Associations between New Mothers’ Partner-Oriented Sexual Values and Sexual Distress in the Transition to Parenthood

ABSTRACT

Women commonly experience heightened sexual distress in pregnancy and postpartum, and there is limited knowledge of protective factors. Women report declines in the importance of sexuality during this time, suggesting that valuing sexuality could be a relevant individual difference factor. It may be particularly protective for women to feel successful in living in line with their sexual values. In a longitudinal study, we examined associations between the extent to which women valued their role as a sexual partner, and their success living in line with this partner-oriented sexual value, with their sexual distress. Women (N = 367) reported the importance of their role as a sexual partner, success living according to this value, and sexual distress during pregnancy (18–20 weeks) and at 3, 6, 12 and 24-months postpartum. More strongly valuing one’s role as a sexual partner was associated with more sexual distress, both between-person (i.e., across women) and within-person (i.e., variation within women over time). Above and beyond these effects, greater success at living in line with one’s partner-oriented sexual value was associated with less sexual distress. Finding ways to live in line with one’s sexual values may protect against sexual distress for new mothers in the transition to parenthood.

Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Gillian Boudreau, Kayla Mooney, Hannah Richardson, Emily Coté, Loriann Williams, Jaimie Beveridge, and Megan Muise for their assistance with data collection, and to the women who participated in this research. A version of the findings reported in this study were presented at the annual meeting of the International Academy of Sex Research (July 2021, virtual meeting).

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

¹ In response to a reviewer’s feedback, we examined whether depression or anxiety were covariates. We found that depression and anxiety scores were moderately correlated with sexual distress at some time points (rs > |.30|); however, inclusion of these scores as covariates in our analysis did not affect any results.

² All participants identified as female and as a woman; thus, we refer to them as women or mothers.

³ At the time of completion of the baseline survey, women ranged from 18–25 weeks pregnant because they were provided up to 4 weeks to complete each survey.

⁴ All data for relationship values and success were missing at the 6-month time point and estimated using robust FIML in the analysis controlling for these variables (see Data Analysis).

⁵ Additionally, the Microsoft Excel add-on “MplusTools” was utilized to help facilitate presenting results (https://github.com/Zendaug/MplusTools/releases).

Additional information

Funding

This research was supported by grants awarded to Natalie O. Rosen from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and Research Nova Scotia. Jackie S. Huberman was supported by a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Postdoctoral Fellowship and David B. Allsop was supported by doctoral awards from Dalhousie University, Killam, Nova Scotia Graduate Studies, and Maritime SPOR SUPPORT.