Putting the Dyad into the Sexual Response Discussion: A Latent Class Analysis Using Ratings of Self and Partner

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

“…Sexuality is emotional, physical, and relational in nature ( Busby et al, 2022 ), and represents one of the most intimate and vulnerable acts preformed between romantic partners. Indeed, sexuality not only involves physical nakedness, but high-quality sex requires partners to display “emotional nakedness” as well, being willing to be exposed, accessible and nurtured in a safe space.…”

“…For the present study, we operationalized relational compassion using a variety of interrelated measures that capture elements of compassion (i.e., mindfulness, relational attitudes and behaviors)—and found that it may facilitate deeper understanding and connection for newly married couples trying to maintain an intimate relationship through sexual expression. We wanted to explore how specific elements of relational compassion bring immediate links to sexual well-being and what elements may have longer lasting benefits as sex is important in the moment, but can also help sustain a high-quality, lasting relationship ( Busby et al, 2022 ). We discuss the results in terms of the cross-sectional findings and the two-wave time period findings below.…”

Sexual passion in couple relationships: Emerging patterns from dyadic response surface analysis

“…The advantage of studying sexuality by focusing on sexual passion as defined by SDT is that this ties sexuality into psychological motives, interpersonal relationships, and individual identity. In contrast much of the existing sexuality literature is more biologically and individually focused on constructs such as sexual desire, frequency, the response cycle, or other aspects of the sexuality that are isolated from an underlying theory (Busby et al, 2022). The idea in SDT is that when behaviors follow from motivations that are more autonomous (intrinsic), rather than extrinsic motivations they will more consistently lead to higher levels of competence and relatedness.…”

“…Consequently, understanding the nuances of the sexual relationship is likely important for understanding what distinguishes couples who are flourishing from those who are struggling. In recent years, the concept of sexual passion has been shown to be one element of the sexual relationship that is strongly associated with specific aspects of regular sexual experiences, as well as with overall sexual and relationship outcomes for couples (Busby et al, 2020; Busby et al, 2022; Leavitt et al, 2019). These findings suggest that the quantity and quality of sexual passion that couples develop in their relationships may be of central importance to their feelings about their overall romantic relationship.…”

“…Although not using recently developed measures of sexual passion, studies exploring different types of sexual dysfunction, such as hypersexuality in men and arousal difficulties in women and men, suggest the possibility that perhaps one partner's overly intense focus on sex might interact in negative ways with the other partner's inhibited sexual tendencies (Hendrickx et al, 2019; Rosen, 2000). In addition, research on the sexual arousal process of couples has demonstrated that with one sample approximately 14% of couples experience the problematic pattern where one partner experiences relatively low levels of desire and arousal while the other partner experiences high levels (Busby et al, 2022). Indeed, couples with high levels of discrepancy in sexual desire and arousal also had higher levels of OSP and ISP and poorer sexual and relational quality outcomes.…”