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The most
authoritative research ever done on
sexuality in America was conducted a few
years ago at the University of Chicago. This
study, the National Health and Social Life
Survey (NHSLS), came to an interesting
conclusion; "The public image of sex in
America bears virtually no relationship to
the truth." In fact, it explains, "in real
life, the unheralded, seldom discussed world
of married sex is actually the one that
satisfies people the most."1
This study found
that, of all sexually active people, married
people with only one life-time partner are
most likely to report they are "extremely"
or "very" satisfied with the amount of
physical and emotional pleasure they
experience in their sex lives.
Percentage reporting being Extremely" or
"Very" Sexually Satisfied2:
|
Partner |
Pleasure |
Satisfaction |
|
Only
one: |
|
|
|
Spouse |
87.4% |
84.8% |
|
Cohabitant |
84.4% |
75.6% |
|
Neither |
78.2% |
71.0% |
|
More
than one:
(in
a lifetime) |
|
|
|
Spouse |
61.2% |
56.7% |
|
Cohabitant |
74.5% |
57.9% |
|
Neither |
77.9% |
61.7% |
— Married people are significantly
more likely to say their sex life makes them
feel "satisfied," "loved," "thrilled,"
"wanted," and "taken care of."
— The
faithfully married are also least likely to
report sex making them feel "sad," "anxious
or worried," "scared or afraid," or
"guilty."3
— Married men
and women are also least likely to report
lacking an interest in sex.4
Palmetto Family
Council’s 1998 Marital Health Index
found the same thing in South Carolina.
Married South Carolinians are more likely to
report being completely satisfied with their
sex lives than people in any other sort of
relationship. Likewise, South Carolina
couples who pray together everyday or
several times a week are significantly more
likely to report "complete satisfaction"
with their sex life.5
Additionally,
only 9% of married women are forced by their
spouse to perform a sexual act, while 46%
and 22% of women report being forced to do
so by someone they were "in love with" or
"knew well" (respectively).6
In his
research, University of Chicago Professor of
Sociology, Andrew Greeley found that
"premarital sex with someone other than the
intended spouse correlates with marital
infidelity." Specifically, he found that
only 3% of people who did not engage in
premarital were unfaithful to their spouse,
while 18% of people who engaged in
premarital sex "fairly often" with someone
other than their spouse were unfaithful in
marriage.7
A joint study
conducted by the University of Maryland and
the National Institute for Health Statistics
found that "women who were sexually active
prior to marriage faced a considerably
higher risk of marital disruption than women
who were virgin brides."8
Endnotes
1 Robert T.
Michael, et. al., Sex in America:
A Definitive Survey (Boston: Little,
Brown, and Company, 1994), p. 1, 131.
2 Edward O. Laumann, et. al., The
Social Organization of Sexuality: Sexual
Practices in the United States (Chicago:
University of Chicago Press, 1994), p. 364,
table 10.5.
3 Laumann, et. al., 1994, p. 368,
table 10.7.
4 Laumann, et. al., 1994, p. 370,
table 10.8.
5 Glenn T. Stanton, 1998 South Carolina
Marital Health Index, A Report of the
Palmetto Family Council, 1998, p. 35.
6 Michael, et. al., 1994, p. 225,
figure 21.
7 Andrew Greeley, Faithful Attraction:
Discovering Intimacy, Love, and Fidelity in
American Marriage, (New York: Thomas
Doherty Associates, 1991), p. 201.
8 Joan R. Kahn and Kathryn A. London,
"Premarital Sex and the Risk of Divorce,"
Journal of Marriage and the Family, 53
(1991): 845-855.83-699.
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