Erin E. Fallis

The importance of sexual self‐disclosure to sexual satisfaction and functioning in committed relationships.

INTRODUCTION Past research indicates that sexual self-disclosure, or the degree to which an individual is open with his or her partner about sexual preferences, is a key aspect of sexual satisfaction and that partners lack of knowledge about ones sexual preferences is associated with persistent sexual dysfunction. AIMS To replicate and extend past research by examining (i) how ones own levels of sexual self-disclosure are related to ones own sexual health (after controlling for partners levels of sexual self-disclosure); (ii) how ones partners levels of sexual self-disclosure are associated with ones own sexual health (after controlling for ones own levels of sexual self-disclosure); and (iii) whether gender moderates the associations between sexual self-disclosure and sexual health. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Scores from the Golombok Rust Inventory of Sexual Satisfaction and the Sexual Communication Satisfaction Scale. METHODS A cross-sectional dyadic study using a convenience sample of 91 heterosexual couples in long-term committed relationships. Data were analyzed using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model. RESULTS Ones own level of sexual self-disclosure is positively associated with ones own sexual satisfaction, β = -0.24, t(172.85) = -3.50, P < 0.001. Furthermore, partners level of sexual self-disclosure is associated with mens sexual satisfaction but not with womens sexual satisfaction, β = -0.45, t(86.81) = -4.06, P < 0.001 and β = 0.02, t(87.00) = 0.20, ns, respectively. The association between own self-disclosure and sexual problems is stronger for women as compared with men, β = -0.72, t(87.00) = -6.31, P < 0.001 and β = -0.24, t(86.27) = -3.04, P < 0.01, respectively. CONCLUSIONS Our results demonstrate that sexual self-disclosure is significantly associated with sexual satisfaction and functioning for both men and women, albeit in different ways. Our findings underscore the importance of sexual self-disclosure and highlight the importance of the interpersonal level of analysis in understanding human sexuality.

Marital Satisfaction and Communication Behaviors During Sexual and Nonsexual Conflict Discussions in Newlywed Couples: A Pilot Study

The way couples communicate during conflict discussions has been found to be a reliable predictor of marital satisfaction. However, in previous research, there has been little experimental control over the selection of topics. The present study examined, in a sample of 15 newlywed couples, whether affective displays during the discussion of a sexual and a nonsexual conflict topic differentially predict current marital satisfaction. Communication behaviors were coded using an adaptation of the Specific Affect Coding System, resulting in composite “negative behavior” and “positive behavior” categories. Data were analyzed using multilevel modeling. Negative behaviors displayed during the nonsexual conflict discussions were not significantly related to concurrent self-reported relationship satisfaction. In contrast, for wives, negative behaviors displayed during the discussion of a sexual problem were significantly related to lower levels of relationship satisfaction. For the sexual and nonsexual conflict discussions, positive behaviors were positively associated with relationship satisfaction, although this effect did not reach statistical significance. Overall, the authors’ findings emphasize the importance of incorporating sexual variables in the study of marriage. Furthermore, their study represents an important step in recognizing that marital research benefits from an examination of specific topics of conflict as a factor to consider in studies of marital functioning.

Perceptions of Partner Sexual Satisfaction in Heterosexual Committed Relationships

Sexual script theory implies that partners’ ability to gauge one another’s level of sexual satisfaction is a key factor in determining their own sexual satisfaction. However, relatively little research has examined how well partners gauge one another’s sexual satisfaction and the factors that predict their accuracy. We hypothesized that the degree of bias in partner judgments of sexual satisfaction would be associated with quality of sexual communication. We further posited that emotion recognition would ameliorate the biases in judgment such that poor communicators with good emotion recognition would make less biased judgments of partner satisfaction. Participants were 84 married or cohabiting heterosexual couples who completed measures of their own and their partners’ sexual satisfaction, relationship satisfaction, quality of communication about sexual issues within their relationships, and emotion recognition ability. Results indicated that both men and women tended to be accurate in perceiving their partners’ levels of sexual satisfaction (i.e., partner perceptions were strongly correlated with self-reports). One sample t-tests indicated that men’s perceptions of their partners’ sexual satisfaction were biased such that they slightly underestimated their partners’ levels of sexual satisfaction whereas women neither over- nor underestimated their partners’ sexual satisfaction. However, the gender difference was not significant. Bias was attenuated by quality of sexual communication, which interacted with emotion recognition ability such that when sexual communication was good, there was no significant association between emotion recognition ability and bias, but when sexual communication was poor, better emotion recognition ability was associated with less bias.

