Sexual Disclosures: Connections to Relational Satisfaction and Closeness

This study examines sexual communication by describing the content of sexual disclosures within marital relationships and assessing the association between sexual disclosures and relational outcomes, specifically relational satisfaction and closeness. A survey administered to 293 married individuals (58% female) who had an average age of 40 years (range = 20–73), 13.7 years of marriage (range = 1 month to 54 years), and who reported high levels of relational satisfaction assessed the relation between the content of sexual disclosures and satisfaction and closeness. While sexual disclosures are made infrequently, positive affect and sexual preferences are disclosed more than negative topics and disclosing sexual information is positively related to relationship satisfaction, rρ(280) =.26, p rs(280) =.475,

Intimacy, sexual satisfaction and sexual distress in vulvodynia couples : an observational study

Note de l'éditeur : This article may not exactly replicate the final version published in the APA journal. It is not the copy of record. / Cet article ne constitue pas la version officielle, et peut différer de la version publiée dans la revue.Objective. Vulvodynia is a prevalent idiopathic pain condition with deleterious consequences for the sexuality of affected women and their spouses. Intimacy has been identified as a facilitator of adjustment to health difficulties in couples. Two components of intimacy were examined among couples with vulvodynia – empathic response and disclosure – in relation to their sexual satisfaction and sexual distress. Methods. Using an observational design, 50 women (M age= 24.50, SD = 4.03) diagnosed with vulvodynia and their spouses (M age = 26.10, SD = 5.70) participated in a filmed discussion focusing on the impact of vulvodynia on their lives. Empathic response and disclosure were assessed by a trained observer and self-reported by participants after engaging in the discussion. The Actor-Partner Interdependence Model guided the data analyses. Results. Women’s and spouses’ higher observed and perceived empathic response were associated with their own and their partners’ greater sexual satisfaction. Women’s and spouses’ higher perceived disclosure were associated with their own and their partners’ greater sexual satisfaction. Women’s and spouses’ higher observed empathic response were associated with their own lower sexual distress. Women’s higher observed empathic response was associated with their spouses’ lower sexual distress. Women and spouses’ perceived greater empathic response were associated with their own lower sexual distress. Women’s and spouses’ greater perceived disclosure during the discussion were associated with their own and their partners’ lower sexual distress. Conclusions. Promoting empathic response and disclosure through couple interventions may buffer against the sexual distress and sexual dissatisfaction of couples coping with vulvodynia

How do Money, Sex, and Stress Influence Marital Instability?

This study explored how money and sex simultaneously predicted marital instability, and what financial therapists might focus on with clients to address problems in these areas. Specifically, this paper concurrently examined the relationship of marital instability to financial and family stressors (financial stressors, work-family conflict, and parenting stressors); financial and sexual resources (couple income and couple sexual frequency); and financial and sexual perceptions (financial dissatisfaction and sexual dissatisfaction). Couple financial communication and couple relational communication were explored as intervention points for financial therapists. Data came from Wave 2 of the Flourishing Families data set (N = 301). Data were organized using the ABC-X model of family stress (Hill, 1949) and integrated with Gottman\u27s research on the importance of relational communication (Navarra, Gottman, & Gottman, 2016). Path analysis revealed that family financial stressors were associated with greater financial dissatisfaction and sexual dissatisfaction. Work-family conflict was associated with greater couple income, and parenting stressors were positively associated with sexual dissatisfaction. Couple income was associated with lower financial dissatisfaction, and sexual frequency was associated with lower sexual dissatisfaction. Both financial dissatisfaction and sexual dissatisfaction predicted greater marital instability; however, healthy couple financial communication and healthy couple relationship communication fully mediated these two associations. This suggests that if financial therapists help clients to communicate more productively about money and sex, problems such as financial stress, work-family conflict, inadequate income, and conflicts about sexual frequency may be less likely to lead to divorce

Goal matching in couple therapy: individual and couple level trajectories

2018 Summer.Includes bibliographical references.In couple therapy, the degree to which partners are aligned in their therapy goals is important and is understudied in the psychotherapy literature. Individual and couple level factors likely influence whether a couple has matched or mismatched goals at the first session. These factors include open expression and flexibility of each individual partner, as well as the relational factors of commitment and sexual satisfaction. The therapeutic alliance was also examined to investigate the association with belonging to a relationship with matched versus mismatch goals. Data were gathered from couples who were in naturalistic couple therapy, from sessions one through ten. Growth models were performed to examine base line differences and trajectory differences between goal matched versus goal mismatched groups. Results revealed that couples reported significantly lower commitment and sexual satisfaction in the goal mismatched group, as compared to the goal matched group, at the initial therapy session, and no significant trajectory differences were found between these two groups for these variables across sessions. In addition, those in the goal matching group reported higher ratings of the individual alliance and between partners alliance (within-alliance) at the initial session. As sessions progressed, couples in the goal mismatch group displayed significantly higher within-alliance ratings, as compared to those couples in the matched group. These data suggest that couples with matched versus mismatched therapy goals start therapy in different places in regard to commitment and sexual satisfaction, and therapist may play an important role in helping couples become more aligned as therapy progresses. Implications for therapists who are working with couples that present with goal match or mismatch are offered

