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Why Marriage Matters: Marriage and Sexual Satisfaction Article posted on 5/6/2008 Article has been viewed 702 times. 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. — 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. [ return to main selection screen ]
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