Virginity Lost, Satisfaction Gained? Physiological and Psychological Sexual Satisfaction at Heterosexual Debut

Abstract

Despite the literature's focus on (hetero)sexual initiation, little is known about the degree to which young people are satisfied by their first vaginal intercourse experience, let alone the factors that predict satisfaction. This study analyzed data from a cross-sectional survey of 1,986 non-Hispanic White and Black 18- to 25-year-old respondents from four university campuses. Respondents were asked to rate the degree to which their first vaginal intercourse was physiologically and psychologically satisfying. Both Black and White women were significantly less likely than Black and White men to experience considerable or extreme satisfaction at first vaginal intercourse, particularly physiological satisfaction. Among all four gender–race groups, being in a committed relationship with one's sexual partner greatly increased psychological satisfaction, particularly among women. Experiencing less guilt at first sexual intercourse was also strongly associated with psychological satisfaction for women. Developing sexual relationships with partners they care for and trust will foster satisfaction among young people at first vaginal intercourse. These findings highlight strong gender asymmetry in affective sexual experience.

We thank The Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction—and Thomas G. Albright, in particular—for managing the dataset. Moore and Davidson express their appreciation to John C. Copeland, Kristin Wanish Salisbury, and Amanda E. Matzek (research assistants, University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire) for their many contributions related to data collection, codebook development, data coding, and data input for this research project. Jenny A. Higgins thanks Margo Mullinax for her skillfull research assistance during manuscript preparation. Financial support for the project was provided by the University Research and Creative Grants Program at the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire and the Office of Sponsored Research at Texas State University–San Marcos. Two anonymous reviewers also offered invaluable feedback.

Notes

¹Although vaginal intercourse has been long portrayed as the traditional way to lose one's virginity, a number of other behaviors are increasingly associated with virginity loss, especially among same-sex couples (Carpenter, 2005; Thompson 1995; Tolman 2002). Despite this increasing range of meanings, our article refers to virginity loss as vaginal intercourse.

²As cited in Hyde and Jaffee (2000), Weis (1983) used the term “Peggy Lee Syndrome” (named after her song, “Is That All There Is?”) to describe adolescent girls' reaction to first intercourse.

³We also know very little about social class and affective sexual experiences, although social class is thought to influence sexual behaviors, such as age at first heterosexual intercourse and condom use. Regrettably, the data available in this study render us unable to examine the effects of social class. That said, the overall class distribution and heterogeneity are likely to be much smaller in a sample of college students compared to a sample from the general population.

⁴Although as O'Sullivan et al. (2007) pointed out, the literature has focused much more on racial differences in behaviors than in the meanings of those behaviors or the relationships in which they take place.

Note. N = 1,986.

^a Significant (p < .05) gender differences within race (e.g., Black women vs. Black men).

^b Significant (p < .05) racial differences within gender (e.g., Black women vs. non-Hispanic White women).

Note. N = 1,986. OR = odds ratio.

*p < .10. **p < .05. ***p < .01.

⁵Among Black men, condoms were the only type of contraceptive method reported at first intercourse (not shown).

Note. N = 1,986. OR = odds ratio.

*p < .10. **p < .05. ***p < .01.

⁶When it comes to guilt and affective sexual experience, young women in our study may be affected by their gender, as well as their cultural location (Shalet, 2007). In a comparison between American and Swedish women, American women expressed significantly more negative affective reactions to initial coitus, which the author blamed on the United State's more sexually restrictive culture (Schwartz, 1993).

⁷It could be that among those women whose first partner was a casual acquaintance, a smaller group may have experienced assault or non-consensual sex. However, we controlled for non-consensual sex in the model.

⁸Along similar lines, Quakenbush, Strassberg, and Turner (1995) found that erotica was most acceptable to women when it included romance scripts, thereby helping (perhaps) to justify their own consumption of erotic material.

⁹For example, as Carpenter (2002) found in her study, “a person who felt he or she learned something positive from virginity loss could find satisfaction independent of his or her partner's conduct” (p. 359).

¹⁰We wish to note that, although relationship status may significantly influence affective experience of first intercourse, it may not have long-term influences on sexual health. A recent analysis found that relationship status at first intercourse was not consistently associated with later psychological or physical health outcomes such as sexual dysfunction, sexual guilt, sexually transmitted diseases, overall health, and life satisfaction (Else-Quest, Hyde, & Delamater, 2005).