Couples who live together before getting married had less frequent sex and had lower levels of overall sexual satisfaction than married couples who did not live together before tying the knot, according to a recent study.
The Journal of Sex Research published a study in December titled “Associations Between Premarital Factors and First-Married, Heterosexual Newlywed Couples’ Frequency of Sex and Sexual Satisfaction Trajectories.”
The study, by Emma Altgelt and Andrea Meltzer, both of the Department of Psychology of Florida State University.
According to the Abstract, the researchers wanted to see what impact cohabitation and “courtship duration” had on sexual relationships during the first few years of marriage.
“Using a 4-year longitudinal study of newlywed couples, results demonstrated that couples with longer (versus shorter) courtships or who did (versus did not) cohabit engaged in less frequent sex at the start of marriage,” the Abstract stated in part.
“Couples who did (versus did not) cohabit were less sexually satisfied initially and over time; couples with longer (versus shorter) courtships experienced less steep declines in sexual satisfaction over time.”
In an interview with PsyPost published last week, Altgelt explained that “life choices that predate couples’ wedding day (e.g., courtship duration, cohabiting, having children) seem to matter for their sexual relationship during the early years of marriage.”
Altgelt warned that her study did not include experimental data, as they were “ethically unable to manipulate couples’ premarital factors.”
“For this reason, we cannot claim that these premarital factors cause changes in couples’ sexual relationships during marriage,” she told PsyPost.
SOURCE: Christian Post, Michael Gryboski
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