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Background We based this study on the sexual wholeness model, which considers emotional, physical, and meaning elements of sexuality, and previous research that indicates variability in the associations among orgasm consistency, relational satisfaction, and sexual satisfaction. Aim We performed a person-based latent class approach to examine variables linked with the trifecta of orgasm consistency, relational satisfaction, and sexual satisfaction. Methods We used a Mechanical Turk sample that consisted of 1645 sexually active participants (1032 women) to evaluate classes and related variables. Outcomes Women divided into 5 classes and men into 3 classes. High orgasm consistency alone did not ensure sexual or relational satisfaction. Results We found that 5 groups emerged for women: high orgasm/low satisfaction (6%), low trifecta (8%), low orgasm/high satisfaction (16%), moderate orgasm/high satisfaction (15%), and high trifecta (55%). For men, 3 groups emerged: lower orgasm/high satisfaction (12%), moderate trifecta (14%), and high trifecta (74%). We also found that high orgasm consistency for women did not guarantee relational and sexual satisfaction, nor did lower orgasm consistency for men or women guarantee problematic relational and sexual satisfaction. Clinical Implications Communication, attachment, and sexual harmony were key elements associated with positive trifecta outcomes. Clinicians and educators may emphasize the importance of these variables when individuals encounter sexual or relational distress. Strengths and Limitations Data analytic techniques revealed a variety of groups for men and women and associations between a host of physical, psychological, and meaning variables and the trifecta of orgasm consistency, relational satisfaction, and sexual satisfaction. However, this study is cross-sectional and correlational, which limits the conclusions that we can draw from it. Conclusion While the variables of orgasm consistency, relational satisfaction, and sexual satisfaction are each informative, together they help clinicians, educators, and researchers better understand the complexity of sex.

Sexuality is a highly complex aspect of a human's existence with several elements contributing to a quality sexual relationship. This study examined a broad scope of sexuality encompassing physical, emotional, and meaning aspects of sex, or sexual wholeness. Sexual wholeness is grounded in the idea that a self-determined sexual relationship in which three innate human needs (autonomy, competence, and relatedness) are met is more likely to promote sexual well-being. Using a sample of 884 adults in long-term relationships, we used structural equation modeling to estimate the association between each of the three self-determination theory (SDT) needs and the physical, emotional, and meaning aspects of sex. We found that overall, greater SDT needs satisfaction predicted sexual wholeness, though some needs held more bearing than others and the associations with components of sexual wholeness varied. For women, the physical aspect of sex was predicted by autonomy (predicted comfort) and competence (predicted sexual knowledge) but for the physical aspects of sex for men, no significant associations were found. The emotional aspect of sex was associated with all three SDT needs for both men and women and sexual meaning was associated with competence and relatedness for both men and women.

This study presented the design of the Loss in Connection with Catastrophes Scale (LICCS). Information regarding reliability and validity were presented, alongside the potential uses of this instrument in research and clinical settings. Furthermore, the importance of attending to couple and family relationships in disaster studies was proposed, and preliminary dyadic findings examining the LICCS with a sample of heterosexual couples (N = 240) as a correlate of mental and relational well-being were set forth. The overall findings suggest (a) resource loss as well as indicators of mental and relational well-being were associated among couples and (b) greater resource loss was associated with greater distress within and between partners. This study was important in that it is one of only a few in the past two decades to utilize dyadic data in the study of couples and disasters. Directions for future study using the LICCS to understand loss processes were addressed.

In this study we explored how the amount of kissing during the most recent sexual experience (specific kissing) and amount of kissing during the last year (global kissing) were both associated with the quality of the sexual relationship and overall relationship satisfaction and dissatisfaction. To understand these associations, we obtained surveys from a national sample of 878 participants who had been in a romantic relationship for at least two years. We evaluated their results through a structural equation model and found that for women the rates of specific kissing were associated with their ability to orgasm, sexual frequency, and indirectly to sexual satisfaction. For both men and women, measures of global kissing were associated with both sexual and relationship satisfaction but more strongly with measures of sexual and relationship dissatisfaction. These findings suggest that measures of kissing could be used as a bellwether of both the quality of the sexual relationship for women and of feelings of dissatisfaction about both the sexual and overall relationship for both sexes.

Marriage is an important adult relationship, and recent research indicates that sexual mindfulness, awareness and non-judgment, may be an important tool in helping maintain relational and sexual well-being. Using a nationally representative U.S. sample of newly married, mixed-sex couples (women’s age M = 29.70 years; men’s age M = 31.76 years; N = 1473 couples), we evaluated whether the two factors of sexual mindfulness, awareness and non-judgment, were linked with relational flourishing, sexual harmony, and orgasm consistency. We utilized an actor–partner interdependence model within a structural equation modeling framework to evaluate how husbands’ and wives’ awareness and non-judgment were associated with relational flourishing, sexual harmony, and orgasm consistency. Results indicated that both wives’ and husbands’ awareness was positively associated with relational flourishing, sexual harmony, and orgasm consistency. Partner effects were found for all outcomes. However, no partner effects were found between non-judgment and orgasm consistency. Therapists, educators, and couples may consider the use of sexual mindfulness skills when addressing marriage and sexual relationships.

