Sexual satisfaction, sexual desire, and desire discrepancy in heterosexual couples: A longitudinal daily-diary approach

Sexual satisfaction is conceptualized as both evaluative and affective, with an emphasis on positive affect, expectations, or a balance between positive and negative dimensions of satisfaction. Sexual satisfaction research has lacked clarity both conceptually and methodologically and is often not explicitly defined as a construct. Sexual satisfaction is positively related to sexual desire, a motivational state with a subjective awareness to attain something that is currently unattainable where a combination of these forces brings us toward and away from sexual behavior. The complexities of sexual desire and, in particular, the object of sexual desire are perhaps not fully understood. It is important to study the factors that help to maintain sexual satisfaction and desire in long-term relationships as declines have been shown to decrease relationship satisfaction and stability. The purpose of the current research was to understand couples' sexual satisfaction, sexual desire, and desire discrepancy using a 3-wave longitudinal and 30-day prospective daily diary design. The specific dissertation papers embedded in the larger document were primarily from the first wave of the longitudinal study and aimed to clarify the psychometric properties of commonly used measures of sexual satisfaction and understand the conceptualization of sexual desire in terms of the object of one's desire. Data were collected online from 206 heterosexual couples (412 individuals) in a relationship with one another for a minimum of 3 years (mean relationship length of 9.27 years). The Index of Sexual Satisfaction (ISS), General Measure of Sexual Satisfaction (GMSEX), New Sexual Satisfaction Scale-Short Form (NSSS-S), and a single-item measure of sexual satisfaction were psychometrically evaluated and compared. The GMSEX received the strongest psychometric support in this sample for a unidimensional measure of sexual satisfaction and the NSSS-S received the strongest psychometric support in this sample for a bidimensional measure of sexual satisfaction. Object of sexual desire was assessed using a 16-item measure developed for the purposes of this study. The most endorsed object of sexual desire was a desire to please a partner and the desire for pleasure in men. In women, the desire for intimacy and the desire to feel sexually desirable were the most endorsed objects of sexual desire. There were significant gender differences in terms of the object of sexual desire. Aims for use of the larger study and implications for this work as a whole are discussed.