Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Changes in the Sexual Relationship and Relationship Adjustment Precede Extradyadic Sexual Involvement

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Archives of Sexual Behavior Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Extradyadic sexual involvement (ESI) is associated with negative consequences for individuals and threatens couple stability. Research on ESI in unmarried samples has been marked by methodological limitations, such as examining only mean levels of sexual satisfaction or frequency to predict later ESI as opposed to changes in various aspects of the sexual relationship over time. The current study compared linear trajectories of four aspects of the sexual relationship—sexual satisfaction, frequency of sex, comfort communicating about sex, and sexual closeness—between individuals in opposite-sex, unmarried relationships who subsequently engaged in ESI (ESI group; n = 183) compared to individuals who did not engage in ESI (non-ESI group; n = 603). Trajectories of relationship adjustment were also evaluated leading up to ESI as well as controlled for in models evaluating the sexual relationship. Results indicated that relationship adjustment declined for individuals preceding ESI, but did not change for the non-ESI group. When controlling for relationship adjustment, comfort communicating about sex decreased for ESI women but increased for ESI men. Some results became nonsignificant after controlling for relationship adjustment, including that sexual satisfaction declined more steeply in the ESI group compared to the non-ESI group, and ESI women significantly decreased in sexual closeness while ESI men demonstrated no significant change. Some mean level differences were also discovered directly before ESI. Conclusions include that changes in a couple’s sexual relationship and relationship adjustment are associated with ESI behaviors, providing novel information regarding normative and risk trajectories.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Allen, E. S. (2001). Attachment styles and their relation to patterns of extradyadic and extramarital involvement. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of North Carolina, Chapel.

  • Allen, E. S., & Atkins, D. C. (2012). The association of divorce and extramarital sex in a representative U.S. sample. Journal of Family Issues, 33, 1477–1493.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Allen, E. S., Atkins, D. C., Baucom, D. H., Snyder, D. K., Gordon, K., & Glass, S. P. (2005). Intrapersonal, interpersonal, and contextual factors in engaging in and responding to extramarital involvement. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 12, 101–130.

    Google Scholar 

  • Allen, E. S., Rhoades, G. K., Stanley, S. M., Markman, H. J., Williams, T., Melton, J., & Clements, M. L. (2008). Premarital precursors of marital infidelity. Family Process, 47, 243–259.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Althof, S. (2010). Sex therapy: Advances in paradigms, nomenclature, and treatment. Academic Psychiatry, 34, 390–396.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Amato, P. R. (2003). People’s reasons for divorcing. Journal of Family Issues, 24, 602–626.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Atkins, D. C., Yi, J., Baucom, D. H., & Christensen, A. (2005). Infidelity in couples seeking marital therapy. Journal of Family Psychology, 19, 470–473.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Birnie-Porter, C., & Lydon, J. E. (2013). A prototype approach to understanding sexual intimacy through its relationship to intimacy. Personal Relationships, 20, 236–258.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Both, S., Everaerd, W., & Laan, E. (2007). Desire emerges from excitement: A psychophysiological perspective on sexual motivation. In E. Janssen (Ed.), The psychophysiology of sex (pp. 327–339). Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Butzer, B., & Campbell, L. (2008). Adult attachment, sexual satisfaction, and relationship satisfaction: A study of married couples. Personal Relationships, 15, 141–154.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Byers, E. S. (2005). Relationship satisfaction and sexual satisfaction: A longitudinal study of individuals in long-term relationships. Journal of Sex Research, 42, 113–118.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Christensen, A., & Shenk, J. L. (1991). Communication, conflict, and psychological distance in nondistressed, clinic, and divorcing couples. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 59, 458–463.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Christopher, F. S., & Sprecher, S. (2000). Sexuality in marriage, dating and other relationships: A decade review. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 62, 999–1017.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cordova, J. V., Warren, L. Z., Gee, C. B., & McDonald, R. P. (2010). Intimate safety: Measuring the private experience of intimacy in men and women. Unpublished manuscript. Department of Psychology, Clark University, Worcester, MA.

  • Davis, D., Shaver, P. R., & Vernon, M. L. (2004). Attachment style and subjective motivations for sex. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 30, 1076–1090.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • De la Garza-Mercer, F. (2006). The evolution of sexual pleasure. Journal of Psychology & Human Sexuality, 18(2–3), 107–124.