Religiosity can influence sexual satisfaction both positively and negatively. To test positive and negative mechanisms, we assessed how religiosity is indirectly associated with sexual satisfaction through sexual sanctification and inhibited sexual passion. We sampled individuals from Amazon's Mechanical Turk (N = 1,695, Study 1) and mixed-sex dyads from Bovitz Inc. (N = 481 dyads, Study 2). Religiosity consistently had a positive indirect association with sexual satisfaction through sexual sanctification; little evidence suggested religiosity had an indirect association with sexual satisfaction through inhibited sexual passion. When accounting for these mechanisms simultaneously, however, religiosity consistently had a negative direct association with sexual satisfaction, supporting the possibility of religious dualities. In the couple study, men's religiosity predicted their partner reporting higher sexual sanctification (for married couples), but women's religiosity did not predict partner sexual sanctification. Altogether, these results paint a complex picture for how religiosity might influence sexuality. Understanding the nuance of these results may help people maximize the potential benefits of their belief systems in sexual relationships. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Previous scholars have found that when individuals feel that pornography use is uncontrollable, it is linked to more extreme negative outcomes than frequency of use. With a Mechanical Turk sample of 1421 individuals, we used structural equation modeling to evaluate how multiple aspects of sexual desire (sexual drive and dyadic desire) and multiple aspects of sexual passion expression (harmonious, obsessive, and inhibited) were associated with both pornography use frequency and perceived compulsivity to pornography. In general, sexual desire was more connected to pornography use and sexual passion was more connected to perceived compulsivity. Specifically, sexual drive was associated with higher pornography use, whereas both obsessive and inhibited sexual passion were associated with higher perceived compulsivity. The study should help scholars, clinicians, and policy makers to identify factors that can help to overcome potentially problematic pornography use and approach this subject with more nuance.

With the increase in the availability and usage of pornography, the research on the effects of pornography has also increased. This research has uncovered several controversies in the field regarding how pornography usage influences attitudes, sexual behaviors, and relationships. However, many of the measures of pornography are problematic as there is often little reliability and validity information for them and it is not clear that participants in these research studies are referring to the same types of materials when they answer pornography usage questions. Consequently, many of the research findings are suspect and it is crucial to develop reliable and valid scales to measure general pornography usage. In this study, we present both a 20-item and a 7-item version of the Pornography Usage Measure (PUM) that is based on extensive previous research on what types of materials individuals consider pornographic and that indicates pornography is a multidimensional construct. We evaluated the reliability and validity of both versions by using an MTurk sample of 934 males and 705 females (N =1639 total) to conduct confirmatory factor analyses, item response analyses, and structural equation model analyses. These analyses demonstrated that there were adequate reliability and early evidence for content, construct, concurrent, and predictive validity for both versions of the PUM. This measure could improve the quality of future research on pornography by providing more consistency between different studies about what is being measured when individuals indicate their pornography usage patterns.

In this study we explored why there are sometimes conflicting findings regarding the influence of past sexual experience on relationships. Consequently, we studied the effects of body-esteem and re...

The COVID-19 (SARS-COV-2) pandemic has had a significant impact on multiple domains of daily functioning in communities, families, and couples. Research on couple dynamics amid mass stress events using dyadic data is still limited. As such, the current study employed a cross-lagged panel design with 535 cisgender, heterosexual couples to explore longitudinal paths between pandemic-related loss, attachment behaviors, trauma coping self-efficacy, and anxiety symptoms. Data were collected at three time points between April and October 2020. The findings demonstrated the potentially mobilizing nature of loss. Higher levels of loss associated with higher levels of attachment behaviors in partners later and higher levels of trauma coping self-efficacy for men in a partner effect at one lag. Higher levels of attachment behaviors generally associated with improved trauma coping self-efficacy at the next wave within and across partners, and higher levels of trauma coping self-efficacy appeared to offset later anxiety within partners. On the other hand, within partners, greater loss is associated with lower levels of attachment behaviors within partners across time. Furthermore, higher anxiety is associated with lower levels of TCSE and higher levels of loss within partners across most lags. Finally, higher trauma coping self-efficacy is associated with less loss within men at one lag, and greater loss within men at the later lag, which may demonstrate stress and efforts to mobilize to meet it. Indirect effects were found implying the intermediary nature of anxiety and trauma coping self-efficacy in explaining wave 3 anxiety. Implications for practice and further research are discussed.La pandemia de la COVID-19 (SARS-COV-2) ha tenido un efecto significativo en varios aspectos del funcionamiento diario de las comunidades, las familias y las parejas. Las investigaciones sobre la dinámica de pareja en medio de situaciones de estrés masivo usando datos diádicos aún son escasas. Por lo tanto, en el presente estudio se utilizó un diseño de panel de retardo cruzado con 535 parejas cisgénero heterosexuales a fin de analizar las pautas longitudinales entre la pérdida, las conductas de apego, la autoeficacia para afrontar el trauma y los síntomas de ansiedad relacionados con la pandemia. Se recogieron datos en tres intervalos de tiempo entre abril y octubre de 2020. Los resultados demostraron la índole posiblemente movilizadora de la pérdida. Los niveles más altos de pérdida se asociaron con niveles más altos de conductas de apego en las parejas posteriormente, y con niveles más altos de autoeficacia para afrontar el trauma en los hombres en un efecto de la pareja durante un periodo. Los niveles más altos de conductas de apego se asociaron generalmente con una mejor autoeficacia para afrontar el trauma en la fase siguiente dentro y entre los integrantes de la pareja, y los niveles más altos de autoeficacia para afrontar el trauma parecieron compensar la ansiedad posterior dentro de los integrantes de la pareja. Por el otro lado, dentro de los integrantes de la pareja, una mayor pérdida se asoció con niveles más bajos de conductas de apego dentro de los integrantes de la pareja a lo largo del tiempo. Además, los niveles más altos de ansiedad se asociaron con niveles más bajos de autoeficacia para afrontar el trauma y con niveles más altos de pérdida dentro de los integrantes de la pareja durante la mayoría de los periodos. Finalmente, los niveles más altos de autoeficacia para afrontar el trauma se asociaron con una menor pérdida dentro de los hombres en un periodo, y con una mayor pérdida dentro de los hombres en el periodo posterior, lo cual puede demostrar estrés y esfuerzos para movilizarse y ocuparse. Se hallaron efectos indirectos, los cuales indicaron la índole intermediaria de la ansiedad y la autoeficacia para afrontar el trauma a la hora de explicar la ansiedad de la tercera fase. Se comentan las consecuencias para la práctica y las investigaciones futuras.COVID-19 (SARS-COV-2) 大流行对社区、家庭和伴侣的日常功能等多个领域产生了重大影响。使用二维数据针对大型压力事件中的伴侣动态进行的研究是比较有限的。因此, 本研究采用了交叉滞后的看板设计, 对535对非变性的异性恋夫妇, 以探索与疫情有关的丧亲、依恋行为、创伤应对的自我效能和焦虑症状之间的纵向路径。数据是在2020年4月至10月的三个时间点收集的。研究结果表明, 丧失亲人具有潜在的动员性。较高的丧失水平与后来伴侣中较高水平的依恋行为有关, 在一个滞后的伴侣效应中, 男性的创伤应对自我效能感水平较高。较高的依恋行为水平通常与下一波伴侣内和伴侣间的创伤应对自我效能的提高有关, 较高的创伤应对自我效能水平似乎抵消了伴侣内后来的焦虑。另一方面, 在伴侣内部, 更大的损失与伴侣内部不同时期的依恋行为水平的降低有关。此外, 较高的焦虑与较低的TCSE水平和较高的伴侣内部损失水平有关, 在大多数滞后期。最后, 较高的创伤应对自我效能感在一个滞后期与男性内部较少的损失有关, 而在较晚的滞后期与男性内部较大的损失有关, 这可能表明压力和动员起来应对压力的努力。间接效应的发现意味着焦虑和创伤应对自我效能感在解释第三波焦虑中的中介性质。本文还讨论了对实践和进一步研究的影响。.

