Thank You for Changing: Gratitude Promotes Autonomous Motivation and Successful Partner Regulation.

Romantic partners often attempt to improve their relationship by changing each other's traits and behaviors, but such partner regulation is often unsuccessful. We examined whether gratitude expressed by agents (i.e., partners requesting change) facilitates greater regulation success from targets (i.e., partners making change) by encouraging targets' autonomous motivation. Across studies, including observational (Study 1, N = 111 couples), preregistered longitudinal (Study 2, N = 150 couples), and experimental (Study 3a, N = 431; Study 3b, N = 725) designs, agents' gratitude for targets' efforts was linked to greater targets'-and less consistently agents'-reported regulation success. These effects were consistently mediated by greater target autonomous motivation, and generally persisted when accounting for how agents communicated their change request and other positive responses to targets' efforts (e.g., positivity and support). Gratitude for targets' efforts appears to be an important tool for promoting change success.

Orgasm Consistency in Mixed-Gender Couples: Actor, Partner, and Discrepancy Effects from Dyadic Response Surface Analysis.

The potential link between orgasm consistency (i.e., the percentage of time an individual experiences orgasm during sexual interactions with a partner) and sexual satisfaction in mixed-gender sexual relationships remains underexamined in the literature. We combined two dyadic samples (N = 725 couples) and utilized Dyadic Response Surface Analysis (DRSA) to examine how both partners' orgasm consistency and their discrepancy of orgasm consistency predict both partners' sexual satisfaction. We found that partners' discrepancy in orgasm consistency was not uniquely connected to higher sexual satisfaction for either women or men; rather, the overall consistency of orgasm was connected to better sexual satisfaction for both partners. In addition, there was some evidence tentatively suggesting that men were more likely than women to report lower sexual satisfaction if his partner was orgasming more consistently than he was, as opposed to her reporting lower sexual satisfaction from him orgasming more consistently than she was; though this appears to be a rare scenario as only 5.9% of couples had women who orgasmed more consistently than men. This study may assist educators and clinicians as they help couples consider the sexual scripts surrounding orgasm consistency, and how they can attend to each others' desires in a way that maximizes sexual satisfaction for both partners.

Comparing Responses to Sexual Rejection and Sexual and Relationship Well-Being in Couples Coping with Sexual Interest/Arousal Disorder and Community Couples.

Four distinct partner responses to sexual rejection - sexual advances that are declined by a partner - have been identified. This study assessed the frequency of these responses between and within North American couples coping with Sexual Interest/Arousal Disorder (SIAD) and community couples and - in line with the Interpersonal Emotion Regulation Model - compared the associations between responses to sexual rejection and sexual and relationship well-being across the two samples. Individuals with SIAD and their partners (n = 241) and community couples (n = 105) completed online measures of sexual rejection responses, sexual satisfaction, sexual desire, sexual distress, sexual frequency, and relationship satisfaction. Results showed that after accounting for sexual rejection frequency, individuals with SIAD and their partners reported greater resentful and insecure partner responses to sexual rejection than individuals in the community sample, and individuals with SIAD perceived less understanding responses than their own partners reported. For both groups, more understanding and less resentful and insecure responses were associated with greater sexual and relationship well-being. Clinicians might encourage couples to reflect on their rejection responses and to shift to more helpful ways of responding to sexual rejection.

Shared Hearts and Minds: Physiological Synchrony During Empathy.

Empathy is a multidimensional construct that includes changes in cognitive, affective, and physiological processes. However, the physiological processes that contribute to empathic responding have received far less empirical attention. Here, we investigated whether physiological synchrony emerged during an empathy-inducing activity in which individuals disclosed a time of suffering while their romantic partner listened and responded (N = 111 couples). Further, we examined the extent to which trait and state measures of cognitive and affective empathy were associated with each other and with physiological synchrony during this activity. We found evidence for physiological synchrony in skin conductance reactivity and also in interbeat interval reactivity, though only when disclosers were women, but not for respiratory sinus arrhythmia reactivity. Physiological synchrony was not consistently associated with other well-established trait and state measures of empathy. These findings identify the nuanced role of physiological synchrony in empathic responding to others' suffering. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s42761-023-00210-4.

