Marital and Sexual Satisfaction

Abstract What factors impact the extent to which people are satisfied with their marriages as well as their sexual relationships with their spouses? To address these questions, this chapter reviews the predominant theoretical frameworks and corresponding empirical evidence for the function of marital satisfaction and sexual satisfaction. It begins by highlighting the function of marital satisfaction and describing the predominant theoretical framework used to predict marital satisfaction: interdependence theory. Following this theoretical overview, the chapter discusses biological and environmental factors that lead to differences in people’s marital outcomes and provides suggestions for future research in this area. The chapter then turns to sexual satisfaction, providing an overview of the theoretical rationale for why some people are more versus less satisfied with their sexual relationships with their spouses and discusses numerous factors that influence sexual satisfaction in the context of marriage. The chapter concludes by suggesting several novel advances for furthering our understanding of married couples’ sexual satisfaction.