The association between religiosity and the construct of sexual passion was examined to see whether religiosity is associated with harmonious, inhibited, and obsessive sexual passion styles. Using multiple regression and checking for interactions between religiosity, gender, broad categories of religion (Catholic, other Christian, other religious, nonreligious), and the three sexual passion styles, the following associations were found: Religiosity had a significant curvilinear relationship to all three sexual passion styles, suggesting an overlap in levels of religiosity and the construct of sexual passion. Optimal sexual passion outcomes were found at both higher and lower levels of religiosity, whereas mid-level religiosity was associated with the less beneficial sexual passion outcomes. Religious men were significantly more obsessively passionate than religious women, and religious men and women were similarly high on levels of harmonious and low on inhibited sexual passion. There were no significant interactions between religiosity, broad categories of religion, and sexual passion styles. Understanding how religion and sexual passion are associated could be useful for applied researchers as well as those who work with religious individuals who want to help these individuals develop beneficial patterns of sexual passion.

Kissing can be thought of as a relationship maintenance behavior and/or as part of the sexual repertoire. Using data from 1,605 participants in committed relationships for at least two years, we an...

In this study, the relationships between attachment patterns and relationship outcomes were explored through the mechanism of sexuality with two large samples from the U.S. In the first sample ( N = 4,834), the associations between insecure attachment patterns, the number of committed and casual sexual partners, timing of sexual debut, and relationship status were explored. In the second sample, a nationally representative sample of recently married couples ( N = 4212), an actor–partner model was used to explore the associations with attachment on the number of sexual partners and sexual timing and their subsequent influence on relationship and sexual satisfaction over two time points. The results indicated that, for Sample 1, insecure attachment was associated with both the number of casual and committed sexual partners and an increased likelihood of being single for men and women. For Sample 2, the actor–partner measures of attachment were associated with relationship and sexual satisfaction over two time points but had weak associations with the number of sexual partners and sexual timing.

The objectives were to examine the recently emerging topic of sexual passion in relationships by addressing four research questions: Was sexual passion in a relationship distinct from general passion for sexuality, general passion in life, and romantic passion? Did the different sexual passion styles in a relationship meet the criteria for a passion? What were general descriptive statistics for passion styles in a nationally representative sample? Was obsessive sexual passion relevant when explored in more depth? Data were collected data on a variety of measures from three distinct samples, including a sample of 1776 individuals in a committed romantic relationship sampled from the Amazon Mechanical Turk (MTurk); a nationally representative newly married sample of 1813 couples; and a sample of 244 couples from MTurk. Sexual passion in relationships was strongly associated with sexual and relationship satisfaction and was distinct from other constructs such as general passion, romantic passion, and general sexual passion. The results from the couple datasets demonstrated that the harmonious passion style was the most common of the three styles and was the most predictive of relationship outcomes. The inhibited sexual passion style had substantial negative associations with relationship outcomes. Couples where one partner had higher scores on obsessive sexual passion and the other partner had higher scores on inhibited sexual passion had lower scores on relationship outcomes. The results provided support for the importance of sexual passion in relationships and the differential associations of the three passion styles with sexual and relationship satisfaction.

Based upon the psychological needs delimited in self-determination theory, we created the sexual wholeness model to encapsulate the different dimensions (physical, emotional, and meaning) that create couple sexuality. We evaluated the model with data from two national samples (Sample 1, n = 610; Sample 2, n = 884), by examining the association between sexual, relationship, and life satisfaction, and attachment with the different elements of the sexual wholeness model using harmonious sexual passion as an intermediate variable. The emotional dimension had the strongest associations in both samples with harmonious sexual passion and all other outcomes except attachment. The physical dimension of sexuality had a surprisingly strong association with attachment and sexual satisfaction. In addition, couples' self-evaluation of the degree of sexual wholeness in their relationship was strongly associated with harmonious passion and all other outcomes, providing another level of validity to the dimensions of the model and the potential utility for using this model to assist in couple therapy.

