Research on associations between online dating and later relationship and sexual satisfaction is limited. The purpose of this study is to examine the association between meeting a romantic partner online or in person and later relationship and sexual satisfaction for heterosexual males and females. Main analysis results suggest that men report higher relationship satisfaction when they met their partner online and women with a preoccupied and dismissing attachment style reported higher sexual satisfaction when they met their partner online. Overall, there were few differences in relationship and sexual satisfaction for heterosexual men and women who met their partner online or in person.

4 Abstract The Relation Between Facial Similarity of Long-Term Couples and Overall and Sexual Satisfaction in the Relationship Results suggest that people tend to choose a partner based on the theory of positive assortative mating (Penton-Voak et al., 1999b). According to this theory, individuals prefer partners with physical and mental characteristics similar to theirs. Preference for facial similarities among partners was confirmed in some studies (Hinsz, 1989; Bereczkei et al., 2004). Other studies suggest that facial resemblance evokes a feeling of familiarity and confidence, but excludes mutual attraction (De Bruine, 2004). The aim of this study was to determine whether facial similarity of long-term partners is related to the overall and sexual satisfaction in the relationship. During the final session of cohabiting relationship research (Klapilová et al., 2006 - 2009) both members of 50 long-term couples completed questionnaires assessing their overall satisfaction (Dyadic Adjustment Scale), sexual satisfaction (Hurlbert Index of Sexual Compatibility), and facial photographs of partners were taken. Then 80 participants judged the similarity of standardized facial photographs of long-term partners. Then, using a regression analysis and LMM analysis the relation between rated couples similarity and...

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between women's sexual desire and their reported level of sexual satisfaction. This study evaluated biological, psychological, and social factors of desire that might influence satisfaction. The sample for this study consisted of 77 Caucasian individuals, 45 women and 32 men, in their first marriage, who had been married on average 2 years. Results indicated that sexual desire was positively and significantly correlated with sexual satisfaction and that psychological and social factors most strongly explain women's sexual satisfaction. Further, women's perceptions of their own sexual desire, psychological and social, were more strongly associated with sexual satisfaction than their husband's perception of their desire, biological, psychological, or social.

Using questionnaires, self report, and partner report of spouse, this longitudinal investigation examined the relationship between couple insecure attachment, covert relational aggression, and sexual satisfaction of each partner one year after their initial assessment, while controlling for sexual satisfaction at the time of our initial assessment. Findings showed that wives were more impacted by both actor and partner effects of covert relational aggression. Wives' sexual satisfaction was predicted by the increase in insecure attachment of both self and spouse through covert relational aggression. Wives insecure attachment did not cause a significant decrease in husbands' sexual satisfaction at time 2. Husbands were also impacted but to a lesser degree. An increase in husbands' insecure attachment showed a significant increase in husbands' covert relational aggression. The increase in his covert relational aggression did not, however, predict a significant decline in sexual satisfaction for husbands.

This study of married couples examined the relationship between perceptions of attachment related family-of-origin experiences and sexual satisfaction directly and when mediated by marital quality. The sample consisted of 3,953 married couples who responded to the RELATionship Evaluation (RELATE). The nested model showed that more positive overall family-of-origin experiences and parent-child relationships were related to higher sexual satisfaction. When adding marital quality as a mediator, overall family-of-origin experience and the parent-child relationship were predictive of higher sexual satisfaction when mediated by marital quality but removed most direct effects to sexual satisfaction. There was a strong positive relationship between marital quality and sexual satisfaction. No major gender differences emerged and more than 50% of the variance in sexual satisfaction was explained by the full model for both males and females. Results suggest that family-of-origin experiences play an important role in the sexual satisfaction of married couples, especially when mediated by marital quality, and should be considered in treatment, education, and research.

Using a sample of 322 married couples (644 spouses) from The Flourishing Families project, this study examined the relationship between marital power and sexual satisfaction as mediated by observed hostile interaction. More specifically, an actor-partner interdependence model (APIM) was used in which husband and wife perceptions of their partner's power were hypothesized to be related to husband and wife self-report of sexual satisfaction, with husband and wife observed hostile interaction as possible mediating variables. Results showed that husband and wife perceptions of power were positively related to their respective husband and wife sexual satisfaction and positively related to their respective hostile interaction. Husband hostile interaction was negatively related to husband sexual satisfaction. Husband and wife perceptions of power were negatively related to their partner's sexual satisfaction, and positively related to their partner's hostile interaction. Husband and wife hostile interaction were negatively related to their partner's sexual satisfaction. Husband observed hostility was a statistically significant mediator of the relationship between husband power and husband sexual satisfaction and of the relationship between wife power and wife sexual satisfaction. Wife observed hostility significantly mediated the relationship between husband power and husband sexual satisfaction.