Gender Norm Conformity, Uncertainty, Communication, and Satisfaction Within Romantic Relationships: a Dyadic Model

Marital satisfaction is associated with better overall life satisfaction (Holt-Lunstad, Birmingham, & Jones, 2008) and myriad positive health outcomes (Beach & O’Leary, 1993; Kiecolt-Glaser & Newton, 2001). Sexual script theory suggests that within heterosexual romantic relationships, scripts are “the mechanism through which appropriate identities are made congruent with desired expectations” (Simon & Gagnon, 1984, p. 53). To examine how gender norm conformity within heterosexual relationships may be influenced by situational cues and to measure how norm conformity is related to interpersonal outcomes, I recruited 35 dyads for participation in a date description task and a questionnaire which measured gender norm conformity, relational uncertainty, relational communication, and relationship satisfaction. Multilevel modeling and the actor-partner interdependence model (APIM; Kenny, Kashy, & Cook, 2006) was used for analysis. The results of the study were mixed; there were no differences in gender norm conformity between primed dyads and non-primed dyads, and no significant partner effects were found. However, several significant actor effects were found. This study improves understanding of the relationship between gender norm conformity and interpersonal relationship outcomes by expanding the research on partner effects. These effects are useful for clinicians working with couples to improve relationship communication and satisfaction

Satisfacción sexual en España: Estudio de la influencia de variables relacionales y sociodemográficas.

Treball Final de Màster Universitari en Psicologia General Sanitària. Codi: SBF018. Curs: 2018/2019.Introducción. La satisfacción sexual es un elemento central de la vida sexual y un derecho humano, con fuertes repercusiones sobre la salud, el bienestar y a calidad de vida de las personas. Sin embargo, el conocimiento sobre este constructo y sus determinantes es aún considerado insuficiente en España, lo que justifica la realización del presente estudio. Objetivos. Estudiar la satisfacción sexual en población española, analizando sus niveles y la influencia de variables de carácter sociodemográfico (edad, género, nivel de estudios, estado civil, tipo de relación y orientación sexual) y relacional (incertidumbre relacional y comunicación sexual diádica). Método. La muestra se compone de 235 personas con pareja sexual y edades comprendidas entre 18 y 70 años (M=30,17, DT= 12,33). Todos respondieron a un cuestionario online formado por una escala de datos sociodemográficos y la versión traducida ad hoc de la Escala de Incertidumbre Relacional (Knobloch, Miller, Bond y Mannone, 2007), la Escala de Comunicación Sexual Diádica (DSC) (Catania,1986) y el Cuestionario de Satisfacción Sexual (Brown y Weigel, 2017). Resultados. Se observan altos niveles de satisfacción sexual en la muestra (M=17,78, DT=3,01) explicados en un 49,4% por a juventud de los participantes, sus bajos niveles de incertidumbre relacional y una buena comunicación sexual diádica. Conclusiones. Los hallazgos sugieren la importancia del estudio de las variables de carácter relacional, que se postulan como fuertes predictores de los niveles de satisfacción sexual en España

Fat Talk Is Perceived As More Detrimental To Romantic Relationships Than Other Forms Of Self-Berating Dialog

This study examined men’s perceptions of a woman’s interpersonal qualities, and her male romantic partner’s relationship and sexual satisfaction, when she engaged in three types of dialog -- Fat Talk (FT; the verbal expression of body dissatisfaction; Nichter & Vuckovic, 1994), Dumb Talk (DT; an author-developed term for verbally degrading one’s own intelligence), or Neutral Talk. Participants watched one of three versions of a video interview with a fictional couple, Michael and Jessica, across which Jessica’s dialog varied. In one version, Jessica berates her body and weight (FT); in one version she berates her intelligence (DT); and in one version she does not self-criticize (Neutral). Participants completed self-report measures following the video viewing, which assessed relationship satisfaction, sexual satisfaction, and Jessica’s interpersonal qualities, as if they were Michael. Results showed that FT yielded the poorest interpersonal quality evaluations of the female partner, while DT yielded the highest sexual satisfaction ratings for the male partner

Modeling dyadic effects in the associations between relational uncertainty, sexual communication, and sexual satisfaction for husbands and wives

This study models the individual and dyadic associations between relational uncertainty, indirect communication about sexual intimacy, and sexual satisfaction within marital relationships. A sample of 220 married couples completed questionnaires about their sexual relationship and hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling. Results indicated that (a) relational uncertainty is positively associated with indirect communication about sexual intimacy for both husbands and wives, (b) indirect sexual communication is negatively associated with husbands’ and wives’ own sexual satisfaction, (c) husbands’ and wives’ sexual satisfaction and indirectness about sexual intimacy are positively associated, and (d) husbands’ and wives’ indirect communication about sexual intimacy are negatively associated with their spouse’s sexual satisfaction. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for understanding the dynamics of sexual intimacy within marriage.Peer reviewed

