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In recent years, many studies have documented a general decline in sexual activity.1 Generation Y is on track to have fewer sex partners than members of the two preceding generations.2 In fact, the numbers show that those who identify as members of Generation Y are two-and-a-half times as likely to be abstinent as Gen Xers in their early 20s.
According to an analysis of the General Social Survey, the share of 18-to-29-year-old adults reporting no sex in the past year increased from around 15 percent in 1990 to 23 percent in 2018. In addition, the average American adult went from having sex over 60 times a year 20 years ago, to around 50 times in 2018.3
In Japan, an analysis of the National Fertility Survey, carried out by the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research, shows that the overall age-standardized prevalence of sexual inexperience among women aged 18-39 had increased from 21.7 percent in 1992 to 24.6 percent in 2015, while the age-standardized prevalence in those aged 18–39 years among men had increased from 20 percent in 1992 to 25.8 percent in 2015.4
These numbers clearly show that something is changing. But the question is how these trends relate to relationship style and whether the recent decline in the institution of marriage has anything to do with sexuality. Does the fact that people marry less mean that they are less satisfied with their sexual lives?
What Is Sexual Satisfaction?
Sexual satisfaction is defined as the affective response or feedback that informs individuals’ rating of their sexual relationship and the extent to which sexual desires are met.5 Studies show that sexual satisfaction is associated with one’s overall feeling of fulfillment in a relationship and improves one’s satisfaction in marriage and life in general.
In this sense, men’s sexual satisfaction and women’s sexual satisfaction are determined by different sets of variables.6 For example, women’s sexual satisfaction is shaped by expectations for a long-term relationship, while for men it is derived from the physical aspects of sex, such as sex frequency.
Other studies show that women in long-term and serious relationships attest to having a higher level of sexual satisfaction than men in long-term relationships.7
Which Couples Show the Highest Levels of Sexual Satisfaction?
To test which couples show the highest levels of sexual satisfaction I examined seven sub-groups:
1. Married individuals (who live together)
2. Never-married single
3. Never-married who live apart together (LAT)
4. Never-married who cohabit
5. Divorced/separated single
6. Divorced/separated who live apart together (LAT) with a new partner
7. Divorced/separated currently cohabiting with a new partner
I analyzed the responses of 3,207 respondents from Germany, aged 32-46 who answered a very detailed questionnaire on their relationships and intimate lives, funded by the German Government.
My findings show that marriage per se is not beneficial for sexual satisfaction. In fact, my models show that married couples score relatively low in this regard. In contrast, the group that generally showed the highest levels of sexual satisfaction is that of unmarried couples living apart.
The group found below the married group is the non-partnered singles who score lower than the married group in terms of sexual satisfaction. However, the main reason that they are less sexually satisfied than married couples is simply that they do not have a partner. This fact was apparent from their sex frequency levels, which is naturally lower for non-partnered singles than for couples.
Therefore, it seems that it is not marriage that is beneficial to sexual satisfaction but rather having a partner. Once one has a partner, marriage is not a contributor.
These conclusions challenge previous research. Most importantly, previous studies unjustifiably blended the groups of unmarried people together. By combining non-partnered singles with other unmarried groups such as those living apart together, previous studies inaccurately showed that marriage is advantageous for sexual satisfaction.
However, distinguishing between the groups of singles, and excluding those who don't want to have a partner (or simply don't have one at the moment), shows that marriage is not a positive predictor of sexual satisfaction, quite the opposite. Going back to the decline in sexuality around the world, it seems that it is not connected with the decline in marriage.
Elyakim Kislev is the author of Happy Singlehood and Relationships 5.0.
Facebook image: PH888/Shutterstock
References
1 Jean M Twenge, Ryne A Sherman, and Brooke E Wells, 'Changes in American Adults’ Sexual Behavior and Attitudes, 1972–2012', Archives of sexual behavior, 44 (2015), 2273-85; ———, 'Declines in Sexual Frequency among American Adults, 1989–2014', Archives of Sexual Behavior, 46 (2017), 2389-401.
2 Jean M Twenge, Igen: Why Today's Super-Connected Kids Are Growing up Less Rebellious, More Tolerant, Less Happy--and Completely Unprepared for Adulthood--and What That Means for the Rest of Us (New York: Simon and Schuster, 2017).
3 Tom W. Smith, Davern, Michael, Freese, Jeremy, and Morgan, Stephen L., 'General Social Surveys, 1972-2018 [Machine-Readable Data File]', (Chicago: NORC, 2019, 2019).
4 Cyrus Ghaznavi, Haruka Sakamoto, Daisuke Yoneoka, Shuhei Nomura, Kenji Shibuya, and Peter Ueda, 'Trends in Heterosexual Inexperience among Young Adults in Japan: Analysis of National Surveys, 1987–2015', BMC public health, 19 (2019), 355.
5 Kyle R Stephenson, and Cindy M Meston, 'The Conditional Importance of Sex: Exploring the Association between Sexual Well-Being and Life Satisfaction', Journal of sex & marital therapy, 41 (2015), 25-38.
6 James K McNulty, and Terri D Fisher, 'Gender Differences in Response to Sexual Expectancies and Changes in Sexual Frequency: A Short-Term Longitudinal Study of Sexual Satisfaction in Newly Married Couples', Archives of Sexual Behavior, 37 (2008), 229-40.
7 Willy Pedersen, and Morten Blekesaune, 'Sexual Satisfaction in Young Adulthood: Cohabitation, Committed Dating or Unattached Life?', Acta Sociologica, 46 (2003), 179-93.