Understanding the Links Between Perceiving Gratitude and Romantic Relationship Satisfaction Using an Accuracy and Bias Framework.

Perceiving a partner's gratitude has several benefits for romantic relationships. We aimed to better understand these associations by decomposing perceptions into accuracy and bias. Specifically, we examined whether accuracy and bias in perceiving a partner's experience (Study 1: Ndyads= 205) and expression (Study 2: Ndyads= 309) of gratitude were associated with romantic relationship satisfaction. Using the Truth and Bias Model of Judgment, we found that perceivers generally underestimated their partner's gratitude, and lower perceptions of gratitude were related to lower perceiver satisfaction. Perceivers reported greater satisfaction when they assumed their partner's gratitude was similar to their own. Partners reported greater satisfaction when perceivers accurately gauged their partners' gratitude experience (but not expression) and lower satisfaction when perceivers underestimated their gratitude expression (but not experience). Overall, by decomposing gratitude perceptions into accuracy and bias, we provide insight into how these components differentially relate to relationship satisfaction.

Not Who You Are, But Who You Are With: Re-examining Women's Less Satisfying Sexual Debuts.

Gender differences in appraisals of first intercourse are among the largest in sexuality research, with women indicating less satisfying "sexual debuts" than men. Dispositional or "actor-level" explanations for this gender gap are pervasive, yet research has largely examined heterosexual debuts in which actor gender and partner gender are confounded. We assessed whether women's less satisfying sexual debuts are better explained by actor gender or partner gender, comparing experiences of women who debuted with men (WDM) with those of men and women who debuted with women (MDW, WDW). Retrospective accounts of sexual debut were collected from 3033 adults. At first intercourse, we found that WDW had equal physical and emotional satisfaction to MDW, and more satisfaction than WDM, suggesting satisfaction gaps owing to partner gender, not actor gender. This pattern did not extend to a comparison event (first masturbation), where WDW and WDM had similar satisfaction, but less satisfaction than MDW, suggesting an actor gender gap. To identify sources of satisfaction gaps, we probed for corresponding differences in the circumstances of sexual debut. Sexual circumstances were more strongly implicated than nonsexual ones, with relative deprivation of glans stimulation explaining relative dissatisfaction at first intercourse, but not first masturbation, and orgasm explaining it at both. Findings challenge the view that the satisfaction gap at first intercourse reflects an inherent difference between genders. Indeed, they demonstrate similarities when partner gender does not differ and suggest strategies for ensuring equal sexual satisfaction-and equal sexual rights realization-at (hetero) sexual debut.

Daily Sleep Quality and Support in Romantic Relationships: The Role of Negative Affect and Perspective-Taking.

Sleep is an important predictor of social functioning. However, questions remain about how impaired sleep-which is common and detrimental to affective and cognitive functions necessary for providing high quality support-is linked to both the provision and perception of support, especially at the daily level. We tested links between impaired sleep and provided and perceived support in romantic couples, and whether these links were mediated by negative affect and perspective-taking. In preregistered analyses of two 14-day diary studies (Study 1 N = 111 couples; Study 2 N = 100 couples), poor daily subjective sleep quality-but not duration-was associated with less self-reported support toward a partner (in both studies), less perceived support from a partner and less partner-reported support (in Study 1), and partner perceptions of receiving less support (in Study 2). Only greater daily negative affect consistently mediated the association between participants' impaired sleep (i.e., poor subjective sleep quality and duration) and their own support provision, as well as their partner's perceptions of received support. Our findings suggest that the effect of sleep on social processes may be strongest for self-reported measures of support and that unique aspects of sleep might be differentially associated with social outcomes given that sleep quality-but not duration-was consistently linked to support outcomes. These findings highlight the psychosocial influences of sleep and negative affect, and may inform approaches to promote supportive partner interactions. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s42761-023-00180-7.