In this study we explored the sexual response process in couple relationships. With a U.S. sample of 383 mixed-sex couples we found seven different classes of couple sexual response using Dyadic Latent Class Growth Analysis for ratings of self and partner about their most recent sexual experience. These classes ranged from synchronous High Arousal (31.6%) and Medium Arousal (27.7%) groups, to a few classes where one partner had a quick arousal process and the other partner had very low levels of arousal. Couples in these classes were differentiated on their levels of accuracy in understanding what their partner was experiencing, as one class had couples where men experienced higher arousal than women in the first part of the experience, but the male partner was aware of the discrepancy (Equifinality, 6.8%, i.e. couples start at different levels of arousal but end up at the same place), and another where men experienced higher arousal than women throughout the experience, but men inaccurately thought their partner also experienced higher arousal (Inaccurate Split, 7.3%). The seven classes had significantly different values on variables measuring the quality of the specific sexual experience. These classes also significantly differed on a variety of measures assessing the overall sexual relationship and the relationship as a whole. These findings counter the argument that the sexual response cycle is uniform for most couples.

The presence of and search for meaning has divergent and salient outcomes for individuals' physical, mental, and emotional well-being. Although numerous domains of meaning have been examined, the literature on the meaning of sex is sparse and lacks a quantitative measure. In this study, we evaluated a new general Meaning of Sex (MOS) Measure that captured the presence of (MOS-P) and search for (MOS-S) the meaning of sex by analyzing how these subscales were associated with important relational and sexual outcomes (i.e., relationship stability and satisfaction and sexual satisfaction) in two samples. For Sample 1, all participants (N = 865) reported engaging in what they considered to be sexual intercourse and were either single or in a relationship. For Sample 2, all participants (N = 884) reported being in a committed relationship for at least two years. With both samples, confirmatory factor analyses showed good construct validity as the two subscales were distinct from one another and had good reliability. The analyses also demonstrated divergent validity between both scales and meaning in life, sexual motivations, sexual beliefs, and religiosity. The MOS-S had a strong (and negative) association with relationship stability in both samples. The MOS-P had a strong (and positive) association with relationship satisfaction in both samples.La presencia y la búsqueda de significado tiene consecuencias divergentes y prominentes para el bienestar físico, mental y emocional de las personas. Aunque se han analizado varios componentes de significado, la bibliografía sobre el significado del sexo es escasa y carece de un instrumento de medición cuantitativo. En este estudio, evaluamos un nuevo instrumento general de medición del significado del sexo que captó la presencia y la búsqueda del significado del sexo analizando cómo estas subescalas estuvieron asociadas con resultados sexuales y relacionales importantes (p. ej.: la estabilidad y la satisfacción en la relación y la satisfacción sexual) en dos muestras. En la muestra 1, todos los participantes (N = 865) informaron participar en lo que consideraron relaciones sexuales y estaban solteros o en una relación. En la muestra 2, todos los participantes (N = 884) informaron estar en una relación de pareja estable durante al menos dos años. Con ambas muestras, los análisis factoriales confirmatorios indicaron una buena validez de constructo, ya que las dos subescalas eran distintas entre sí y tenían buena fiabilidad. Los análisis también indicaron una validez divergente entre ambas escalas y el significado en la vida, las motivaciones sexuales, las creencias sexuales y la religiosidad. La búsqueda del significado del sexo tuvo una asociación fuerte (y negativa) con la estabilidad de la relación en ambas muestras. La presencia del significado del sexo tuvo una asociación fuerte (y positiva) con la satisfacción en la relación en ambas muestras.意义的存在和对意义的探索对个体的身体、精神和情绪健康有不同和显著的结果。虽然研究了许多意义领域，但关于性的意义的文献却很少，而且缺乏定量的测量。在本研究中, 我们评估一个新的通用的性的意义 (MOS)的测量，来把握性的意义存在(MOS-P)和性的意义搜索(MOS-S), 通过分析两个样本中这些分量表是如何反应重要的相关关系和性生活的结果(例如, 关系稳定和满意度和性满足)。在样本1中，所有参与者(N = 865)都报告了他们认为是性交的行为，参与者的婚姻关系有未婚单身，或处于恋爱关系中。在样本2中，所有被试(N = 884)报告处于稳定而负责的关系中至少两年。验证性因素分析结果显示，两个分量表具有不同的信度，具有较好的结构效度。分析也显示了量表和生活意义、性动机、性信仰和宗教信仰之间的不同效度。在两个样本中，MOS-S与关系稳定性有很强的(和负的)关联。在两个样本中，MOS-P与关系满意度有很强的(和正的)关联。.

Childhood exposure to physical violence and sexual abuse is a public health concern and is empirically connected to poor outcomes in adulthood. The present study was designed to assess dyadic associations between exposure to childhood physical violence and sexual abuse, and resolution, or a sense that one has “come to terms” with events in one’s family of origin. The study was also aimed at assessing whether attachment behaviors mediated associations between abuse, violence, and resolution. The study was carried out using data from a community sample of 3,836 heterosexual couples who completed the Relationship Evaluation Questionnaire inventory. Actor–Partner Interdependence Modeling was employed within a structural equation model to examine associations. Results suggested inverse, direct actor associations for both men and women between physical violence and sexual abuse, and coming to terms. The results also showed inverse, direct partner associations for both men and women between sexual abuse and coming to terms. Furthermore, findings indicated the presence of inverse, indirect actor and partner effects for men and women between physical violence and coming to terms. Examination of these specific indirect partner and actor effects from physical violence to coming to terms implies partial mediation carried through one’s own rating of attachment behaviors. Finally, actor (but not partner) associations were noted between attachment behaviors and coming to terms. In aggregate, the findings support the potential benefit of enhancing investment in attachment behaviors as a resource to aid in the resolution process of exposure to physical violence and sexual abuse in childhood.

Attachment insecurity is negatively linked to sexual satisfaction in committed relationships, but we have much to learn about the specific mechanisms underlying this connection. With a sample of 1,421 participants from Amazon's Mechanical Turk, we used structural equation modeling to explore whether sexual passion expression (harmonious, obsessive, inhibited) might mediate the association between insecure attachment (anxious and avoidant) and sexual satisfaction. Anxious attachment was linked to lower harmonious sexual passion, higher obsessive sexual passion, and higher inhibited sexual passion. Attachment avoidance was linked to lower harmonious sexual passion and higher inhibited sexual passion. Harmonious sexual passion was strongly linked to higher sexual satisfaction, and inhibited sexual passion was negatively linked to sexual satisfaction (for men). Sexual passion expression variables fully mediated the associations between attachment insecurity and sexual satisfaction. This study highlights that the expression of sexual passion may be important when considering the connection between attachment and sexual satisfaction.

