Exploring actor and partner correlates of sexual satisfaction among married couples

Abstract

Using the Interpersonal Exchange Model of Sexual Satisfaction, we consider how infidelity, pornography consumption, marital satisfaction, sexual frequency, premarital sex, and cohabitation are associated with married couples’ sexual satisfaction. Data from 433 couples are analyzed with structural equation models to determine the contributions of (a) each respondent’s predictors (actor effects) and (b) his/her spouse’s predictors (partner effects). No gender differences in actor and partner effects emerge. Marital satisfaction and sexual frequency act as rewards and increase sexual satisfaction. A partner effect emerges for marital infidelity, suggesting that a spouse’s infidelity is costly for sexual satisfaction. Finally, some evidence suggests that pornography consumption is costly for own and spouse’s sexual satisfaction, especially when pornography is used by only one spouse.

Introduction

Sexuality is a key component of the marriage relationship. Not surprisingly, there is a high correlation between satisfaction with one’s sexual relationship and satisfaction with the overall relationship (Henderson-King and Veroff, 1994, Sprecher and Cate, 2004, Young et al., 1998). Sexual satisfaction is also linked to union stability (Edwards and Booth, 1994, Oggins et al., 1993, White and Keith, 1990, Yabiku and Gager, forthcoming). Despite the importance of the sexual relationship to the marriage relationship, there has been relatively little scholarly work on the topic. This may be because sex within committed relationships is not considered abnormal or problematic and many view the topic as private or even taboo (Call et al., 1995, Christopher and Sprecher, 2000, Laumann et al., 1994). Yet, because of its significant relationship with overall relationship satisfaction, the topic of sexuality within marriage is important to explore.

Our research on sexual satisfaction among married couples makes two important contributions. First, within the framework of the Interpersonal Exchange Model of Sexual Satisfaction (IEMSS), we consider unique correlates of sexual satisfaction, including each partner’s use of pornography and history of infidelity, as well as whether the couple waited until marriage to have sex with each other and whether they cohabited with each other or other partners before marriage. In addition, we consider the effects of marital satisfaction and frequency of sex, more commonly used predictor variables in the IEMSS framework. Second, we add to the literature on sexual satisfaction by using dyadic data and rigorous dyadic analytic techniques, using newly collected data from 433 married couples (N = 866 individuals). Although relationship scholars are increasingly interviewing both spouses in couples, the use of “best-practice” analytic methods for dyads is less common (Kashy et al., 2006). To model the non-independence of dyad members, our analysis uses the Actor–Partner Interdependence Model (Kashy and Kenny, 2000), which proposes that both the respondent’s predictor variables (actor effects) and respondent’s partner’s predictor variables (partner effects) influence the respondent’s outcome variable. Because some important gender differences in sexuality (Oliver and Hyde, 1993, Peplau, 2003) and marriage (Nock, 2001) have been documented, we also test for gender differences in actor and partner effects. By analyzing couple-level data with dyadic techniques, we can explore the differences between husbands and wives and between actors and partners, enabling a better understanding of the dynamics of sexual satisfaction among heterosexual married couples.