Turning toward or away from God: COVID-19 and changes in religious devotion.

Major stressors can influence religiosity, making some people more religious, while making others less religious. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we conducted a mixed-method study with a nationally representative sample of religiously affiliated American adults (N = 685) to assess group differences between those who decreased, stayed the same, or increased in their religious devotion. In quantitative analyses we evaluated differences on sociodemographic variables, religious behaviors, individual differences, prosocial emotions, well-being, and COVID-19 attitudes and behaviors. Of most note, those who changed (i.e., increased or decreased) in religious devotion were more likely than those with no change in devotion to experience high levels of stress and threat related to COVID-19, but only those who increased in religious devotion had the highest dispositional prosocial emotions (i.e., gratitude and awe). Further, those who changed in religious devotion were more likely to report searching for meaning than those with no change, but only those who increased were more likely to report actual presence of meaning. Qualitative analyses revealed that those who increased in religious devotion reported increasing personal worship, the need for a higher power, and uncertainty in life as reasons for their increase in religious devotion; those who decreased reported being unable to communally worship, a lack of commitment or priority, and challenges making it hard to believe in God as reasons for their decrease in religious devotion. The findings help identify how COVID-19 has affected religious devotion, and how religion might be used as a coping mechanism during a major life stressor.

What social lives do single people want? A person-centered approach to identifying profiles of social motives among singles.

Despite the worldwide increase in unpartnered individuals (i.e., singles), little research exists to provide a comprehensive understanding of the heterogeneity within this population. In the present research (N = 3,195), we drew on the fundamental social motives framework to provide a theory-based description and understanding of different "types" of single individuals. Across two Western samples (primarily European and American) and one Korean sample (all collected during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020-2021), we identified three groups of singles with relatively consistent motivational patterns: (a) singles with strong independence motives and little interest in affiliation, mating, or status (i.e., independent profile); (b) singles with great interest in self-protection as well as social connections and status (i.e., socially focused profile); and (c) singles with little interest in self-protection but moderate interest in affiliation (i.e., low safety focus profile). Notably, these profile features did not perfectly replicate in one smaller Western sample collected before the pandemic (particularly the low safety focus profile), highlighting the need to interpret the data with the historical background in mind. Across samples, the independence-oriented group of singles consistently reported greater satisfaction with singlehood compared to other groups. The three groups of singles also showed substantial differences in other affective and behavioral variables (e.g., how they spend their social time). These findings advance the growing body of research on singlehood by offering new theoretical perspectives on different types of singles. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Unmet and Exceeded Expectations for Sexual Concerns across the Transition to Parenthood.

Expectations play a key role in shaping sexual and relationship well-being. Across the transition to parenthood, couples navigate many changes to their sexual relationships, yet little is known about their expectations related to sex. This longitudinal study investigated how unmet and exceeded expectations for postpartum sexual concerns - assessed in pregnancy and compared to experiences at 3-months postpartum - affect sexual and relationship well-being. Data were collected from 200 new-parent couples mid-pregnancy and at 3, 6, 9, and 12-months postpartum. Mothers' unmet expectations (i.e., sexual experiences were worse than expected) were associated with their own lower sexual and relationship satisfaction at 3-months postpartum. Partners' unmet expectations were associated with their own lower sexual satisfaction, higher sexual distress and relationship conflict, and mothers' lower sexual satisfaction. Mothers' exceeded expectations (i.e., sexual experiences were not as bad as they expected) were linked to their own and their partners' higher sexual satisfaction and lower sexual distress and relationship conflict at 3-months postpartum. Partners' exceeded expectations were only associated with mothers' lower sexual distress at 3-months postpartum. Expectations did not predict change in outcomes over time. Findings provide novel evidence that expectations for one's sexual relationship are associated with new parents' sexual and relationship adjustment during a vulnerable period for sexuality and well-being.

