Abstract
There is evidence that people with higher self-esteem tend to have more satisfying sexual relationships, but little is known about how changes in people's self-esteem and sexual experiences are related over time. Several theories predict reciprocal effects between self-esteem and sexual experiences. The present study tested these theories using 12-wave longitudinal data from more than 11,000 participants of a representative sample in Germany. Data were analyzed using Random Intercept Cross-lagged Panel Models. Results indicated significant between-person associations between stable levels of self-esteem and both the frequency and the quality of sexual experiences. Moreover, we found reciprocal within-person transactions between self-esteem and sexual satisfaction but not sexual frequency. Overall, the present pattern of results provides evidence for theories that consider self-esteem as both a source and consequence of intimate sexual relationships.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 293-312 |
| Number of pages | 20 |
| Journal | Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin |
| Volume | 52 |
| Issue number | 2 |
| Early online date | 18 Sept 2024 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | E-pub ahead of print - 18 Sept 2024 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© The Author(s) 2024.
Funding
This article uses data from the German Family Panel pairfam, coordinated by Josef Brüederl, Sonja Drobnič, Karsten Hank, Franz J. Neyer, and Sabine Walper. pairfam is funded as long-term project by the German Research Foundation (DFG).
| Funders |
|---|
| German Research Foundation (DFG) |
Keywords
- longitudinal
- random intercept cross-lagged panel model
- reciprocal effects
- self-esteem
- sexual frequency and satisfaction