Schröder's Sexual Satisfaction Study

A study from earlier this year, Does sexual satisfaction change with relationship duration? by Claudia Schmiedberg and Jette Schröder looked at how sexual satisfaction develops and changes over the course of a relationship. They also looked at how marital status, having children, labor force, and health status affected sexual satisfaction. They also observed how conflict in a relationship and physical distance affected sexual satisfaction. The study looked at heterosexual German couples aged 25 to 41. Sexual satisfaction was determined using a questionnaire whose answers were then used to rate each individual’s sexual satisfaction on a scale from 0-10. Schmiedberg and Schröder chose to exclude younger participants below the age of 25 due to …show more content…
According to their research, couples were most sexually satisfied with their relationships during the second half of the first year of their relationship, and that at one year, sexual satisfaction started to decline. While Moore states the possible effects of a learning curve, Schmiedberg and Schröder state that this is only a possible explanation for this peak, and that the development of passion and intimacy throughout the relationship may be the cause of or a contributing factor to the peak. However, the decline in sexual satisfaction was only relevant in cases where the frequency of intercourse diminished. Moore also leads readers to believe that the study found no effect of children on sexual satisfaction. In fact, the study showed a positive correlation between sexual satisfaction and trying to conceive a child. This may be due to the idea that “sexuality might be more satisfying when it is perceived in its biological function as opposed to simply a means for physical pleasure (Schmiedberg & Schröder, 2015). They also found that sexual satisfaction diminished when the youngest child in the household was between the ages of three and six years. As a summary of these findings specifically, Schmiedberg and Schröder say, “sexual satisfaction decreased in the first few years after the birth of a child and increased again when the child grew older” (Schmiedberg & Schröder, 2015). Moore was correct in saying that fighting in a relationship led to lower sexual satisfaction according to the study which shows that a “worsening of the conflict style,” such as yelling and emotional abuse, have a “significant negative influence” across the board (Schmiedberg & Schröder, 2015). In saying, “the best sex of your relationship,” Moore slightly misleads readers. While couples may feel more sexual satisfied in this time frame, the “best sex” may be yet to come, even if it is with less frequency than