Being Responsive and Self-Determined When it Comes to Sex: How and Why Sexual Motivation is Associated with Satisfaction and Desire in Romantic Relationships.

Couples experience greater satisfaction and desire when they are motivated to meet each other's sexual needs (sexual communal strength); however, doing so at the expense of one's own sexual needs (unmitigated sexual communion) can detract from satisfaction and desire. Self-determination theory suggests engaging in sex for pleasure and value (autonomous reasons) versus out of pressure and obligation (controlled reasons) may account for these differences. Across two dyadic studies, one cross-sectional (N = 103 couples) and one longitudinal (N = 147 couples), people higher in sexual communal strength had sex for more autonomous and less controlled reasons, and in turn, reported greater satisfaction and desire, overall, in daily life, and over time. In contrast, people higher in unmitigated sexual communion endorsed more controlled reasons for engaging in sex, and in turn reported lower satisfaction. Partners of people higher in sexual communal strength reported less controlled reasons for engaging in sex, and in turn, both partners felt more satisfied, whereas partners of people high in unmitigated sexual communion endorsed more controlled reasons and reported lower satisfaction. This research furthers our understanding of when and why being motivated to be responsive to a partner's sexual needs enhances or detracts from sexual and relationship quality.

Meta-analytic evidence that attachment insecurity is associated with less frequent experiences of discrete positive emotions.

OBJECTIVE: Individual differences in attachment insecurity can have important implications for experiences of positive emotions. However, existing research on the link between attachment insecurity and positive emotional experiences has typically used a composite measure of positive emotions, overlooking the potential importance of differentiating discrete emotions. METHOD: We conducted a meta-analysis of 10 cross-sectional samples (N = 3215), examining how attachment insecurity is associated with self-reported frequency of experiencing positive emotions, with a distinction made between more social (i.e., love and gratitude) and less social (i.e., peace and awe or curiosity) positive emotions. RESULTS: High (vs. low) levels of both attachment anxiety and avoidance were associated with less frequent experience of positive emotions regardless of their social relevance. When analyzing each emotion separately, we found that attachment anxiety showed negative relations to all emotions except gratitude. Attachment avoidance was negatively associated with all emotions, and the link was even stronger with love (vs. peace, awe, or curiosity). Additional analyses of daily diary data revealed that attachment anxiety and avoidance were also negatively associated with daily experiences of positive emotions, regardless of social relevance. CONCLUSION: Our results underscore the need to further investigate the mechanisms underlying insecure individuals' blunted positive emotional experiences.

Indirect associations between infant sleep, parental sleep, and sexual well-being in new parent couples.

New parents' sexual frequency and desire fluctuate throughout the transition to parenthood (i.e., the first year after childbirth). Poorer infant sleep and parental sleep are each associated with lower sexual frequency and desire in cross-sectional research. According to the theory, infant sleep might shape new parents' sexual frequency and desire in so far as it disrupts parental sleep, though this pathway has yet to be examined. We examined the role of parental sleep in the indirect pathway between infant sleep and sexual frequency and sexual desire in couples, both within and between-person, during the first-year postpartum. In a dyadic longitudinal study, 203 first-time mothers and their partners reported on infant sleep quality, parental sleep, sexual frequency, and sexual desire at 3-, 6-, 9-, and 12-months postpartum. Poorer infant sleep was associated with mothers' (within-couple) and partners' (between-couple) poorer sleep and, in turn, lower sexual frequency for the couple. For both mothers (within-person) and partners (between-person), poorer infant sleep was associated with their own lower sexual desire through poorer parental sleep via the indirect pathway. Ongoing assessment of infant sleep and parental sleep may reveal opportunities to mitigate the negative effects of poor sleep on new parents' sexual relationships. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Initial impressions of compatibility and mate value predict later dating and romantic interest.