How Is Sexual Communication Different from Nonsexual Communication? A Moment-by-Moment Analysis of Discussions Between Romantic Partners

Our goal was to investigate whether systematic differences exist in how couples discuss sexual versus nonsexual conflicts in their relationships and to explore the nature of these differences. We compared sexual and nonsexual conflict discussions on two key dimensions of interpersonal behavior: warmth and dominance. Past theoretical work suggests that there are unique barriers to sexual communication that lead partners to perceive such communication as being more threatening to the relationship and to the self (Metts & Cupach, 1989). Empirical findings have supported this perspective by demonstrating that sexual communication tends to be avoided by couples (e.g., Byers, 2011). Extending this notion further, we reasoned that relationship partners should behave in ways to mitigate the increased perceived threat associated with sexual communication, leading to observable differences in how couples navigate sexual versus nonsexual relationship conflicts. We recruited a sample of 115 couples in established relationships and asked each couple to engage in two recorded interactions: one sexual and one nonsexual conflict discussion. Subsequently, each partner was coded continuously on the two dimensions of warmth and dominance. We found a number of differences in how couples discussed sexual versus nonsexual conflicts. Further, couples reported higher levels of anxiety in advance of sexual, as compared to nonsexual, conflict discussions. However, anxiety did not mediate the observed differences in communication. The theoretical and clinical implications of these findings are discussed.

An Interpersonal Investigation of Sexual Self-Schemas.

A sexual self-schema is a cognitive generalization about sexual aspects of the self. In the current study, we examined how an individual’s sexual self-schema influenced the processing of self and partner related sexual information. Specifically, we investigated how sexual self-schemas related to own and partner sexual satisfaction and how they influenced perceptions of partner sexual satisfaction. Participants were 117 heterosexual couples in committed, long-term relationships. Both partners completed measures assessing their sexual self-schemas, their own sexual satisfaction, and perceptions of partner sexual satisfaction. Consistent with our predictions, own sexual schema was associated with own sexual satisfaction. For men, more positive sexual self-schemas were associated with greater sexual satisfaction, and for women, more negative sexual self-schemas were associated with lower sexual satisfaction. For both men and women, there was no significant association between own sexual self-schema and partner sexual satisfaction. Sexual self-schemas directly and indirectly influenced an individual’s perception of the partner’s sexual satisfaction, such that men and women with more positive sexual self-schemas rated their partners as more sexually satisfied, after controlling for the partner’s self-reported level of sexual satisfaction. Our findings demonstrated that sexual self-schemas are relevant to own sexual satisfaction as well as the processing of interpersonally relevant sexual information, specifically one’s perceptions of partner sexual satisfaction.

The Influence of Attachment Styles on Sexual Communication Behavior

Attachment theory is one of the major theoretical frameworks for understanding romantic relationships. Attachment styles are formed through interactions with caregivers and shape an individual’s expectations of subsequent interpersonal relationships. In this study, we examined how attachment styles influence participants’ ability to communicate with their partners about problems in their sexual relationship. A community sample of 81 couples engaged in two video-recorded discussions, one representing an aspect of the couple’s sexual relationship where the male partner wanted change and the second representing an aspect of the sexual relationship where the female partner wanted change. Conversations were then coded, with each person being rated on three positive communication dimensions (positive affect, offering solutions, and responsiveness) and three negative communication dimensions (hostility, negative affect, and unskilled communication behaviors). As predicted, attachment avoidance was related to more negative and less positive communication for both the individual and his or her partner. Our observational data did not reveal any significant effects of attachment anxiety on sexual communication. These results can be contrasted with findings from self-report studies that do suggest an anxious attachment adversely impacts sexual communication.