Sex in long-term relationships depends on two fundamental aspects. It’s about having reasonable expectations and understanding the hard work and effort that goes into the sexual aspect of a relationship. This is clear from the data of a new study by researchers at the University of Toronto. They found that people have different «implicit beliefs» or «sexual expectations» that a happy sex life requires a lot of work; or that true soulmates will naturally have a good long-term sexual relationship.
The study was published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. She found that people can keep their relationships sustained by these expectations or have their relationships undermined. Study director Jessica Maxwell said that people who «believe in sexual destiny are using their sex lives as a barometer of how well their relationship is going. They believe problems in the bedroom are equal to problems in the relationship. usually». «While people who believe in sexual growth not only believe that they can work on their sexual problems, but they do not allow it to affect the satisfaction of their relationship,» she said.
The research was based on 1,900 people from heterosexual and same-sex couples. She found that after the initial moon phase after the honeymoon, which lasts two to three years, another phase is entered. At first, sexual satisfaction is recorded as high in relationships. Later, with the belief that sex requires work, benefits began to show.
Sex in long-term relationships
However, while the research found that women were more likely to consume soulmate stories and romantic destinations, it also found that women were more likely than men to believe that sex in a long-term relationship requires work. Ms Maxwell said this «could be because there is evidence that sexual satisfaction requires more work for women, so they rank higher on the sexual growth scale.»
The study also showed that these «sexual expectations» are not a firm rule of thumb when it comes to long-term sexual success. And it is that she found evidence that some believers in sexual destiny are open to making changes in their sexual lives. She also found that even people who believe in sexual growth can experience problems significant enough to affect their sex lives.