Emotion Regulation and Sexual Well-being Among Long-term Couples

Abstract

Sexual well-being is a key contributor to overall well-being and relationship quality. Unfortunately, sexual problems and declines in sexual well-being are common for couples over time. Couples also have challenges navigating these declines, with partners reporting greater negative emotion in response to sexual versus nonsexual conflicts in their relationship. Although negative emotion interferes with sexual well-being and couples’ communication during conflict, knowledge of how emotion regulation relates to sexual well-being is limited. Building on theoretical models of emotion and its regulation, this dissertation examined how emotion regulation was associated with sexual well-being among separate samples of long-term couples. Findings are consistent with interpersonal models of emotion and its regulation and suggest that an individual’s emotion regulation is associated with their own and their romantic partner’s sexual well-being. Emotion regulation may therefore be a relevant target for psychological treatments of sexual dysfunction and therapies that aim to improve couples’ sexual relationship.