Understanding Sexual Intimacy in Marriage RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Jaci Rolffs and Erika Lawrence, The University of Iowa Funded by grants from the Centers for Disease Control and The University of Iowa INTRODUCTION The majority of research on sexual intimacy focuses on frequency or satisfaction Little is known about the quality of couples’ sexual relationships , which influences frequency & satisfaction We examined the quality of sexual relationships as a multi-faceted phenomenon (frequency, who initiates, concerns, difficulties, sensual behaviors, satisfaction…) METHOD 103 couples recruited via marriage licenses Median annual joint income: $30,001– $40,000 Mean age: husbands = 25.82 (3.55), wives = 24.78 (3.67) Sexuality Section of the Relationship Quality Interview (RQI; Lawrence et al., in press): a semi-structured individual interview. Interviewers make ratings based on spousal perceptions & behavioral indicators. Data collected twice: at 3 mos. and 7 yrs. of marriage RESULTS AND DISCUSSION The quality of couples’ sexual relationship declines over the first 7 years of marriage More than half of couples report concerns with their sexual relationships at the beginning of their marriages The % of husbands with sexual concerns drops dramatically (20%) over time, yet husbands’ satisfaction with their sexual relationships declines over this same time period The % of couples engaging in sensual behaviors declines by 20% over 7 years Future researchers should examine the impact of relationship constructs (support, emotional intimacy) as predictors of the quality of couples’ sexual relationships 3 Months of Marriage 7 Years of Marriage Ratings Based on Husband Interviews Ratings Based on Wife Interviews Ratings Based on Husband Interviews Sexual satisfaction Not at all/A little bit 3% 7% 23.1% 24.6% Somewhat 44% 53% 42.3% 47.4% Very/Extremely 40% 34.6% 28.1% Concerns about sexual relationship 54.4% 50.5% 34.2% 55.6% Engage in touching, sensual behaviors 100% 97%a 92.2% 87.7%a Sensual behaviors typically lead to sex 25.3% 18.4% 27.5% 48.1% Engage in touching, sensual behaviors after sex 79.4% 86.7% 65.4% Quality of couple’s sexual relationship (Interviewer ratings: means and SDs, 1-9 scale) 6.82 (1.28)b 6.73 (1.26)c 5.81 (1.88)b 5.71 (1.78)c aWives’ scores differed significantly across time, X2(1) = 8.32, p<.005. bHusbands’ scores differed significantly across time, t(51) = 4.30, p<.001. cWives’ scores differed significantly across time, t(55) = 3.51, p<.005. ***p<.005; ****p<.001