What factors influence the sexual satisfaction of gays and lesbians?

What is it about?

Sexual satisfaction is the subjective assessment that people make of their sexual relationships. Recent studies have indicated that it depends not only on personal factors (e.g., sexual desire or arousal) but also on interpersonal factors (e.g., relationship satisfaction) and even sociocultural (e.g., religiosity). Many of these studies were conducted in a heterosexual population, with less attention being paid to gay people. For this reason, the aim of this study was to develop an explanatory model of sexual satisfaction in gay people with a romantic partner, based on personal and interpersonal variables. The participants were 410 men and 410 women who had a romantic relationship with a same-sex partner. As a personal variable, internalized homophobia was considered, and as interpersonal variables, the dimensions of attachment (anxiety and avoidance), sexual functioning, dyadic adjustment, relationship satisfaction, the balance between sexual rewards and costs in the relationship, the comparative level between actual sexual rewards/costs and expected sexual rewards/costs, the number of sexual costs and the number of sexual rewards in the context of the couple were analyzed. Two independent models were obtained to explain sexual satisfaction in gays and lesbians, with differential nuances in the indirect effect of some variables. However, in general, and in both cases, the results indicated that sexual satisfaction is negatively associated with internalized homophobia, the number of sexual costs, anxiety and avoidance; and positively associated with sexual functioning, dyadic adjustment, relationship satisfaction, positive balance between sexual rewards and costs in the relationship, positive balance between actual sexual rewards/costs and expected sexual rewards/costs, and the number of sexual rewards. In both gays and lesbians, the relational variables were the most relevant in explaining their sexual satisfaction.

Featured Image

Photo by Alexander Grey on Unsplash

Photo by Alexander Grey on Unsplash

Why is it important?

These explanatory models are useful tools to improve sexual satisfaction and romantic relationships in gay people.

Perspectives