Marriage is an important adult relationship, and recent research indicates that sexual mindfulness, awareness and non-judgment, may be an important tool in helping maintain relational and sexual well-being. Using a nationally representative U.S. sample of newly married, mixed-sex couples (women's age M = 29.70 years; men's age M = 31.76 years; N = 1473 couples), we evaluated whether the two factors of sexual mindfulness, awareness and non-judgment, were linked with relational flourishing, sexual harmony, and orgasm consistency. We utilized an actor-partner interdependence model within a structural equation modeling framework to evaluate how husbands' and wives' awareness and non-judgment were associated with relational flourishing, sexual harmony, and orgasm consistency. Results indicated that both wives' and husbands' awareness was positively associated with relational flourishing, sexual harmony, and orgasm consistency. Partner effects were found for all outcomes. However, no partner effects were found between non-judgment and orgasm consistency. Therapists, educators, and couples may consider the use of sexual mindfulness skills when addressing marriage and sexual relationships.

In this methodological study we use the concept of couple forgiveness to explore how to utilize couple data to assess and analyze the systemic idea of a shared reality and other constructs. That is, when couples have a shared reality about a given topic (forgiveness) does that shared view enhance marital outcomes? Shared reality theory, would predict that if forgiveness is scored using a discrepancy calculation, net of previous marital quality and other standard controls, there will be significant and positive increases in relationship quality as discrepancy decreases. Data to evaluate these ideas were collected over three-years from interviews of a community sample of 324 couples. The initial ideas about a shared reality were confirmed in only a few instances. However, individual and combined ratings were significantly associated with couple outcomes but the amount of shared reality was generally not. These findings imply that couple data continues to be crucial for predicting relationship outcomes but combining scores may be more helpful than evaluating discrepancy, at least with a relational construct like forgiveness. Additionally, we found that women’s assessment of personal or partner forgiveness was more statistically powerful in predicting positive marital outcomes than men’s assessments.

The purpose of this study is to discuss the need for a new triadic model of sexual passion in relationships and to present the preliminary psychometric properties of a scale designed to measure these three approaches to passion (harmonious, obsessive, and inhibited) for use in clinical and scholarly work. Existing theory and measures of general passion are based on a dualistic model of passion that includes the harmonious and obsessive approaches to passion. We added the inhibited approach to passion from the sexuality research and develop measures for assessing sexual passion in relationships. We utilized an Amazon Mechanical Turk sample of 1,421 individuals in committed relationships to test this measure. Reliability analyses and confirmatory factory analyses evinced that these three approaches to sexual passion were unique constructs and distinct from sexual satisfaction. Sexual passion showed predictive validity above and beyond relationship length, sexual desire toward a partner, and a broader variable of sexual drive. Harmonious sexual passion robustly predicted higher sexual satisfaction and relationship satisfaction, and inhibited sexual passion moderately predicted lower sexual satisfaction and relationship satisfaction. Obsessive sexual passion had minimal associations with either outcome. These new constructs, especially harmonious and inhibited sexual passion, may help scholars and practitioners improve their understanding of sexual satisfaction and overall relationship satisfaction.El propósito de este artículo es debatir la necesidad de un nuevo modelo triádico de pasión sexual en las relaciones y presentar las propiedades psicométricas preliminares de una escala diseñada para medir estos tres enfoques de la pasión (armonioso, obsesivo e inhibido) a fin de usarlos en trabajos clínicos y académicos. La teoría y las escalas actuales de la pasión en general se basan en un modelo dualista de la pasión que incluye los enfoques armonioso y obsesivo de la pasión. Nosotros agregamos el enfoque inhibido de la pasión a partir de la investigación sobre sexualidad y desarrollamos escalas para evaluar la pasión sexual en las relaciones. Utilizamos una muestra de Amazon Mechanical Turk de 1421 personas en relaciones de pareja estables para probar esta escala. Los análisis de fiabilidad y los análisis factoriales confirmatorios demostraron que estos tres enfoques de la pasión sexual eran constructos únicos y diferentes de la satisfacción sexual. La pasión sexual demostró validez predictiva más allá de la duración de la relación, el deseo sexual hacia una pareja y una variable más amplia de impulso sexual. La pasión sexual armoniosa predijo sólidamente mayor satisfaccion sexual y satisfacción con la relación, la pasión sexual inhibida predijo moderadamente menor satisfacción sexual y satisfacción con la relación. La pasión sexual obsesiva tuvo asociaciones mínimas con ambos criterios. Estos nuevos constructos, especialmente la pasión sexual armoniosa y la inhibida, pueden ayudar a los investigadores y a los profesionales a mejorar su comprensión de la la satisfacción sexual y de la satisfacción con la relación en general.本文旨在讨论对于恋爱关系中情欲激情新的三元模型的需求并提出一个在临床和研究工作中测量三个研究激情方法(和谐,强迫性,以及压抑性)度量衡的初步心理测量学特性。现有理论和总体激情测量是基于一个包括和谐和强迫性激情研究方法的二元激情模型。我们从性研究和评估恋爱关系中性激情的发展测量增加了压抑性激情研究方法。我们使用由1421个在稳定恋爱关系中的个人组成的Amazon Mechanical Turk样本来测试该尺度. 可靠度分析和确证因素分析表明这三个研究性激情的方法是独特建构,和性满足不同。性激情表现出超越关系长度,对伴侣性欲望以及更广泛性欲变量的预测有效性。和谐性激情可靠预测较高的性满意度和关系满意度。压抑性性激情预测较低的性满意度和关系满意度。强迫性性激情和两个结果相关性低。这些新的建构,特别是和谐和压抑性性激情,可能帮助研究者和实践者改善其对性满足和整体关系满意度的理解。.

