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Meta-Analysis
. 2022 Apr;36(3):358-371.
doi: 10.1037/fam0000946. Epub 2021 Dec 30.

Dimensions of couples' sexual communication, relationship satisfaction, and sexual satisfaction: A meta-analysis

Allen B Mallory  1
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Dimensions of couples' sexual communication, relationship satisfaction, and sexual satisfaction: A meta-analysis

Allen B Mallory. J Fam Psychol. 2022 Apr.

Abstract

Despite consistent evidence that sexual communication positively correlates with relationship and sexual satisfaction, there has been empirical murkiness regarding which aspects of sexual communication matter more or less for relationship and sexual satisfaction. A systematic meta-analysis was conducted to investigate if the strength of the association between sexual communication and relationship and sexual satisfaction varied by dimensions of sexual communication and individual, interpersonal, and cultural factors. The meta-analysis included 93 studies with 209 unique effect sizes, which represented 38,499 unique individuals in a current relationship. The multilevel meta-analysis evidenced a positive association between sexual communication and both relationship (r = .37) and sexual satisfaction (r = .43). For relationship satisfaction and sexual satisfaction, the effect size for quality of sexual communication (r = .43; .52) was larger compared to the frequency of sexual communication (r = .31; .31) and sexual self-disclosure (r = .28; .39). After controlling for the average age and relationship length of the sample, samples with married participants (r = .49) had larger effect sizes compared to samples with mixed relationship statuses (r = .35). Higher levels of individualism (b = .003) strengthened, and higher levels of gender inequality (b = -.06) weakened, the association between sexual communication and sexual satisfaction. Finally, when sociosexuality was low, sexual communication had a large association with relationship satisfaction for men (r = .69) and a small association for women (r = .16). Measurement, sample characteristics, and cultural factors have an important role in understanding the link between partners' sexual communication and their relationship and sexual satisfaction. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Flow Diagram of Article Search and Screening Process
Note. Specific search terms: “Hurlbert Index of Sexual Assertiveness,” “sexual communication satisfaction” (The sexual communication satisfaction scale/inventory was called both a scale and inventory in different studies. So, in order to ensure both names would be included, “sexual communication satisfaction” was used instead of “sexual communication satisfaction scale” or “sexual communication satisfaction inventory), “Dyadic Sexual Communication Scale,” “Sexual Self-Disclosure Questionnaire,” “Sexual Self-Disclosure Scale,” “The Sexual Satisfaction Scale for Women,” “Sexual Communication Scale,” “Sexual Communication Styles Scale,” “Sexual Satisfaction Inventory,” “Couples Communication Scale,” “Indirect Sexual Communication,” “Golombok-Rust Inventory of Sexual Satisfaction,” “Sexual Function Scale,” and “Female Partners Communication During Sexual Activity Scale.” Because there is a large literature about parent–child sexual communication, and this meta-analysis only concerns quantitative research, “parent–child” and “qualitative” were added as exclusion criteria in the search terms (Mixed-methods studies were included if they provided usable statistics to calculated effect sizes). General search terms: “sexual communication” was paired with “couples,” “relationship,” “marriage,” and “marital.” Exclusion terms were deemed necessary after preliminary searches returned a large number of articles that were clearly not relevant to sexual communication in a romantic relationship. The exclusion terms included “parent–child” “mother*,” “father*,” “qualitative,” “HIV” “peer,” “tech*,” “physician” “porn*” “therap*.”
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