Mating Challenge
Women Are Slightly More Sexually Satisfied in Their Romantic Relationships Than Men: An Integrative Data Analytic Approach
Ashlyn Brady et al.
Archives of Sexual Behavior, January 2026, Pages 289-311
Abstract:
Sexual satisfaction is a common goal within romantic relationships that contributes to individual and relational well-being. Yet, theoretical perspectives, and even popular assumptions, suggest that women may be less sexually satisfied than men. We tested this possibility among people in romantic relationships with two high-powered Integrative Data Analyses (one cross-sectional, n = 11,841, k = 28; one daily-experience, n = 1,827, k = 8, daily reports = 18,321). Contrary to theoretical and lay perspectives, partnered women reported slightly greater sexual satisfaction than did partnered men (r = .08). To further explore why partnered women reported greater sexual satisfaction than did partnered men, we conducted supplemental analyses that revealed that women’s greater sexual satisfaction was not a result of engaging in less frequent sexual behavior, their broader satisfaction with their relationship, or considering partners’ sexual enjoyment. In sum, although women may face obstacles that hinder their sexual experiences, these findings suggest that partnered women do not report being less satisfied and instead report being slightly more satisfied with their sex lives than do partnered men. Nevertheless, it is still unknown whether these slight differences in sexual satisfaction have practical implications for couples’ relationships or well-being.
What Happens When Dating Goes Online? Evidence from U.S. Marriage Markets and Health Outcomes
Daniel Ershov, Jessica Fong & Pinar Yildirim
NBER Working Paper, January 2026
Abstract:
This paper studies how online dating platforms have impacted marital outcomes, assortative matching, and sexually transmitted disease (STD) rates in the United States. We construct county-level measures of online dating usage using data from website-based platforms (2002–2013) and mobile app-based platforms (2017–2023). Leveraging county-level variation and an instrumental variable strategy, we show in the desktop era, a 1% increase in online dating sessions raises divorce rates by 0.50%, while in the mobile era, a 1% increase in online dating activity lowers marriage and divorce rates by 0.40% and 0.33%, respectively. We also document shifts in assortative matching. Desktop sites reduce sorting along education and employment dimensions, whereas mobile sites reduce sorting by employment, but increase sorting by race. Across both eras, we find no evidence that greater online dating usage increases average STD rates. Average effects are negative or statistically insignificant, but are positive for some subpopulations. We develop a search and matching model where technological changes that impact search costs, market size, and market noise can explain our empirical findings.
“Why didn’t you just say so?” People use indirect opposition to assess partner commitment
Levi Baker, James McNulty & Michelle Russell
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, forthcoming
Abstract:
Rather than directly confronting their partners, people often use indirect strategies (e.g., making sarcastic comments, muttering under their breath, being passively aggressive). Yet, whereas directly confronting a partner can bring about desired change, indirect opposition tends to undermine relationship quality without bringing about subsequent change. So, why do people engage in indirect opposition? We suggest one reason is to obtain diagnostic information about their partner’s commitment. We tested this idea using seven studies that were diverse in design (i.e., cross-sectional, experimental, longitudinal), method of assessment (i.e., observational, self-reports, reaction times), and type of sample (i.e., online crowdsourced, undergraduates, community couples). Across studies, people were more likely to use indirect (vs. direct) oppositional behaviors to the extent that they were uncertain, and motivated to obtain information, about a partner’s commitment. Moreover, suggesting that people believe indirect opposition offers more diagnostic information about a partner’s commitment, Studies 4 and 5 demonstrated that partners’ responses to indirect opposition were perceived to be more authentic and thus reflective of their commitment than responses to direct opposition. Together, these studies suggest that people use indirect opposition to test a partner’s level of commitment.
Changes in Statutory Rape Laws Across the United States From 2000 to 2021: A Publicly Available, Longitudinal Database
Kaya Van Roost et al.
Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, forthcoming
Methods: We created a longitudinal database of statutory rape laws in each of the 50 US states and Washington, DC between 2000 and 2021. We coded laws according to age of consent to sex, close-in-age exceptions, and marital exemptions and examined how they have changed in the first two decades of the 21st century.
Results: In 2021, the age of consent varied between 16 (n = 32), 17 (n = 7), and 18 (n = 12) across states. Most states had exceptions to the age of consent for persons close-in-age (n = 39) and married couples (n = 39). From 2000 to 2021, one state increased its age of consent, two states removed close-in-age exceptions and four added them, six states removed marital exemptions, while two instated them.
A Threat Management Approach to Explaining Women’s Aversive Rape Fantasies
Domenic Roberto, Marina Morris & Melissa McDonald
Archives of Sexual Behavior, January 2026, Pages 195-209
Abstract:
Sexual rape fantasies are commonly reported among women. Rape fantasies can range anywhere from violent, forceful encounters to seduction fantasies where the fantasizer is coerced by an attractive partner. Although rape fantasies often contain aversive content, research tends to broadly conceptualize sexual fantasy as a universally pleasurable experience. The current research explored the possible function of aversive rape fantasy in women, hypothesizing that such fantasies are part of the output of a threat management system for rape avoidance. The fantasy is argued to function as a form of mental rehearsal wherein more realistic and forceful rape fantasies provide the fantasizer a low-cost, high-reward method for simulating and preparing for a potential future attack. Results of an online survey study indicated that women’s fear of rape was positively associated with the presence of aversiveness in rape fantasies, but not other types of fantasies, when controlling for the eroticism of women’s rape fantasies and other types of fearfulness. Women’s history of sexual assault was also positively associated with the aversiveness of their rape fantasies — a relationship that was mediated by women’s fear of rape. These findings are consistent with the threat management system model and may imply that women who are more vulnerable to victimization are more fearful of rape and therefore engage in mental rehearsal of possible rape encounters through aversive rape fantasies as a means of defensive vigilance against potential future assaults.
Anxious Aspirations: Attachment Anxiety Fuels Status Strivings Through Intrasexual Competition
Agata Gasiorowska, Michał Folwarczny & Tobias Otterbring
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, forthcoming
Abstract:
Striving for social status is a fundamental human motive, yet individuals vary considerably in their status-seeking tendencies. Drawing on attachment literature and life history theory, we propose that attachment anxiety drives status pursuit through heightened intrasexual competition. Across six preregistered studies (N = 4,456) spanning five countries, we find that attachment anxiety, rather than attachment avoidance, predicts status strivings. This relationship is mediated by intrasexual competition -- competing with same-sex rivals -- rather than, as previously documented, by materialism or general competitiveness. Experimental evidence confirms causality: Inducing attachment anxiety increases the desire for high-status cars and houses through heightened intrasexual competition. A moderation-of-process design demonstrates that experimentally manipulating intrasexual competition correspondingly enhances or reduces the effect of attachment anxiety on status strivings but only for high-status possessions. These effects hold for both men and women. Our findings show that anxiously attached individuals pursue status to compensate for relational insecurities, and they do so by competing with same-sex rivals. This research extends attachment theory to status pursuit and clarifies whether, when, and why individual differences in attachment patterns predict people’s status strivings.