Pornography has received increased scholarly and policy attention, as the rate of online pornography consumption has increased and the availability of sexually explicit material grows. However, few studies have taken into consideration how personal definitions of what sexual material is perceived as pornographic may influence the correlates and outcomes associated with such consumption. Using a sample of 1639 individuals sampled online from the MTurk website, we explored how definitions of sexual material as pornographic are related to actual use and how differences between the perceptions of sexual material as pornography and use of such material were associated with depressive symptoms. Results suggested that the perception of sexual material as pornographic was significantly related to usage patterns and that this pattern varied based on how explicit the material was. Results also suggested that individual differences between perception and use were significantly related to depression. Specifically, viewing sexual material one does not deem as pornographic was related to higher levels of depressive symptoms. However, global acceptance of pornography and the general perception of sexual content as pornographic or not did not moderate associations between pornography use and depressive symptoms. Implications for future research and for the further understanding of the effects of pornography use are discussed.

Using clinically relevant research methodology, this study focuses on differences (cross-partner difference scores) in perceptions of attachment behaviors (emotional accessibility, responsiveness, and engagement) between partners in couples therapy. In general, findings suggest that higher levels of self-enhancement attachment behaviors (participant perceives self as demonstrating more attachment behaviors than the partner's ratings of the participant) are associated with lower relationship satisfaction and greater relationship instability. The association between attachment behavior difference scores and measures of relationship health is mediated through partner perceived positive communication. These results suggest that differences in perceptions between partners' level of attachment behaviors are an important clinical construct for therapy. As such, clinical recommendations for addressing self-enhancing attachment behaviors, and the mediating role of positive communication, are discussed with recommendations for researchers.

The purpose of this study was to explore the potential genesis of conflict styles for couples by evaluating the association between parents’ conflict styles and those of their adult children and their adult children’s partners. Using Social Learning Theory as a theoretical foundation, the four conflict typologies from Gottman’s work (avoidant, validating, volatile, and hostile) were applied to study the participants’ conflict styles. Multinomial logistic regression was then conducted on a sample of 25,511 participants, testing the relationships between the conflict styles of parents, their adult children’s conflict styles, and their adult children’s partners’ conflict styles. All of the perceived parental conflict styles were linked to the same conflict styles in adult children. However, for adult children and their partners, the patterns were mixed. Whereas having validating parents predicted having validating partners, having avoidant or hostile parents predicted having hostile partners. The results suggest the possibility of the intergenerational transmission of conflict styles between parents and their adult children as well as contributing to the established research on assortative mating in that individuals may be more likely to select partners who are similar to them in terms of their approaches to conflict. The results of this study have important implications for intervening early in families with less functional conflict styles.

Relationship education (RE) usually is conceived of as relationship enhancement for currently satisfied couples, with a goal of helping couples sustain satisfaction. However, RE also might be useful as a brief, indicated intervention for couples with low satisfaction. The current study evaluated the effect of RE on couples with low and high relationship satisfaction. The study was a randomized controlled trial in which 182 couples were randomly assigned to: a book reading control condition (control); RELATE online assessment with feedback and relationship goal setting (RELATE); or RELATE with CoupleCARE (RCC), a flexible delivery skill-based education program. Couples were assessed on relationship satisfaction and individual mental health before and after RE, and through to 4-year follow-up. Couples with high initial satisfaction showed no effects of RE on satisfaction. RCC but not RELATE increased satisfaction in couples with low initial satisfaction, but effects dissipated between 6 and 12 months after RE. There were no effects of RE on mental health. Flexible delivery RE produces immediate effects as an indicated early intervention for couples with low relationship satisfaction, but the effects attenuate. Future research needs to seek methods to produce better maintained effects. (PsycINFO Database Record

Pornography may be a construct with a single trait or one with many traits. Research in the past was inconsistent in this regard with most researchers assuming that pornography was unidimensional (with one single trait of pornography). However, the considerable amounts of residual variation found in these studies beyond that explained by the single trait hints at what might be a multidimensional construct (with multiple traits such as sensitization and differentiation). Consequently, in this study, we intended to address the question of whether pornography consisted of a single trait or if it was multidimensional. Using MTurk, 2173 participants from the United States and the Commonwealth of Nations (in which pornography is not strictly illegal) were recruited and asked to rate how pornographic they thought a list of different depictions were. The data were analyzed utilizing the cross-validation procedure in which two subsamples were created from the main sample and one was used to establish the model building and the other to validate the model. Various models, including first-order and higher-order exploratory and confirmatory factor models, were tested. Results indicated that a bi-factor (multidimensional) model generated the best model fit, and that it was most appropriate to consider pornography multidimensional. The final model contained two dimensions ("Sensitization" and "Differentiation"). While sensitization revealed the participants' general tendency to rate all items to be more or less pornographic, differentiation revealed the participants' tendency to differentiate highly pornographic items from less pornographic items. Based on the findings of this study, we suggest that future research on the usage and effects of pornography be conducted while taking into consideration the multidimensional nature of pornography.

Historically the male sexual response cycle was seen as uniform and used as the standard for women. Recent research has suggested that men's sexual response cycle may vary more than previously thought. We asked 520 sexually active men between the ages of 18-73 to report on their sexual desire and arousal patterns during their last sexual experience. Using a latent class mixture model from retrospective sexual response data, we found five classes of desire and arousal patterns. These patterns were examined for associations with demographics, outcomes during the sexual experience, and outcomes for the global relationship. The experiences of arousal and desire appear to be indistinguishable for men in this sample. The Fluctuation sexual response class (19% of men) and the High sexual response class (40%) were significantly different from most of the other classes in duration of their sexual experiences and overall satisfaction with their sexual experiences. Still, most sexual response patterns were associated with healthy relational and sexual outcomes. Variability in the male sexual response cycle is important to acknowledge and normalize.