Romantic first impressions seem to linger, but why? Few studies have investigated how romantic desire during initial interactions predicts later relational outcomes (e.g., later romantic interest, contact attempts) using a design that can tease apart different possible mechanisms (e.g., mate value, selectivity, compatibility). Across three speed-dating studies (n = 559) with longitudinal follow-ups (including college and community samples, and a sample of men who date men), we investigated whether different components of initial romantic impressions predicted later romantic outcomes and relationship initiation. Using the social relations model, we partitioned initial desire at speed dating (determined from 6,600+ total dates) into partner effects (a date's consensual desirability, e.g., mate value), actor effects (a participant's general desirousness, e.g., selectivity), and relationship effects (a participant's unique liking for a date over and beyond partner and actor effects, e.g., compatibility) to predict later evaluations (romantic interest, physical attraction, and desire to know better) and behaviors (direct messaging and going on dates). Meta-analyses across the three studies showed that, across 6,100+ follow-up reports, partner and relationship effects were especially strong predictors of relationship initiation variables. Consistent with evolutionary models of human pair bonding, these findings suggest that both consensually desirable traits and unique impressions of compatibility have lingering effects on relationship development, even from the moment that two potential partners meet.

Women and Men are the Barometers of Relationships: Testing the Predictive Power of Women's and Men's Relationship Satisfaction.

There is a longstanding belief in relationship science and popular opinion that women are the barometers in mixed-gender relationships such that their perceptions about the partnership carry more weight than men's in predicting future relationship satisfaction, but this idea has yet to be rigorously tested. We analyze data from two studies to test within-person links between men's and women's relationship satisfaction on their own and their partner's next-day and next-year satisfaction. Study 1 combined nine daily diary datasets from Canada and the United States with 901 mixed-gender couples who provided 29,541 daily reports of relationship satisfaction. Study 2 analyzed five annual waves of data from the German Family Panel (pairfam) that surveyed 3,405 mixed-gender couples who provided 21,115 relationship satisfaction reports. Latent curve models with structured residuals (LCM-SR) revealed that in both studies, men's and women's relationship satisfaction significantly predicted their own and their partner's relationship satisfaction, with no gender differences in the magnitude of these effects. Results underscore the interdependence of romantic partners' satisfaction and indicate that both men and women jointly shape romantic relationship satisfaction.

When We're Asked to Change: The Role of Suppression and Reappraisal in Partner Change Outcomes.

Receiving a request to change from a romantic partner can evoke intense emotional responses that hinder change progress and conflict resolution. As such, investigating how those being asked to change (i.e., change targets) regulate their emotions through key intrapersonal strategies (i.e., suppression and reappraisal) will lend crucial insight into promoting change success. Utilizing laboratory-interaction (Study 1; N = 111 couples) and experience-sampling methods (Study 2; N = 2178 weekly reports from an 8-week diary), we assessed targets' regulation strategies, change progress, and the extent to which they met their partner's ideals. Preregistered analyses demonstrated that targets' use of suppression was not linked to better or worse change outcomes. However, targets' use of reappraisal was linked to better change outcomes as rated by both partners. Additional analyses revealed that targets' suppression was linked to targets meeting their partner's ideals more in the short term but less over time, whereas targets' reappraisal was linked to targets meeting their partner's ideals more in both the short term and over time. These findings highlight reappraisal as a key strategy for promoting successful partner change.

The Risks and Benefits of Being "Early to Bed": Toward a Broader Understanding of Age at Sexual Debut and Sexual Health in Adulthood.

