Predictors of Sexual Satisfaction in Women: A Systematic Review.

INTRODUCTION: The increasing research interest in sexual satisfaction corresponds to a large amount of studies which focus on different singular determinants without establishing a common model for its explanation. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this review is to systematically identify and evaluate the structure and results of the current research about sexual satisfaction in heterosexual women in a long-term relationship. METHODS: A systematic literature search using Web of Knowledge, ProQuest and PSYNDEX was conducted from January 2004 to October 2019. In total, 1,649 studies published in the last 15 years were extracted from the databases with a systematic keyword search. Through a multistage evaluation process 204 studies met the inclusion criteria and described findings about sexual satisfaction as dependent variable. RESULTS: Research interest in sexual satisfaction increased notably in the last 5 years. Empirical analyses were predominantly based on data from North America whereas a considerably smaller share of research analyzed samples from Europe or Asia. Relationship variables were the most frequently analyzed predictors and included in more than half of the identified studies. Sexual behavior was most often analyzed in the form of frequency of sexual interactions. Contrariwise, sexual practices, communication about sexuality and sexual desire, and sexual thoughts received limited attention. Demographics were considered in one third of all studies. The inclusion of control variables was rare. Some important studies considered variables closely related to sexual satisfaction such as sexual dysfunction. CONCLUSION: Relationship satisfaction and the frequency of sexual interactions are identified as the most frequently confirmed predictors of sexual satisfaction across all evaluated studies. Results about the effects of pornography consumption, religion, and relationship duration showed the greatest inconsistency. In general, identified effects were often believed to result from mediator variables like sexual desire or distracting thoughts. Rausch D, Rettenberger M. Predictors of Sexual Satisfaction in Women: A Systematic Review. Sex Med Rev 2021;9:365-380.

The construct of sexual openness for females in steady intimate relationships.

The analysis of open-minded attitudes towards sexuality in general requires a construct based on attitudinal dimensions. Although several existing studies involve sexual attitudes, they differ substantially and standardized conceptual work is missing. Thus, the authors introduce the latent variable sexual openness to develop a construct based on self-oriented attitudes towards different sexual topics. Available survey data of female German students in a steady relationship allowed providing a first empirical test for the applicability of this construct. Five subdimensions are acknowledged central for sexual openness: sexual practices, masturbation, bisexuality, permissiveness, and pornography consumption. Confirmatory factor analysis and correlations confirmed the idea of an underlying mechanism with an impact on all five variables. Though further validation of the construct of sexual openness is required, the findings strongly support the notion of an overarching latent attitude variable, which influences the individual relation to everything sexual. The results were compared to other studies and potential approaches for future analyses were proposed.