Tips for a healthy sex life often focus on mood, techniques and other details on how to do the deed.
But a new study suggests those seeking satisfaction should examine why they are having sex in the first place.
Research published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior found both men and women were more satisfied when having sex out of love and commitment, rather than for material gain or to achieve success.
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That may not sound surprising to some, but the findings offer support that sex can go beyond pure biology. Most sexual research has primarily centered on arousal and orgasm.
And this study did hint at slight differences in sexual satisfaction between men and women.
For their study, the researchers used a sample of 544 sexually active male and female undergraduates. About 90 percent of the respondents were heterosexual. They answered survey questions on their sexual satisfaction and their motivations for having sex.
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The reasons for having sex varied between men and women.
A diverse list of possible reasons for sex were listed, including arousal, expression, revenge, stress reduction, social status, self-esteem, orgasm, to burn calories, try out new techniques and love and commitment.
Love and commitment was the strongest correlated motive to sexual satisfaction for both men and women. However, that connection was weaker among women.
For both, having sex for self-esteem and for resources (for example, to get a job or to get drugs) was linked with lower satisfaction.
Interestingly, women had more motivations linked to satisfaction than men did. For example, women having sex for pleasure and for expression were linked to higher sexual satisfaction.
On the contrary, having sex to seek a new experience was linked to lower sexual satisfaction, but only in women.
Why did women have more sexual motivations linked to satisfaction? It's unclear, but the authors surmise it may have to do with females' role as "gate-keepers," or sexual suppliers who often control how and why sexual activity will take place.
The researchers report that since their sample was non-clinical, sexual satisfaction skewed higher than it would in a representative population. They plan to perform similar research outside of the college scene.
PHOTO: iStockPhoto
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