Abstract
Deriving self-worth from romantic relationships (relationship contingency) may have implications for women’s sexual motives in relationships. Because relationship contingency enhances motivation to sustain relationships to maintain positive self-worth, relationship contingent women may engage in sex to maintain and enhance their relationships (relational sex motives). Using structural equation modeling on Internet survey data from a convenience sample of 462 women in heterosexual and lesbian relationships, we found that greater relationship contingency predicted greater relational sex motives, which simultaneously predicted both sexual satisfaction and dissatisfaction via two distinct motivational states. Having sex to improve intimacy with one’s partner was associated with greater sexual satisfaction and autonomy, while having sex to earn partner’s approval was associated with sexual dissatisfaction and inhibition. While some differences exist between lesbian and heterosexual relationships, relationship contingency had sexual costs and benefits, regardless of relationship type.
Similar content being viewed by others
Notes
In retrospect, the use of the word “usually” may have made this difficult for participants to interpret on a 1 (Never) to 6 (Always) scale. This represents a limitation for this measure.
Participants were also asked “How often do you engage in sexual intercourse with your partner? (i.e., vaginal penetration)”, “How often do you give oral sex to your partner?”, and “How often do you receive oral sex from your partner?” on a scale where 0 = I have never engaged in this activity and 6 = 5 or more times a week. Women in lesbian relationships indicated engaging in penetrative sex (M = 3.34) less frequently than women in heterosexual relationships (M = 3.99). No other differences on the oral sex frequencies measures were observed.
References
Aiken, L. S., & West, S. G. (1991). Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Alexander, M. G., & Fisher, T. D. (2003). Truth and consequences: Using the bogus pipeline to examine sex differences in self-reported sexuality. Journal of Sex Research, 40, 27–35.
Bandalos, D. L. (2002). The effects of item parceling on goodness-of-fit and parameter estimate bias in structural equation modeling. Structural Equation Modeling, 9, 78–102.
Bandalos, D. L., & Finney, S. J. (2001). Item parceling issues in structural equation modeling. In G. A. Marcoulides & R. E. Schumacker (Eds.), Advanced structural equation modeling: New developments and techniques (pp. 269–296). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Baumeister, R. F., Catanese, K. R., & Vohs, K. D. (2001). Is there a gender difference in strength of sex drive? Theoretical views, conceptual distinctions, and a review of relevant evidence. Personality & Social Psychology Review, 5, 242–273.
Blumstein, P., & Schwarz, P. (1983). American couples: Money, work, and sex. New York: William Morrow.
Bornstein, R. F. (1993). The dependent personality. New York: Guilford Press.
Bornstein, R. F., & Bowen, R. F. (1995). Dependency in psychotherapy: Toward an integrated treatment approach. Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training, 32, 520–534.
Carrol, J. L., Volk, K. D., & Hyde, J. S. (1985). Differences between males and females in motives for engaging in sexual intercourse. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 14, 131–139.
Christopher, F. S., & Sprecher, S. (2000). Sexuality in marriage, dating and other relationships: A decade review. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 62, 999–1017.
Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Cooper, M. L., Shapiro, C. M., & Powers, A. M. (1998). Motivations for sex and risky sexual behavior among adolescents and young adults: A functional perspective. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75, 1528–1558.
Crocker, J. (2002). The costs of seeking self-esteem. Journal of Social Issues, 58, 597–615.
Crocker, J., & Knight, K. M. (2005). Contingencies of self-worth. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 14, 200–203.
Crocker, J., & Luhtanen, R. K. (2003). Level of self-esteem and contingencies of self-worth: Unique effects on academic, social, and financial problems in college freshmen. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 29, 701–712.
Crocker, J., Luhtanen, R. K., Cooper, M. L., & Bouvrette, A. (2003). Contingencies of self-worth in college students: Theory and measurement. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85, 894–908.
Crocker, J., & Park, L. E. (2004). The costly pursuit of self-esteem. Psychological Bulletin, 130, 392–414.
Cross, S. E., & Madson, L. (1997). Models of the self: Self-construals and gender. Psychological Bulletin, 122, 5–37.
Crowne, D. P., & Marlowe, D. (1960). A new scale of social desirability independent of psychopathology. Journal of Consulting Psychology, 24, 349–354.
Dunn, K. M., Croft, P. R., & Hackett, G. I. (2000). Satisfaction in the sex life of a general population sample. Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy, 26, 141–151.
Edwards, J. N., & Booth, A. (1994). Sexuality, marriage, and well-being: The middle years. In A. S. Rossi (Ed.), Sexuality across the life course (pp. 223–259). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Eysenbach, G. (2004). Improving the quality of web surveys: The checklist for reporting results of Internet e-surveys (CHERRIES). Journal of Medical Internet Research, 6, e34.
Gebhardt, W. A., Kuyper, L., & Greunsven, G. (2003). Need for intimacy in relationships and motives for sex as determinants of adolescent condom use. Journal of Adolescent Health, 33, 154–164.
Geller, J., Srikameswaran, S., & Zaitsoff, S. L. (2002). The assessment of shape and weight-based self-esteem in adolescents. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 28, 339–345.
Gosling, S. D., Vazire, S., Srivastava, S., & John, O. P. (2004). Should we trust web-based studies? A comparative analysis of six preconceptions about Internet questionnaires. American Psychologist, 59, 93–104.
Hall, R. J., Snell, A. F., & Singer-Foust, M. (1999). Item parceling strategies in SEM: Investigating the subtle effects of unmodeled secondary constructs. Organizational Research Methods, 2, 233–256.