Scholars have established cross-sectional connections between how married couples navigate their finances and their sexual relationship. For example, financial management behaviors have been shown to predict sexual satisfaction among newlywed couples. However, we know very little about the direction of the association between financial management behaviors and sexual satisfaction. Understanding which might predict the other, or if there might be a bidirectional association between the two, could provide direction on where to intervene to help newlywed couples with financial and/or sexual obstacles in their marriage. With three waves of dyadic data (N = 1,208 U.S. newlywed couples), I used structural equation modeling to examine the cross-lagged, indirect associations between husbands' and wives' financial management behaviors and their own sexual satisfaction through their own marital satisfaction. Overall, I found that financial management behaviors indirectly predicted changes in sexual satisfaction through changes in marital satisfaction for both husbands and wives. I also found limited evidence that husbands' sexual satisfaction indirectly predicted changes in their own financial management behaviors through changes in their own marital satisfaction. Additionally, these indirect associations differed by gender. Implications of these findings for those who help newlywed couples with their sexual relationship are discussed.

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Individuals high in social anxiety report higher interpersonal dependency (e.g., Darcy et al., 2005), lower satisfaction with their sexual communication with their intimate partners (Montesi et al., 2009), less self-disclosure (e.g., Sparrevohn & Rapee, 2009), and less emotional expression (e.g., Spokas et al., 2009) than non-anxious individuals. In comparison to non-anxious individuals, socially anxious individuals also report lower satisfaction with various aspects of their intimate relationships including lower sexual satisfaction (Bodinger et al., 2002), less social and emotional intimacy (Schneier et al., 1994), and lower overall relationship quality (Sparrevohn & Rapee, 2009). The primary aim of the present investigation was to better understand the lack of satisfaction and fulfillment reported by socially anxious individuals in intimate relationships. Data were collected from 135 undergraduate students in committed, heterosexual, monogamous, sexually active partnerships of at least three months duration. Structural equation modeling was used to examine variations of a partially latent structural regression model in which higher social anxiety and higher interpersonal dependency were predictive of higher sexual communication reluctance and, in turn, lower overall relationship satisfaction and higher sexual dissatisfaction. Based on an examination of overall model fit statistics, chi square difference statistics, parameter coefficients, and correlation residuals, two models (one including fear of damaging the relationship and one without this variable) were retained. Both of the retained models, which included direct paths from social anxiety to satisfaction in addition to indirect paths from social anxiety and interpersonal dependency to the outcome satisfaction variables, had excellent fit (Model 1D:X²M=3.48,df=8,p=.90,RMSEA=0.00,CFI=1.00; Model 2D: X²M =15.07,df=14,p=.3, RMSEA=0.02,CFI=0.99). Exploratory hypotheses were examined. Results are discussed in terms of the benefits of open communication between intimate partners about specific areas of the sexual relationship (e.g., sexual fantasies). Future directions of study are proposed. / Psychology

Studies suggest that nearly two-thirds of women fake or have faked orgasm, yet few researchers have explicitly examined this phenomenon. Previous studies have identified some group differences between women who fake orgasm and those who do not on dimensions of sexual experience, emotion regulation, intimacy, relationship status, and sexual functioning. To date, research into this phenomenon has relied solely on variable-centered analyses (e.g., exploratory factor analysis, correlation, and regression). This study used a person-centered approach (i.e., latent class analysis; LCA) to explore differences in women's motives across individuals, using scores from the Faking Orgasm Scale. A 5-class model was determined to be most interpretable and the best fitting to the data. Classes included low, moderate, and high frequency faking orgasm, partner-focused faking orgasm, and pleasure-focused faking orgasm. These classes were then compared on dimensions of sexual functioning, intimacy, and emotion regulation, as well as demographic variables (e.g., age, length of relationship, number of sexual partners). Significant differences were found in sexual desire, sexual activity, and orgasmic consistency, but not in sexual satisfaction. Significant differences were also evidenced in intimacy, general level of emotion dysregulation, and across various dimensions of emotion regulation. No differences across classes were revealed on age, length of relationship, or number of sexual partners. These findings can serve as the foundation for further exploration into understanding women's various styles of interacting sexually with a partner and may have implications for couples therapy, sex therapy, and individual interventions for women struggling with physical and/or emotional intimacy with a partner. / Psychology