Introduction Using an online survey, we evaluated how adolescent trait and state mindfulness was associated with positive adolescent outcomes in non-sexually active and sexually active adolescents. Additionally, we evaluated a newly developed measure, the Sexual Mindfulness Measure (SMM), with adolescents. Methods We asked 2000 U.S. adolescents (half boys/girls; 1/3 low, medium, and high incomes) aged 13–18 (one group 13–15, another 16–18) about trait mindfulness, sexual state mindfulness, and adolescent outcomes. Using Confirmatory Factor Analysis and structured equation modeling, we evaluated the reliability and validity of the SMM and its associations with adolescent outcomes. Results Using a trait mindfulness measure, we found that mindful adolescents with no sexual experience, showed positive associations with self-efficacy, body-esteem, and disclosure with both fathers and mothers. Evaluating adolescents who were sexually active, we confirmed that the SMM had a two-factor structure and demonstrated acceptable reliability for both male and female adolescents. We found that the SMM was associated with positive sexual attitudes, body image, self-efficacy, and disclosure to parents above and beyond trait mindfulness. Conclusions Trait mindfulness was associated with positive self-assessments and parental disclosure. The SMM provided an important assessment of how sexually active adolescents’ ability to remain aware and non-judgmental during sexual experiences may be positively associated with outcomes such as sexual consent, positive body image, self-efficacy, disclosure to parents, and negatively associated with sexual shame and sexual anxiety above and beyond trait mindfulness.

Background Curvilinearity has been found for sexual frequency, but research has not examined whether curvilinear associations exist for other aspects of sexual relationships like orgasm consistency. Aim We examined whether there is curvilinearity and the nature of that curvilinearity between orgasm consistency and sexual and relational satisfaction for men and women. Methods With pooled samples of 1,619 and 1,695 men and women from Amazon's Mechanical Turk, we examined the differences of orgasm consistency values and both sexual satisfaction and relationship satisfaction through analysis of variance. We then tested for curvilinearity between orgasm consistency and sexual and relational satisfaction with regression analyses. Outcomes For men we found no evidence of a curvilinear relationship, but for women we found a curvilinear relationship between orgasm consistency values and both sexual satisfaction and relationship satisfaction. Results Across tests, the overall picture suggests that there is no curvilinear association for men, but there is for women. For women, with each unit increase in orgasm consistency, the increase in sexual satisfaction and relationship satisfaction became progressively smaller. Past the 61-80% threshold for orgasm consistency, there was little gain in sexual satisfaction and no gain in relational satisfaction. Clinical Translation Physicians, therapists, and educators can reorient women's orgasm expectations by explaining that having regular orgasms—not necessarily always—is associated with satisfaction in their relationship and sexual experience. Strengths & Limitations Converging large samples and data analytic techniques evinced the curvilinear association between orgasm consistency and both relational and sexual satisfaction for women. However, this study is cross-sectional and correlational, which limits the conclusions we can draw from it. Conclusion While men's orgasm consistency is linearly associated with relational and sexual satisfaction, more consistent orgasms seem to be associated with women's sexual and relational satisfaction, to a point. Leavitt CE, Leonhardt ND, Busby DM, et al. When Is Enough Enough? Orgasm's Curvilinear Association With Relational and Sexual Satisfaction. J Sex Med 2021;18:167–178.

Research has suggested women's sexual response cycle may vary more than previously thought. We asked 769 sexually active women between the ages of 18-70 to report on their sexual desire and arousal patterns during their last sexual experience. Using a latent class mixture model from retrospective sexual response data, we found six classes of desire and arousal patterns (Low, Middle Steady, High Fluctuation, Low Fluctuation, Upper Steady, High). We examined how these patterns were related to demographics, outcomes during the sexual experience, and outcomes for the global relationship. The Low sexual response class (8% of women) was significantly different from other classes in duration of the sexual experience, orgasms, and overall satisfaction with the sexual experience. Most sexual response patterns were associated with healthy relational and sexual outcomes. All classes except for the Low arousal and desire class showed associations with a neutral or positive sexual satisfaction evaluation. The non-problematic variation of women's sexual experience is an important concept to consider as it impacts determinations of dysfunction and women's self-evaluations. Not all women need to experience high levels of arousal throughout the sexual experience or to have desire at the outset in order to have positive sexual experiences and sexual outcomes.

Perhaps the most notable finding of pornography research to date is the sizeable gender gap that exists between men and women when it comes to their personal use and acceptance of pornography. This disparity raises a number of questions about couple formation patterns and the relationship dynamics that arise between men and women related to pornography use. In this study, the authors used both a nationally representative weighted data set of individuals who are in committed heterosexual couple relationships (n = 21,555) and a subset of matched heterosexual couples (n = 2,972 individuals; 1,486 couples) to examine romantic partners' pornography use rates, patterns of viewing pornography alone or together, relationship boundaries related to pornography acceptance, and pornography-related conflict. The authors found that there is indeed a notable “pornography gap” between many partners and that for some opposite-sex couples there is significant conflict related to pornography. These findings highligh...

Using matched, heterosexual couple data from the Relationship Evaluation Questionnaire (RELATE; n = 326 couples), an adapted common-fate approach was used to examine both common and unique attributes of husbands' and wives' acceptance of pornography and sexual satisfaction as well as husbands' and wives' pornography use. It was expected that spouses' unique as well as shared variance of pornography acceptance would be significantly associated with husbands' and wives' levels of personal pornography use and that these use patterns would be significantly associated with husbands' and wives' unique as well as shared variance of sexual satisfaction. It was also expected that pornography use would significantly mediate the relationship between pornography acceptance and sexual satisfaction. Results indicated that the shared variance of pornography acceptance was positively associated with both spouses' pornography use and that spouses' pornography use was negatively associated with their own sexual satisfaction. Wives' pornography use was found to be positively associated with the couple's shared variance of sexual satisfaction, but pornography use did not significantly mediate the relationship between pornography acceptance and sexual satisfaction. These findings emphasize the complexity of pornography use in couple relationships and the importance of studying pornography acceptance and use as a coupling dynamic within marriages rather than just an individual behavior.

