Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-dk4vv Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T18:00:57.175Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Coital frequency among married and cohabiting couples in the United States

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 July 2008

K. V. Rao  and
Alfred Demaris
K. V. Rao
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, Bowling Green State University, Ohio, USA
Alfred Demaris
Affiliation:
Department of Sociology, Bowling Green State University, Ohio, USA
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Coital frequency is studied among couples as a function of marital or cohabiting status, relationship duration, number of children, religious affiliation, income, education, fertility intentions, age, race, self-assessed health, time spent in work, and perceived relationship quality. Data are from the 1987–88 National Survey of Families and Households. Predictors of coital frequency that were stable across several analyses were male's and female's ages, the duration of the relationship, and the male partner's self-assessed health. When the discrepancy in partners' reports was adjusted, cohabitation status, number of children, future fertility intentions, religious affiliation, and relationship quality as assessed by the female partner were significant. The results suggest a substantial idiosyncratic component to the determination of coital frequency in relationships.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Biosocial Science , Volume 27 , Issue 2 , April 1995 , pp. 135 - 150
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Doddridge, R., Schumm, W. R. & Bergen, M. B. (1987) Factors related to decline in preferred frequency of sexual intercourse among young couples. Psychol. Rep. 60, 391.Google Scholar
Edwards, J. E. & Booth, A. (1976) Sexual behavior in and out of marriage: an assessment of correlates. J. Marr. & Fam. 36, 73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Greenblat, C. S. (1983) The salience of sexuality in the early years of marriage. J. Marr. & Fam. 45, 289.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hatfield, E., Greenberger, D., Traupmann, J. & Lambert, P. (1982) Equity and sexual satisfaction in recently married couples. J. Sex Res. 18, 18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
James, W. H. (1974) Marital coital rates spouses' ages, family size and social class. J. Sex Res. 10, 205.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
James, W. H. (1991) The honeymoon effect on marital coitus. J. Sex Res. 17, 114.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jasso, G. (1985) Marital coital frequency and the passage of time: estimating the separate effects of spouses' ages and marital duration, birth and marriage cohorts, and period influences. Am. sociol. Rev. 50, 133.Google Scholar
Jasso, G. (1986) Is it outlier deletion or is it sample truncation? Notes on science and sexuality. Am. sociol. Rev. 51, 738.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kahn, R. & Udry, J. R. (1986) Marital coital frequency: unnoticed outliers and unspecified interactions lead to erroneous conclusions. Am. sociol. Rev. 51, 734.Google Scholar
Kinsey, A. C., Pomeroy, W. B. & Martin, C. E. (1948) Sexual Behavior in the Human Male. Saunders, Philadelphia.Google Scholar
Kinsey, A. C., Pomeroy, W. B., Martin, C. E. & Gebhard, P. H. (1953) Sexual Behavior in the Human Female. Saunders, Philadelphia.Google Scholar
Lee, E. S., Forthofer, R. N. & Lorimor, R. J. (1989) Analyzing Complex Survey Data. Sage, Newbury Park, California.Google Scholar
Margolin, L. & White, L. (1987) The continuing role of physical attractiveness in marriage. J. Marr. & Fam. 49, 21.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Myers, R. H. (1986) Classical and Modern Regression With Applications. Duxbury, Boston.Google Scholar
Neter, J., Wasserman, W. & Kutner, M. H. (1985) Applied Linear Statistical Models, 2nd end. Irwin, Homewood, Illinois.Google Scholar
Rubin, L. B. (1983) Intimate Strangers. Harper & Row, New York.Google Scholar
Surra, C. A. & Houston, T. L. (1987) Mate selection as a social transition. In: Intimate Relationships: Development, Dynamics, and Deterioration, pp. 88–120. Edited by Perlman, D. & Duck, S.. Sage, Newbury Park, California.Google Scholar
Sweet, J. A., Bumpass, L. L. & Call, V. R. A. (1988) The Design and Content of the National Survey of Families and Households (NSFH1). Center for Demography and Ecology, University of Wisconsin, Madison.Google Scholar
Udry, J. R. (1980) Changes in the frequency of marital intercourse from panel data. Archs sex. Behav. 9, 319.Google Scholar
Udry, J. R., Deven, F. R. & Coleman, S. J. (1982) A cross-national comparison of the relative influence of male and female age on the frequency of marital intercourse. J. biosoc. Sci. 14, 1.Google Scholar
Udry, J. R. & Morris, N. M. (1978) Relative contribution of male and female age to the frequency of marital intercourse. Social Biol. 25, 128.CrossRefGoogle Scholar