1. © 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Sexual Intimacy Chapter 6

2. © 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Intimacy, Strengths, and Diversity Sexuality plays critical role in healthy couple relationships Evidence that sexual attitudes and behaviors differ in other countries US society talks more openly about sex

3. © 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Top Five Sexual Issues for Couples Issue Percentage with Issue Dissatisfied with amount of affection from partner 68 % Levels of sexual interest are different66 % Sexual relationship is less interesting and enjoyable 62 % Sexual relationship is not satisfying58 % Dissatisfied with openness in discussing sexual topics 52 % Source: Adapted from Olson, Olson-Sigg, & Larson, 2008.

4. © 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Sexuality Involves… Beliefs Values Behaviors Sexual Identity or Orientation: Heterosexual/Homosexual Bisexual Transgender

5. © 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Gay and Lesbian Couples Research has demonstrated that all couple types—straight or gay—have many of the same problems and the same approaches to couple satisfaction. Challenges: Decisions around “coming out” Rejection from relatives

6. © 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Strengths of Gay and Lesbian Couples Emotional connection with partner and others Role flexibility Egalitarian decision making Positive parent/child relationships Perceptive of psychological dynamics Effective communication skills

7. © 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Sexuality Across Cultures Universally regulated Influenced by cultural values and standards: Attractiveness Behaviors Attitudes

8. © 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. HIV/AIDS Epidemic- Three Decades Later Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) Virus that causes Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) World Wide 33.4 million living with HIV/AIDS 50.1% women Approximately 2 million AIDs-related deaths occurred in 2008, and 280,000 of these individuals were children.

9. © 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. American Sexual Behavior Survey Challenges Expensive Time consuming Sensitive topics—often politically charged Surveys National Survey of Sexual Behavior ABC News Survey

10. © 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. National Survey of Sexual Behavior Face to face interviews with 3,423 American men and women General findings: Monogamy prevalent Married couples More sex More orgasms Vaginal sex most popular Adultery exception rather than rule

11. © 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Number of Sex Partners Among American Men and Women National Survey of Sexual Behavior, Michael et al, 1994

12. © 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. ABC News Survey Telephone poll of 1,501 randomly sampled American adults General findings: 43% men, 13% women thought about sex daily 83% men, 59% women enjoyed sex a great deal 8 median number of partners in lifetime for men; 3 for women Men more liberal in attitudes and behaviors Approximately half of the women report faking an orgasm

13. © 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Sexual Behavior Among Adolescents and Young Adults 74% of Americans have sex before age 20

14. © 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Unintended Consequences: Teen Pregnancies and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) Approx. 750,000 teen pregnancies occur each year. 82%of these are unintended United States has one of the highest teen pregnancy rates in the developed world Every year about 9 million new STIs occur among young people in America.

15. © 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Education for Sexuality Teen pregnancy has declined 40% since its peak in 1990. Two approaches to sex education: Comprehensive Approach Abstinence-only

16. © 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Sexuality Education and Parents Education about sexuality should begin in the home. Parents who accept and help their children learn to cope with their sexuality have a better chance of raising healthy and sexually responsible children.

17. © 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Is Sex Education Effective? Research found comprehensive sex education helps delay the onset of sexual activity, reduce the frequency of sexual activity, reduce the number of sexual partners, and increase condom and contraceptive use. Advocates for Youth reviewed research on abstinence-only programs and found “little if any evidence” that the programs are effective.

18. © 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Marital and Extramarital Sexual Behavior Intimacy does not appear to diminish with time, while sex might. Family and home issues often conflict “Double Income No Sex Dilemma” Couples must communicate clearly about sex to maintain a satisfying relationship.

19. © 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Marital Styles and Sexual Behavior Complementary Couples Most common Sex low priority Conflict Minimizing Couples Male initiator Sex predictable Most stable Best Friend Couples Intimacy valued Sex energizes High expectations Emotionally Expressive Couples Full of feelings Passionate and fun Conflict often emotionally charged McCarthy, 1999

20. © 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Infidelity 25-year research study shows: Attitudes related to actions Attitudes differ based on culture, gender, relationship, behaviors Attitudes/behaviors vary by country and culture Men more likely to see love/sex distinction Men more likely to engage in infidelity Extramarital sex occurs in less than 25% of committed heterosexual relationships Dissatisfaction with relationship increases infidelity potential Three types: emotional, sexual, combined Gay men less concerned about infidelity; lesbian couples less likely to experience infidelity

21. © 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Sexual Health: Sexual Problems and Dysfunctions Lack of interest Inability to reach orgasm—women Reaching orgasm prematurely—men Sexual dysfunction (men and women): A state in which sexual behavior or lack of it causes anxiety, anguish, frustration

22. © 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Frequency of Sexual Problems Source: Social Organization of Sexuality: Sexual Practices in the United States, 1994

23. © 2011 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. Sex Therapy Sex educators work with larger groups of people and teach general information and principle. Sex therapists typically work with individuals or couples and focus more on individual concerns and problems.