Parenthood has often been associated with lower levels of relationship and sexual satisfaction. However, this effect has rarely been studied beyond transition to parenthood and/or in clinical samples and few studies have examined parenthood as a moderator between relationship satisfaction and sexual satisfaction. Therefore, the objective of this study is to examine whether parenthood (being a parent or not) acts as a moderator of the relationship between relationship satisfaction and sexual satisfaction among women and men consulting in sex therapy ( n = 219). Results indicated that mothers report lower levels of relationship satisfaction compared to non-parent women, whereas no difference was found for sexual satisfaction. Results also showed that parenthood acts as a moderator between relationship and sexual satisfaction, with differing effects for men and women. More precisely, relationship satisfaction was associated with increased sexual satisfaction in men and in non-parent women only. For mothers, relationship satisfaction was not linked to sexual satisfaction. Findings suggest that relationship satisfaction is lower in mothers compared to non-parent women and is also unrelated to sexual satisfaction in mothers, indicating specificities regarding sexual satisfaction and its correlates in others. These results have implications, particularly for interventions with mothers attending sex therapy.
Youth narratives of love are shaped by romantic experiences through observation of others’ romantic relationships, and by media commonly conveying romantic beliefs. Since past reports have linked romantic beliefs to dating violence (DV), studies need to explore narratives of love by youth who report DV victimization experiences to identify specific targets to address in DV prevention programs. This qualitative study explored the narratives of love by heterosexual youth and documented specific features according to their DV victimization experiences. Directed content analysis guided the analyses of semi-structured interviews of 82 participants aged 15 to 24 years ( M = 19.4; SD = 2.1). Most participants were cisgender females (75.6%) born in Canada to Canadian-born parents (54.6%). Four polarized narratives of love emerged: (1) Growing love versus love at first sight, (2) Completive versus fusional love, (3) Lucid versus triumphant love, and (4) Ongoing versus eternal love. Both participants who reported experiencing DV victimization, and those who did not, expressed non-romantic and romantic beliefs, although they used different wording to convey similar beliefs in their narratives. These findings underscore the importance of challenging the dominant romantic beliefs that may place youth at risk of experiencing DV and therefore contribute to DV prevention.
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