Traumatic experiences within and outside the family of origin in childhood may disrupt couple functioning later in life. Using a sample of 3,958 couples assessed through the Relationship Evaluation Questionnaire (RELATE), an actor-partner independence model was fit to test direct and indirect associations between negative impact from one's family of origin (accounting for physical violence and sexual abuse) and resources in couple relationships. Resources were defined using intervention principles derived from the Conservation of Resources (COR) theory. Actor and partner effects suggested negative family impact associates with relationship instability and is mediated through negative couple communication. Actor effects suggested negative family impact associates with less calmness in one's self and is also mediated through negative couple communication.

Harmonious, obsessive, and inhibited sexual passion comprise the Triadic Model of Sexual Passion. Research has shown that together they play an important role in sexual and relationship satisfaction. Little is known, however, about the factors that predict the likelihood of having these types of passion expression. Using a Mechanical Turk sample of 1414 individuals, we estimated structural equation models to evaluate how relationship factors (i.e., relationship length, sexual desire, sexual drive) and individual factors (i.e., attachment style, childhood abuse, personality) predict the three constructs from the Triadic Model of Sexual Passion. In general, those with higher sexual desire, secure attachment, no childhood abuse, and low impulsivity and shyness were most likely to report optimal sexual passion (higher harmonious, lower inhibited, and lower obsessive sexual passion). By better understanding how these factors predict sexual passion expression, couples may have an increased likelihood of experiencing harmonious sexual passion in their sexual relationships.

Background Self-reported orgasm, perception of partner's orgasm, and misperception of partner's orgasm have each been correlated with individual sexual and relationship satisfaction, but these associations have rarely included dyadic data, have not fully accounted for potentially confounding variables such as sexual communication, and have never been simultaneously studied with a nationally representative sample. Aim To provide a more complete picture of how the orgasmic experience within the heterosexual couple influences individual and partner sexual and relationship satisfaction. Methods Using a nationally representative dyadic sample of 1,683 newlywed heterosexual couples, a structural equation model was estimated to test associations between husband and wife self-reported orgasm frequency, husband and wife report of the other partner's orgasm frequency, and husband and wife misperception of their partner's orgasm frequency, as correlates of relationship and sexual satisfaction. Outcomes Both husband and wife completed the Couples Satisfaction Index to assess their own relationship satisfaction, and completed a sexual satisfaction instrument designed for the CREATE study. Results 87% of husbands and 49% of wives reported consistently experiencing orgasm. 43% of husbands misperceived how often their wives experienced orgasm. The final structural equation model, including sexual communication, explained moderate amounts of variance in wives' and husbands' relationship satisfaction, and a high level of variance for wives' and husbands' sexual satisfaction. Wives' relationship satisfaction was positively associated with wives' and husbands' sexual communication. Wives' sexual satisfaction was positively associated with self-reported orgasm frequency, and both wives' and husbands' sexual communication. Husbands' relationship satisfaction was positively associated with husbands' and wives' sexual communication. Husbands' sexual satisfaction was positively associated with husbands' perception of wives' orgasm frequency, and both husbands' and wives' sexual communication. Clinical Translation When counseling couples, clinicians should give particular attention to the wife's orgasm experiences, to potentially help both husbands and wives have higher sexual satisfaction. Strengths & Limitations Strengths of this study include the use of a nationally representative sample and dyadic data. Limitations include cross-sectional data, and the assessment of sexual experiences only in newlywed couples. Conclusion Wives' orgasm (wives' self-report of frequency and husbands' perception of frequency) has a unique positive association with sexual satisfaction, even after taking into account other aspects of the orgasm experience and sexual communication.

Partner enhancement is an important relational process that has been linked to better relationship outcomes in existing research. However, little is known about variables that might be associated with the practice of partner enhancement. In this study, we utilized an ecosystemic model with a sample of 1,432 couples and an actor/partner interdependence model to explore whether the family of origin, attachment avoidance and anxiety, and social network approval predicted partner enhancement scores. The results indicated that the family of origin was only indirectly associated with partner enhancement through attachment and social network approval. The best predictors of partner enhancement were attachment avoidance and social network approval. Higher scores on actor attachment avoidance were related to higher scores on partner enhancement contrary to expectations. Curiously, partner effects for attachment avoidance were the opposite in that higher scores were associated with lower levels of partner enhancement. Attachment anxiety was associated with lower scores on partner enhancement for both actor and partner effects, and social network approval was associated with higher scores on partner enhancement.

Numerous studies have focused on the intergenerational transmission of poverty, financial stress, and family functioning. Other research has shown how financial stressors can predict various family processes, including parent–child interactions, family conflict, and couple communication, and relationship outcomes, including marital stability and satisfaction. This study shows continued evidence that financial stress from the male and female partner's family of origin may predict marital dissatisfaction using dyadic data techniques. Also, an exploration of indirect paths also found that the presence of current financial stress partially mediates these associations.

This study explored how negative communication and spirituality influence relationship quality across four couple groups. Data was gathered from Anglo couples, interethnic Latino and Anglo couples, and Latino couples. Data was analyzed in a mediating Actor–Partner Interaction Model (APIM) with a multiple group analysis. Negative communication was negatively associated with relationship quality uniformly. Generally, male spirituality positively influenced his own relationship quality and was positively associated with female relationship quality in one group. Female spirituality was negatively associated with relationship quality for both genders in that same group and her spirituality partially mediated that process. Clinical implications are discussed.