Sexual Frequency and the Stability of Marital and Cohabiting Unions

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

11-1-2009

Journal / Book Title

Journal of Marriage and Family

Abstract

Prior research found that lower sexual frequency and satisfaction were associated with higher rates of divorce, but little research had examined the role of sexual activity in the dissolution of cohabiting unions. We drew upon social exchange theory to hypothesize why sexual frequency is more important in cohabitation: (a) cohabitors' lower costs of finding sexual alternatives, (b) cohabitors' lower barriers to ending the relationship in the form of union-specific economic and noneconomic capital, and (c) cohabitors' higher expectations for sexual activity. Using the National Survey of Families and Households (N = 5,902), we examined the relationship between sexual frequency and union dissolution. Results indicated that low sexual frequency was associated with significantly higher rates of union dissolution among cohabitors than married couples.

DOI

10.1111/j.1741-3737.2009.00648.x

Published Citation

Yabiku, S.T. and Gager, C.T. (2009), Sexual Frequency and the Stability of Marital and Cohabiting Unions. Journal of Marriage and Family, 71: 983-1000. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3737.2009.00648.x

This document is currently not available here.

Link to Publisher
Link at MSU

Share

COinS