No Longer in a Dry Spell: The Developing Understanding of How Sex Influences Romantic Relationships

Abstract

Sex is a defining feature of romantic relationships, yet only recently has research into the implications of sexual processes for such relationships proliferated. We review this work to illustrate how considering the way in which sexual processes influence relationships can help bridge theoretical and empirical work outside and within relationship science. We begin by providing a novel organizational framework for considering how sexual processes influence relationships, illustrating how they can be (a) a direct predictor of relationship outcomes, (b) a mechanism that explains important associations, and (c) a moderator that alters relationship dynamics. We then situate these findings within a dual-process framework for understanding how sex influences relationships and conclude by highlighting several open questions and methodological challenges that remain for future research. Our goal is to demonstrate how considering sexual functioning in light of a variety of theoretical perspectives adds to, and sometimes alters, what we know about relationship dynamics.

How do implicit and explicit partner evaluations update in daily life? Evidence from the lab and the field.

“…In fact, given the unique level of interdependence that characterizes romantic relationships, partners often engage in many qualitatively distinct kinds of interactions even within the span of a single day, each of which has the potential to either strengthen or weaken the bond between them. Specifically, interactions that involve positive emotional exchange, including novel and exciting shared activities (e.g., Aron et al, 2000;Muise et al, 2019), sexual intimacy (e.g., Hicks et al, 2016Hicks et al, , 2018; see Maxwell & McNulty, 2019) or even simple shared humor (e.g., Fraley & Aron, 2004;Graham, 1995;Hall, 2017), are typically associated with personal well-being, closeness, and relational satisfaction. Perhaps equally important to the maintenance of a healthy relationship are the responses that partners may offer each other when challenges arise, such as goal support (e.g., Brunstein et al, 1996;Feeney, 2004), responsiveness (e.g., Reis & Clark, 2013;Reis & Gable, 2015), and gratitude (e.g., Algoe, 2012).…”

A systematic review of romantic relationship initiation and maintenance factors in autism

“…Finally, physical intimacy, which for many individuals is a key feature of romantic relationships, may provide a challenge for some autistic individuals with either hyper‐ or hyposensitivity issues. Sex has been shown to promote relationship stability (Birnbaum, 2015; Birnbaum & Reis, 2019) and sexual satisfaction is positively associated with relationship satisfaction and negatively associated with relationship dissolution (Diamond & Huebner, 2012; Maxwell & McNulty, 2019). Although many autistic individuals express an interest in sex (Hartmann et al, 2019; Pecora et al, 2016; Stokes & Kaur, 2005), the sensory sensitivities that are common in this population can have an impact on sexual satisfaction, both for these individuals and their partners (Aston, 2012).…”

Evidence of a Bidirectional Association Between Daily Sexual and Relationship Satisfaction That Is Moderated by Daily Stress

“…There is some empirical support for this directional association (for reviews, see Maxwell & McNulty, 2019 ; Muise et al, 2016 ). First, sexual functioning plays an integral role in determining how several important risk factors are associated with relationship satisfaction.…”

“…Sexual and relationship satisfaction are clearly associated (for reviews, see Maxwell & McNulty, 2019 ; Muise et al, 2016 ), but the exact nature of this association is less clear. Specifically, it remains unclear whether (a) sexual satisfaction leads to relationship satisfaction, (b) relationship satisfaction leads to sexual satisfaction, (c) both directional associations exist, or (d) neither directional association exists because a third variable accounts for the positive association.…”