BACKGROUND: A younger age at sexual intercourse has frequently been linked to adverse sexual health outcomes. Yet, little is known about its associations with healthy sexual function, and less still about the timing of pre-coital sexual debuts and adult sexual health. AIM: We examined associations between an earlier sexual debut and subsequent sexual health, using broad operationalizations of each that capture pre-coital experiences and positive outcomes. Connections to sexual health risk and healthy sexual function were assessed through the lens of the dual-control model of sexual response. METHODS: Data on age at first sexual intercourse, first sexual contact, first sexual stimulation, and first orgasm, as well as sexual health risk and healthy sexual function were gathered from 3,139 adults. OUTCOMES: Adverse sexual events (reproductive illness, infection, or injury affecting sexual activity; pregnancy termination and/or loss; non-volitional sex) and current sexual difficulties (Female [FSFI] and/or Male Sexual Function Index [MSFI] scores; Sexual Excitation and/or Sexual Inhibition Inventory for Women and Men [SESII-W/M] scores). RESULTS: When defined narrowly as first sexual intercourse, earlier sexual debut was associated with adverse sexual events, including non-volitional sex, pregnancy termination and/or loss, and reproductive illness, infection, or injury affecting sexual activity. However, it was also related to healthier sexual function, including less pain during vaginal penetration, better orgasmic functioning, and lower sexual inhibition. When sexual debut was broadened to include pre-coital experiences, earlier sexual contact, like earlier sexual intercourse, was associated with non-volitional sex. However, earlier sexual stimulation and orgasm were unrelated to adverse outcomes. Rather, these related to fewer sexual desire difficulties, and greater sexual excitation. Exploratory mediation analyses revealed later sexual intercourse and orgasm were connected to sexual difficulties through higher sexual inhibition and lower sexual excitation, respectively. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: When sexual functioning is impaired, delay of both coital and noncoital debuts may warrant assessment, and sexual excitation and inhibition may be targets for intervention. To facilitate healthy sexual development of young people, non-coital debuts with and without a partner may warrant inclusion in risk management and health promotion strategies, respectively. STRENGTHS & LIMITATIONS: Although this research operationalized sexual debut and sexual health broadly, and examined associations between them, it is limited by its cross-sectional retrospective design and non-clinical convenience sample. CONCLUSION: From a risk-based perspective, earlier sexual intercourse is adversely related to sexual health. Yet, it is also associated with healthy sexual function. Indeed, earlier sexual initiation may confer more benefits than risks when sexual debuts beyond intercourse are considered. Peragine DE, Skorska MN, Maxwell JA, et al. The Risks and Benefits of Being "Early to Bed": Toward a Broader Understanding of Age at Sexual Debut and Sexual Health in Adulthood. J Sex Med 2022;19:1343-1358.

Change in 21 Sexual Concerns of New Parents From Three to Twelve Months Postpartum: Similarities and Differences between Mothers and Partners.

BACKGROUND: Postpartum sexual concerns are associated with depressive symptoms, distress, and lower relationship satisfaction, and are commonly reported by both mothers and their partners. Previous studies have examined changes in postpartum sexual concern using aggregate scores and have not examined patterns of change for unique concerns, thus ignoring that the initial levels and trajectories of a variety of distinct, postpartum sexual concerns may differ from one another and may differ between mothers and partners. AIMS: The aims of the current study were to (i) examine how a variety of postpartum sexual concerns change from 3 to 12 months postpartum for mothers and their partners using a sample of first-time parents, and (ii) examine how mothers and their partners may differ in their initial levels and subsequent changes in postpartum sexual concerns. METHODS: First-time mothers and their partners (N = 203 couples) independently completed a measure of 21 postpartum sexual concerns at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months postpartum. OUTCOMES: Postpartum Sexual Concerns Questionnaire RESULTS: Growth modeling indicated that twelve of mothers' and 6 of partners' postpartum sexual concerns declined over time from 3 to 12 months postpartum, only one concern of mothers' and none of partners' concerns increased over time, and the remaining 8 and 15 concerns were stable for mothers and partners, respectively. At 3 months postpartum, mothers had higher levels of 11 postpartum sexual concerns than partners, while partners had higher levels than mothers on 4 concerns. Compared to partners, from 3 to 12 months postpartum, mothers showed both steeper decreases in concern about body image changes and steeper increases in concern about returning to work. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Various postpartum sexual concerns do not all follow the same pattern of change over time, and mothers and their partners share similarities and differences in these patterns. Clinicians should use a checklist to discuss a range of postpartum sexual concerns with both new mothers and their partners. STRENGTHS AND LIMITATIONS: This is the first study, to our knowledge, to examine how a variety of postpartum sexual concerns change over time and how mothers and partners both differ and are similar in their experiences. Most couples were in mixed-sex relationships, identified as White, and were relatively affluent; results may not generalize. CONCLUSION: A variety of postpartum sexual concerns follow different patterns of change from 3 to 12 months postpartum, and mothers and partners share similarities and differences in these patterns. Allsop DB, Impett EA, Vannier SA, et al. Change in 21 Sexual Concerns of New Parents From Three to Twelve Months Postpartum: Similarities and Differences between Mothers and Partners. J Sex Med 2022;19:1366-1377.

