Sexuality leads to boosts in mood and meaning in life with no evidence for the reverse direction: A daily diary investigation.

Abstract

Sex is rarely discussed in theories of well-being and rarely empirically examined using methods other than cross-sectional surveys. In the present study, a daily diary approach was used (for 21 days with 152 adults) to explore the relationship between the presence and quality of sexual episodes and well-being (positive affect, negative affect, meaning in life). Time-lagged analyses demonstrated that sexual activity on 1 day was related to greater well-being the next. As for the quality of episodes, higher reported sexual pleasure and intimacy predicted greater positive affect and lower negative affect the following day. When the reverse direction was tested, well-being did not predict next-day sexual activity, pleasure, or intimacy. These results suggest a unidirectional relationship in which the presence and quality of sexual activity lead to gains in well-being the following day. Contextual moderators (gender, relationship status, relationship closeness, and relationship length) allowed for tests of conditions altering the link between sexuality and well-being. Relationship closeness was the most robust moderator in predicting greater levels of meaning in life and positive affect following sexual episodes. These data provide evidence to support the continual consideration of sex in empirical work and theoretical models of elements that comprise healthy relationships and a good life. (PsycINFO Database Record

A Temperament-Attachment-Mentalization-Based (TAM) Theory of Personality and Its Disorders

“…People differ grossly in their threshold for sexual activation and sexual conduct, due to an interplay of sex hormone levels, learned habits, and different moral reasoning. However, differences among individuals in sexual lust, and their implications, remain understudied in research of personality and its disorders, as well as in psychopathology more broadly (Forbes et al., 2017; Kashdan et al., 2018) – despite the historical legacy of C. Darwin and S. Freud.…”

Self-expansion is associated with greater relationship and sexual well-being for couples coping with low sexual desire

“…Conflict and distress are common for couples coping with a sexual problem and may even contribute to sexual dysfunction (Metz & Epstein, 2002). In general, a lack of interest in sex tends to be associated with poorer well-being (e.g., stress; Bodenmann, Atkins, Schär, & Poffet, 2010), whereas having more intimate sexual encounters is associated with greater well-being (e.g., positive affect; Kashdan, Goodman, Stiksma, Milius, & McKnight, 2018).…”

Partner intimate touch is associated with increased interpersonal closeness, especially in non-romantic partners

“…Others report having sex to express closeness and intimacy with a partner [98]. A daily diary study suggested that sexual activity with a romantic partner increased relationship closeness and positive emotions for several days [85]. Notably, the reverse was not true: simply being in a positive mood did not increase the later likelihood of sexual activity in that study.…”

“…Exploratory analysis was consistent with the idea that practicing OM more frequently might offer some more sustained increase in relationship closeness beyond after the OM session alone. Effects of increased closeness from non-OM sex partners appears to extend for days [85]. Depending on the mechanism, OM effects also might extend beyond the immediate time-frame of the laboratory.…”