Harry, J. (1990). A probability sample of gay males. Journal of Homosexuality, 19, 89–104.
Holland, J., Ramazanoglu, C., Scott, S., Sharpe, S., & Thomson, R. (1992). Pressure, resistance, and empowerment: Young women and the negotiation of safer sex. In P. Aggleton, P. Davies, & G. Hart (Eds.), AIDS: Rights, risk, and reason (pp. 142–162). London: Routledge Farmer.
Hoyle, R. H. (1995). Structural equation modeling: Concepts, issues, and applications. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Hu, L., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modeling, 6, 1–55.
Impett, E. A., Gable, S. L., & Peplau, L. A. (2005). Giving up and giving in: The costs and benefits of daily sacrifice in intimate relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 89, 327–344.
Impett, E. A., & Peplau, L. A. (2003). Sexual compliance: Gender, motivational, and relationship perspectives. Journal of Sex Research, 40, 87–100.
Josephs, R. A., Markus, H. R., & Tafarodi, R. W. (1992). Gender and self-esteem. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63, 391–402.
Kernis, M. H. (2003). Toward a conceptualization of optimal self-esteem. Psychological Inquiry, 14, 1–26.
Kiefer, A. K., & Sanchez, D. T. (2007). Scripting sexual passivity: A gender role perspective. Personal Relationships, 14, 269–290.
Klem, L. (2000). Structural equation modeling. In L. G. Grimm & P. R. Yarnold (Eds.), Reading and understanding MORE multivariate statistics (pp. 227–260). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Kline, R. B. (2005). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling (2nd ed.). New York: Guilford.
Knee, C. R., Canavello, A., & Bush, A. L. (2008). Relationship-contingent self-esteem and the ups and downs of romantic relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95, 608–627.
Konik, J., & Stewart, A. (2004). Sexual identity development in the context of compulsory heterosexuality. Journal of Personality, 22, 815–844.
Kurdek, L. A. (2003). The allocation of household labor in homosexual and heterosexual cohabitating couples. Journal of Social Issues, 49, 127–139.
LaGuardia, J. G., Ryan, R. M., Couchman, C. E., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Within-person variation in security of attachment: A self-determination theory perspective on attachment, need fulfillment, and well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79, 367–384.
Laumann, E. O., Paik, A., & Rosen, R. C. (1999). Sexual dysfunction in the United States: Prevalence and predictors. Journal of the American Medical Association, 281, 537–544.
Leigh, B. C. (1989). Reasons for having and avoiding sex: Gender, sexual orientation, and relationship to sexual behavior. Journal of Sex Research, 26, 199–209.
MacKinnon, C. A. (1987). A feminist theory of the state. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Marsh, H. W., Hau, K. T., Balla, J. R., & Grayson, D. (1998). Is more ever too much? The number of indicators per factor in confirmatory factor analysis. Multivariate Behavioral Research, 33, 181–220.
Murray, S. L., Bellavia, G., Feeney, B., Homes, J. G., & Rose, P. (2001). The contingencies of interpersonal acceptance: When romantic relationships function as a self-affirmational resource. Motivation and Emotion, 25, 163–189.
O’Sullivan, L. F., & Algeier, E. R. (1998). Feigning sexual desire: Consenting to unwanted sexual activity in heterosexual dating relationships. Journal of Sex Research, 35, 86–109.
Park, L. E., & Crocker, J. (2005). Interpersonal costs of seeking self-esteem. Personality and Social Psychological Bulletin, 31, 1587–1598.
Park, L. E., Sanchez, D. T., & Brynildsen, K. (in press). Maladaptive responses to relationship dissolution: The role of relationship contingent self-worth. Journal of Applied Social Psychology.
Raykov, T., Tomer, A., & Nesselroade, J. R. (1991). Reporting structural equation modeling results in psychology and aging: Some proposed guidelines. Psychology and Aging, 6, 499–503.
Rubin, L. (1990). Erotic wars: What happened to the sexual revolution? New York: Farrar, Strauss & Giroux.
Sanchez, D. T., & Crocker, J. (2005). Investment in gender ideals and well-being: The role of external contingencies of self-worth. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 29, 63–77.
Sanchez, D. T., Crocker, J., & Boike, K. R. (2005). Doing gender in the bedroom: Investing in gender norms and the sexual experience. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 31, 1445–1455.
Sanchez, D. T., Good, J., Kwang, T., & Saltzman, E. (2008). When finding a mate becomes urgent: Why relationship contingency predicts men’s and women’s body shame. Social Psychology, 39, 90–102.
Sanchez, D. T., Kiefer, A., & Ybarra, O. (2006). Sexual submissiveness in women: Costs for autonomy. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 32, 512–524.
Sanchez, D. T., & Kwang, T. (2007). When the relationship becomes her: Revisiting body concerns from a relationships contingency perspective. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 31, 401–414.
Sell, R. L. (1996). Sampling homosexuals, bisexuals, and lesbians for public health research: A review of literature from 1990–1992. Journal of Homosexuality, 30, 31–47.
Acknowledgements
During the preparation of this article, Ms. Moss-Racusin was supported by a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship and Ms. Phelan was supported by a Jacob Javits Fellowship.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Sanchez, D.T., Moss-Racusin, C.A., Phelan, J.E. et al. Relationship Contingency and Sexual Motivation in Women: Implications for Sexual Satisfaction. Arch Sex Behav 40, 99–110 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-009-9593-4
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-009-9593-4