Gender differences in the association between sexual satisfaction and quality of life

Figures & data

Table 1. Participant demographic information and descriptive statistics.

Variable category	Total N = 188
Age (M, SD)	26.71 (11.65)
Length of relationship, months (M, SD)	46.22 (83.55)
NSSS – Ego subscale (M, SD)	37.54 (7.85)
NSSS – Partner subscale (M, SD)	36.67 (8.18)
DASS – Depression subscale (M, SD)	1.87 (.79)
DASS – Anxiety subscale (M, SD)	2.10 (.70)
DASS – Stress subscale (M, SD)	1.74 (.65)
Couples Satisfaction Index (M, SD)	63.98 (14.84)
Satisfaction with Life Scale (M, SD)	16.75 (4.62)
Gender identity (N, %) Female Male Other	116 (61.70%) 71 (37.80%) 1 (0.5%)
Sexual orientation (N, %) Heterosexual Bisexual Homosexual Other	146 (77.70%) 34 (18.10%) 4 (2.10%) 4 (2.10%)
Self-identified ethnicity (N, %) African American Asian American Caucasian Hispanic/Latin Indian Native American Other	6 (3.20%) 10 (5.30%) 137 (72.90%) 18 (9.60%) 3 (1.60%) 3 (1.60%) 7 (3.70%)
Education (N, %) Less than high school High school degree or equivalent Attended some college Graduated 2-year college Graduated 4-year college Some graduate school Graduate degree	1 (0.50%) 44 (23.40%) 77 (41.00%) 8 (4.30%) 30 (16.00%) 4 (2.10%) 24 (12.80%)
Relationship status (N, %) Dating In a committed relationship Married Separated	44 (23.40%) 107 (56.90%) 32 (17.00%) 5 (2.70%)

Table 2. Correlation matrix of study factors.

	Intrapersonal SS	Interpersonal SS	Life satisfaction	Relational satisfaction	Depression	Anxiety	Stress
Intrapersonal SS	1	.73***	.43***	.58**	.16	.05	.08
Interpersonal SS	.67***	1	.45***	.65***	.24*	.13	.24*
Life satisfaction	.35**	.12	1	.52***	.49***	.38***	.27**
Relational satisfaction	.63***	.47***	.49***	1	.28**	.05	.19^+
Depression	.40**	.23^+	.57***	.36**	1	.63***	.58***
Anxiety	.34**	.11	.49***	.18	.59***	1	.57***
Stress	.27*	.07	.36**	.04	.45***	.70***	1

+ p < .10.

* p < .05.

** p < .01.

*** p < .001.

Note: Scores above the diagonal are for female participants and scores below the diagonal are for male participants.

Table 3. Associations between sexual satisfaction and quality of life across and between genders.

QOL outcome	Gender	R² change SS total	Intrapersonal SS as Predictor (ß)	Interpersonal SS as Predictor (ß)
Life Satisfaction
	All	.17***	.39***	.02
	Men	.15*	.56**	−.31
	Women	.23***	.28*	.25+
Depression
	All	.09**	.23*	.08
	Men	.19**	.57**	−.20
	Women	.07+	.03	.23
Anxiety
	All	.04*	.19+	.03
	Men	.17**	.58**	−.27
	Women	.04	−.17	.30+
Stress
	All	.06*	.20+	.06
	Men	.10+	.43*	−.17
	Women	.07*	−.05	.31+
Relationship Satisfaction
	All	.33***	.36***	.28**
	Men	.36*	.64***	−.02
	Women	.36***	.23+	.42**

*** p< .001.

** p< .01.

* p< .05.

+ p<.10.

Figure 1. Gender X Intrapersonal SS interaction predicting depression.

Figure 2. Gender X Intrapersonal SS interaction predicting anxiety.

Figure 3. Gender X Intrapersonal SS interaction predicting relational satisfaction.

Figure 4. Gender X Interpersonal SS interaction predicting life satisfaction.

Table 4. Interaction models testing gender differences in the association between SS and QOL.

Outcome predictor	β	B	SE		F		R^2
Outcome: Depression				3.84		**	.12
Age	−.03	−.01	.01
Relationship length	.18	.01	.01	+
Intrapersonal SS	.51	.05	.02	**
Gender	.81	1.32	.81	+
Gender X Intrapersonal SS	−.82	−.03	.02	+
Outcome: Anxiety				4.57		**	.14
Age	.04	.01	.01
Relationship length	.21	.01	.01	*
Intrapersonal SS	.48	.04	.01	**
Gender	.92	1.32	.63	*
Gender X Intrapersonal SS	−1.08	−.04	.02	*
Outcome: Relational satisfaction				16.97		***	.38
Age	−.29	−.33	.10	**
Relationship length	.16	.03	.01	+
Intrapersonal SS	.77	1.38	.22	***
Gender	.87	24.20	10.37	*
Gender X Intrapersonal SS	−.83	−.59	.27	*
Outcome: Life satisfaction				4.64		**	.14
Age	−.16	−.06	.04
Relationship length	.24	.01	.01	*
Interpersonal SS	.17	.10	.07
Gender	−.69	−6.15	3.42	+
Gender X Interpersonal SS	.69	.16	.09	+

*** p < .001.

** p < .01.

* p < .05.

+ p < .10.