L’intimité chez les couples dont la femme présente une vulvodynie : étude des relations entre la réponse empathique, le dévoilement et le bien-être sexuel

L’étude de l’intimité a été négligée chez les couples dont la femme présente une vulvodynie, un problème de santé sexuelle qui affecte négativement les femmes et leurs partenaires. Or, l’intimité a été associée à des indicateurs d’adaptation psychologique et conjugale auprès d’autres populations cliniques. L’objectif de la thèse était d’examiner les liens entre l’intimité et le bien-être sexuel chez les femmes présentant de la vulvodynie et leurs partenaires. Le but du premier article était d’examiner l’intimité conjugale et l’intimité sexuelle en lien avec la satisfaction sexuelle, la fonction sexuelle, le sentiment d’auto-efficacité face à la douleur et l’intensité de la douleur vulvo-vaginale de la femme. Quatre-vingt-onze femmes présentant de la vulvodynie et leurs partenaires ont complété des mesures auto-rapportées. Chez les femmes, une plus grande intimité sexuelle a été associée à une satisfaction sexuelle et à un sentiment d’auto-efficacité plus élevés. Des degrés plus élevés d’intimité conjugale et sexuelle ont été associés à une fonction sexuelle plus élevée. L’intimité sexuelle et conjugale n’ont pas été associées à l’intensité de la douleur. Le deuxième article visait, par une méthodologie observationnelle et des mesures auto-rapportées, à examiner les associations entre deux composantes centrales de l’intimité – le dévoilement et la réponse empathique – et la satisfaction et la détresse sexuelle chez cinquante femmes et leurs partenaires. Le dévoilement et la réponse empathique ont été évalués selon la perspective d’une observatrice formée et auto-rapportés par les couples après une tâche de discussion. Les femmes et les partenaires ayant une plus grande réponse empathique rapportaient eux-mêmes une satisfaction sexuelle plus élevée. Pendant la discussion, une plus grande réponse empathique chez les femmes a été associée à une plus grande satisfaction sexuelle chez leurs partenaires. Un plus grand dévoilement chez le couple, tel que perçu par les femmes et leurs partenaires, a été associé à une plus grande satisfaction sexuelle chez les partenaires. Une plus grande réponse empathique chez les femmes a été associée à une plus faible détresse sexuelle chez les partenaires. Un plus grand dévoilement chez le couple, tel que perçu par les partenaires, a été associé à une plus faible détresse sexuelle chez ces derniers. Les implications cliniques, théoriques et méthodologiques de la thèse sont discutées.Intimacy has been a neglected area of research among couples coping with vulvodynia, a sexual health problem which has a negative impact on the sexual well-being of both the woman and her partner. Yet, intimacy has been associated with indicators of psychological and marital adjustment in other clinical populations. The main goal of this thesis was to investigate associations between intimacy and sexual well-being in women with vulvodynia and their partners. The first article aimed to examine relationship intimacy and sexual intimacy in relation to sexual satisfaction, sexual function, pain self-efficacy and pain during intercourse in women. Ninety-one women with vulvodynia and their partners completed self-report questionnaires. Women’s higher sexual intimacy was associated with their higher sexual satisfaction and pain self-efficacy. Women’s higher relationship intimacy and sexual intimacy were also associated with their higher sexual function. Relationship intimacy and sexual intimacy were not associated with pain intensity. Using a combination of observational and self-report methodologies, the second article aimed to investigate the associations between two central components of intimacy – empathic response and disclosure – and sexual satisfaction and distress among fifty women and their partners. Disclosure and empathic response were measured from the perspective of a trained observer and self-reported by women and their partners immediately following a discussion task. During the discussion, greater empathic response in women and partners were associated with their own higher sexual satisfaction. Greater women’s empathic response was associated with their partners’ higher sexual satisfaction. Greater disclosure in couples, as perceived by women and partners, was associated with higher partners’ sexual satisfaction. Greater empathic response in women was associated with partners’ lower sexual distress. Greater disclosure in couples, as perceived by partners, was associated with partners’ lower sexual distress. Clinical, theoretical, methodological implications of the thesis are discussed

The Role of Sexual Communication in Committed Relationships

In this Master’s thesis, I describe a study to understand the role that sexual communication plays within committed couple relationships. I collected data from 142 couples who completed an online survey consisting of a battery of quantitative assessments measuring relationship satisfaction, sexual satisfaction, communication processes, and sexual communication. Using dyadic data analysis within path analysis, I observed the significant paths of influence that different types of sexual communication has within couple relationships. Findings revealed that couples who discussed sex more were more likely to be relationally and sexually satisfied. I also observed the differences in sexual communication and general communication due to the differences in their associations with sexual and relationship satisfaction, respectively. With these analyses I expand the current literature to broaden and deepen our understanding of the role that sexual communication plays in committed relationships