuals, not their parents, were responsible for partner choice. We suggest that passion and commitment may be the key factors that increase fitness, and therefore, that selection promoted love in human evolution. However, further studies in this area are recommended.

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Effects of relationship duration, cohabitation, and marriage on the frequency of intercourse in couples: Findings from German panel data

Cited by 36 publications

References 47 publications

Does Sexual Satisfaction Change With Relationship Duration?

Does Sexual Satisfaction Change With Relationship Duration?

Exploring the Link Between Daily Relationship Quality, Sexual Desire, and Sexual Activity in Couples

Love Influences Reproductive Success in Humans

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