    Google Scholar 

  • DeMaris, A. (2009). Distal and proximal influences on the risk of extramarital sex: A prospective study of longer duration marriages. Journal of Sex Research, 46, 597–607.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Dewitte, M. (2012). Different perspectives on the sex-attachment link: Towards an emotion-motivational account. Journal of Sex Research, 49, 105–124.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Edwards, J. N., & Booth, A. (1994). Sexuality, marriage, and well-being: The middle years. In A. S. Rossi (Ed.), Sexuality across the life course (pp. 233–259). Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Glass, S. P. (2003). Not “just friends”: Protect your relationship from infidelity and heal the trauma of betrayal. New York: Free Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Guterbock, T. M., Diop, A., Ellis, J. M., Holmes, J. L., & Le, K. T. (2011). Who needs RDD? Combining directory listings with cell phone exchanges for an alternative telephone sampling frame. Social Science Research, 40, 860–872.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hall, J. H., & Fincham, F. D. (2009). Psychological distress: Precursor or consequence of dating infidelity? Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 35, 143–159.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Huston, T. L., Caughlin, J. P., Houts, R. M., Smith, S. E., & George, L. J. (2001). The connubial crucible: Newlywed years as predictors of marital delight, distress, and divorce. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 80, 237–252.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Huston, T. L., & Houts, R. M. (1998). The psychological infrastructure of courtship and marriage: The role of personality and compatibility in romantic relationships. In T. N. Bradbury (Ed.), The developmental course of marital dysfunction (pp. 114–151). New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, C. A., Stanley, S. M., Glenn, N. D., Amato, P. R., Nock, S. L., Markman, H. J., & Robin Dion, M. (2001). Marriage in Oklahoma: 2001 Baseline Statewide Survey on Marriage and Divorce. Stillwater, OK: OSU Bureau for Social Research, Oklahoma State University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Laan, E., & Both, S. (2008). What makes women experience desire? Feminism & Psychology, 18, 505–514.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, C. (2000). A theory of marital sexual life. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 62, 363–374.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maddox Shaw, A. M., Rhoades, G. K., Allen, E. S., Stanley, S. M., & Markman, H. J. (2013). Predictors of extradyadic sexual involvement in unmarried opposite-sex relationships. Journal of Sex Research, 50, 598–610.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mark, K. P., Janssen, E., & Milhausen, R. R. (2011). Infidelity in heterosexual couples: Demographic, interpersonal, and personality-related predictors of extradyadic sex. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 40, 971–982.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mark, K. P., & Jozkowski, K. N. (2013). The mediating role of sexual and nonsexual communication between relationship and sexual satisfaction in a sample of college-age heterosexual couples. Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy, 39, 410–427.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Markman, H. J., & Rhoades, G. K. (2012). Relationship education research: Current status and future directions. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 38, 169–200.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Masters, W. H., & Johnson, W. E. (1970). Human sexual inadequacy. Boston, MA: Little Brown, & Co.

    Google Scholar 

  • McNulty, J. K., & Fisher, T. D. (2008). Gender differences in response to sexual expectancies and changes in sexual frequency: A short-term longitudinal study of sexual satisfaction in newly married couples. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 37, 229–240.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Montesi, J. L., Fauber, R. L., Gordon, E. A., & Heimberg, R. G. (2011). The specific importance of communicating about sex to couples’ sexual and overall relationship satisfaction. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 28, 591–609.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pascoal, P. M., de Narciso, S. B. I., & Pereira, N. M. (2014). What is sexual satisfaction? Thematic analysis of lay people’s definitions. Journal of Sex Research, 51, 22–30.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Peplau, L. A. (2003). Human sexuality: How do men and women differ? Current Directions in Psychological Science, 12, 37–40.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prins, K. S., Buunk, B. P., & VanYperen, N. W. (1993). Equity, normative disapproval, and extramarital relationships. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 10, 39–53.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Raudenbush, S. W., Bryk, A. S., & Congdon, R. (2004). HLM 6: Hierarchical linear and nonlinear modeling. Lincolnwood, IL: Scientific Software International Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rehman, U. S., Rellini, A. H., & Fallis, E. (2011). The importance of sexual self-disclosure to sexual satisfaction and functioning in committed relationships. Journal of Sexual Medicine, 8, 3108–3115.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rhoades, G. K., Stanley, S. M., & Markman, H. J. (2009). The pre-engagement cohabitation effect: A replication and extension of previous findings. Journal of Family Psychology, 23, 107–111.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rhoades, G. K., Stanley, S. M., & Markman, H. J. (2010). Should I stay or should I go? Predicting dating relationship stability from four aspects of commitment. Journal of Family Psychology, 24, 543–550.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Sabourin, S., Valois, P., & Lussier, Y. (2005). Development and validation of a brief version of the Dyadic Adjustment Scale with a nonparametric item analysis model. Psychological Assessment, 17, 15–27.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Scott, S. B., Rhoades, G. K., Stanley, S. M., Allen, E. S., & Markman, H. J. (2013). Reasons for divorce and recollections of premarital intervention: Implications for improving relationship education. Couple and Family Psychology: Research and Practice, 2, 131–145.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Spanier, G. B. (1976). Measuring dyadic adjustment: New scales for assessing the quality of marriage and similar dyads. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 38, 15–28.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Treas, J., & Giesen, D. (2000). Sexual infidelity among married and cohabiting Americans. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 62, 48–60.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Waite, L. J., & Joyner, K. (2001). Emotional satisfaction and physical pleasure in sexual unions: Time horizon, sexual behavior, and sexual exclusivity. Journal of Marriage and Family, 63, 247–264.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weiner, L., & Avery-Clark, C. (2014). Sensate focus: Clarifying the Masters and Johnson’s model. Sexual and Relationship Therapy, 29, 307–319.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whisman, M. A., Gordon, K. C., & Chatav, Y. (2007). Predicting sexual infidelity in a population-based sample of married individuals. Journal of Family Psychology, 21, 320–324.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Yeh, H. C., Lorenz, F. O., Wickrama, K. A. S., Conger, R. D., & Elder, G. H. (2006). Relationships among sexual satisfaction, marital quality, and marital instability at midlife. Journal of Family Psychology, 20, 339–343.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This project was supported by a grant from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) to the fourth, fifth, and sixth authors (R01HD047564).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Denver, Frontier Hall, 2155 S. Race St., Denver, CO, 80208, USA

    Shelby B. Scott, Aleja Parsons, Kristina M. Post, Scott M. Stanley, Howard J. Markman & Galena K. Rhoades

  2. Department of Psychology, University of La Verne, Hoover Building, 1950 Third Street, La Verne, CA, 91750, USA

    Kristina M. Post

Authors
  1. Shelby B. Scott
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Aleja Parsons
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Kristina M. Post
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Scott M. Stanley
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Howard J. Markman
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Galena K. Rhoades
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Shelby B. Scott.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Scott, S.B., Parsons, A., Post, K.M. et al. Changes in the Sexual Relationship and Relationship Adjustment Precede Extradyadic Sexual Involvement. Arch Sex Behav 46, 395–406 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-016-0797-0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-016-0797-0

Keywords

Search

Navigation