Sexual Practices and Sexual Satisfaction: A Population Based Study of Chinese Urban Adults

Abstract

This study examined sexual satisfaction and its social and behavioral correlates among urbanites aged 20-64 in China, using data from a nationally representative sample of 1,194 women and 1,217 men with a spouse or other long-term sexual partner with whom they had sex during the last year. The results from structural equation models suggest a multiplex set of determinants of sexual satisfaction, including relationship characteristics, sexual knowledge and personal values, physical vitality, and environmental impediments. A large proportion of the effect of these background characteristics was mediated by frequent orgasms, varied sexual practices, and perceived partner affection. In particular, much of the effect of knowledge and beliefs was mediated through variety in sexual practices. While many of the observed patterns were shared among women and men, much of the effect of relationship characteristics was mediated through perceived partner affection for women. Men, in contrast, paid greater attention to his partner's physical attractiveness and to her extramarital sex. A sexual transition is well underway in urban China, even if more rapidly for men than for women. While knowledge and values are arguably more important in this transitional period, many antecedents of sexual well-being drawn from the literature on sexual behavior in developed Western countries are also applicable to urban China.

Profiles of Higher Earning Wives in Hong Kong and the Implications for Marital Satisfaction

“…The plausible explanation is that the married women's employment in contemporary Hong Kong should be looked on dialectically, which may fulfill employed women's career aspirations and enhance family financial well-being on the positive side (Spain & Bianchi, 1996), and may also lead to work-family conflict as a result of long working hours on the negative side (Ng & Chakrabaty, 2005). Compared with their husbands, lower earning wives reported lower marital satisfaction, which is consistent with both Western and Chinese findings (Parish et al, 2007;Shek, 1995;Zhang et al, 2012). It is well known that women are more sensitive to the emotional quality of marital relationships whereas men benefit from the status of being married (Nock, 2001).…”

Accounting for Women’s Orgasm and Sexual Enjoyment in College Hookups and Relationships

“…Studies find a strong association between form of stimulation and orgasm (Fugl-Meyer et al 2006;Herbenick et al 2010;Mah and Binik 2001). Men and women are more likely to orgasm if they engage in a greater number of sexual practices (Haavio-Mannila and Kontula 1997;Parish et al 2007; Richters et al 2006). For women, oral or manual genital stimulation increases orgasm (Bancroft 2002;Fugl-Meyer et al 2006;Herbenick et al 2010;Richters et al 2006).…”

“…For women, oral or manual genital stimulation increases orgasm (Bancroft 2002;Fugl-Meyer et al 2006;Herbenick et al 2010;Richters et al 2006). Sexual knowledge increases sexual satisfaction, and health problems diminish it (Carpenter, Nathanson, and Kim 2009;Parish et al 2007). The technical approach focuses on the embodied character of sexuality.…”

Women’s Experiences of Sexual Pleasure in Ghana

“…Foreplay is one of such factors that stimulate sexual pleasure. Although foreplay is an experience that may be part of sexual activity, foreplay is a significant component of the attainment of sexual pleasure (Bancroft et al 2003;Kennedy and Dean 1995;Parish et al 2007). Factors such as odors and smell of the body and around the genitalia influence the extent to which an individual is willing to engage a partner in foreplay such as kissing or licking a partner's genitals (Kohl and Francoeur 1995).…”