Intimacy Promotes Couples’ Sexual Well-Being on a Daily Basis and Over One Year: The Role of Positive Sexual Cues

📖 Top 20% JournalJun 13, 2024Archives of sexual behavior

Intimacy Helps Couples' Sexual Well-Being Daily and Over a Year Through Positive Sexual Signals

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Abstract

A convenience sample of 211 couples reported that greater intimacy is associated with higher levels of positive sexual cues.

Intimacy involves self-disclosure and empathic response, which is positively linked to sexuality outcomes.
Daily analysis indicated that intimacy enhances both partners' attention to positive sexual cues, leading to increased sexual desire and satisfaction.
Lower sexual distress was also connected to higher intimacy and attention to positive sexual cues.
Longitudinal findings suggested that an individual's daily intimacy is linked to their sexual desire and satisfaction after 12 months through increased positive sexual cues.
The study highlights the importance of considering daily variations in intimacy and sexual well-being across diverse couples.

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There is growing interest in identifying factors that promote sexual well-being in romantic relationships. One such factor is intimacy-a process involving self-disclosure and empathic response that is positively associated with sexuality outcomes. However, most work among community couples examined cross-sectional associations in mixed-sex/gender couples using a single sexual outcome, which may not capture daily variations in intimacy and different dimensions of sexual well-being among a diversity of unions over time. Additionally, potential mediating mechanisms of the intimacy-sexual well-being association, such as attention to positive sexual cues (i.e., sexual thoughts and feelings), have been neglected. Adopting daily diary and longitudinal designs, the present study examined whether greater intimacy was associated with higher levels of positive sexual cues and, in turn, higher sexual well-being (sexual desire, satisfaction and distress). A convenience sample of 211 couples (M = 30.2 years; SD = 8.3; 75 sexually diverse couples) completed a survey on days of sexual activity with their partner, over a 35-day period and 12 months later. Daily results showed that intimacy was related to greater attention to positive sexual cues for both partners, which in turn was associated with their greater sexual desire and satisfaction and lower sexual distress. Longitudinal results showed that a person's greater daily intimacy was linked to their own greater sexual desire and satisfaction 12 months later via their own higher positive sexual cues, but not to their partner's cues or well-being. Findings extend interpersonal models of sexual well-being and support the role of intimacy and positive sexual cues therein. age

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