Dialing up desire and dampening disinterest: regulating sexual desire in the bedroom and sexual and relationship well-being.

Romantic partners often regulate their emotions and affection to achieve certain goals, but research has yet to explore how partners regulate their expression of sexual desire during sex and its implications for couples' well-being. In two multi-part dyadic diary studies of primarily mixed-gender couples in longer-term relationships residing in North America, we examined three questions. First, is amplifying desire and suppressing disinterest during sex associated with both partners' daily sexual and relationship satisfaction? Second, do these associations differ by level of sexual desire and gender? Third, tested in our second sample, can these associations be explained by feelings of sexual inauthenticity? Across both samples (Ntotal = 225 couples, 450 participants), amplifying desire was associated with lower sexual satisfaction, while suppressing disinterest was not associated with daily satisfaction. Importantly, sexual desire played a role in the links between desire regulation during sex and satisfaction: on days when people were low in sexual desire, amplification was associated with both partners' lower sexual satisfaction, while suppression was associated with a partner's higher relationship satisfaction. In addition, amplification (on low desire days) and suppression (regardless of desire level) were associated with lower sexual authenticity which, in turn, was linked to lower relationship satisfaction. The findings suggest that desire regulation during sex plays an important role in couples' daily sexual satisfaction and relationship satisfaction-in part because it feels sexually inauthentic-with the implications of this regulation being particularly strong when people feel low sexual desire.

Relationship functioning following a large-scale sacrifice: Perceived partner prosociality buffers attachment insecurity.

In a sample of 229 individuals who recently undertook a large-scale sacrifice by relocating for their romantic partner's job or schooling (i.e., accompanying partners), we tested preregistered predictions linking accompanying partners' attachment insecurities (i.e., attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance) and relationship functioning (i.e., relationship quality, relationship conflict, and move-related relationship benefits). We also examined whether any negative associations found among accompanying partners' attachment insecurities and relationship functioning could be buffered by partner prosociality in the form of perceived partner gratitude (i.e., partners' expressions of move-related and general gratitude) and perceived partner sacrifice (i.e., partners' daily sacrifice behaviors and general willingness to sacrifice). Results showed that more insecurely attached accompanying partners reported worse relationship functioning after moving than their secure counterparts. Although gratitude and sacrifice did not buffer insecurely attached individuals' relationship conflict, both perceived partner general gratitude and willingness to sacrifice partially buffered avoidantly attached individuals from experiencing lower relationship quality, while move-related gratitude helped avoidantly attached individuals to feel that the move benefitted their relationship. Meanwhile, perceived partner sacrifice behaviors buffered anxiously attached individuals from experiencing lower relationship quality. This is the first study to demonstrate, in an ecologically valid sample, the implications of a large-scale sacrifice for insecurely attached accompanying partners' relationship functioning, as well as the protective effects of perceiving a partner's prosociality following the major life transition of job relocation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).