Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34997399›Full record

ArticleArchives of sexual behavior2022

Single and Partnered Individuals' Sexual Satisfaction as a Function of Sexual Desire and Activities: Results Using a Sexual Satisfaction Scale Demonstrating Measurement Invariance Across Partnership Status.

Yoobin Park, Geoff MacDonald

Open access · bronzeAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Archives of sexual behavior, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 20 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
20citing papers in PubMed
6.9field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

20 citing papers in PubMed, 49 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Self-Esteem and Sexual Experiences.Personality & social psychology bulletin · 2026
    Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Article
  5. Personality and Well-Being Across and Within Relationship Status.Personality & social psychology bulletin · 2025
    Article
  6. Article
  7. Sexual health and chronic low back pain: A qualitative study.North American Spine Society journal · 2025
    Article
  8. Article
  9. Article
  10. Sexual Desire Among Men Who Have Sex with Men in the Czech Republic: A Cross-Sectional Study.International journal of sexual health : official journal of the World Association for Sexual Health · 2025
    Article
  11. Article
  12. Article
  13. Article
  14. Review
  15. Review
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Singles Not Sexually Satisfied? Prevalence and Predictors of Sexual Satisfaction in Single versus Partnered Adults.International journal of sexual health : official journal of the World Association for Sexual Health · 2023
    Article
  19. Article
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

2 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Yoobin ParkDepartment of Psychology, University of Toronto, 100 St. George St., Toronto, ON, M5S 3G3, Canada. yoobin.park@mail.utoronto.ca.ORCID 0000-0002-2796-3523
Geoff MacDonaldDepartment of Psychology, University of Toronto, 100 St. George St., Toronto, ON, M5S 3G3, Canada.
University of Toronto · CA

Funding

Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council 435-2020-0176
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Although some evidence exists to suggest that single (i.e., unpartnered) individuals are less sexually satisfied on average than are partnered individuals, it is unclear whether the variables correlating with each group's sexual satisfaction are similar or different. This research sought to examine how desire for and actual engagement in solitary and partnered sexual activities are associated with both groups' sexual satisfaction. We first conducted a preliminary study (n = 572) to test and refine existing measures of sexual satisfaction for applicability across relationship status. In two follow-up studies (N = 1,238), measurement invariance (across relationship status and gender) of the resulting 4-item sexual satisfaction scale was established. Further, results across the studies showed that for singles dyadic sexual desire was negatively related to sexual satisfaction, whereas no significant link was found with solitary desire. For individuals in romantic relationships, having higher sexual desire involving a partner and lower solitary desire were both associated with greater sexual satisfaction. When analyzing participants' responses on the desired and actual frequency of engaging in specific sexual acts, we found that for both single and partnered individuals, frequent engagement in partnered acts was associated with greater sexual satisfaction. Wanting frequent engagement in partnered acts was associated with lower sexual satisfaction for both groups, but only if the current frequency of engaging in these acts was low. These findings suggest that at least during the COVID-19 pandemic, meeting desires for partnered sex plays an important role in maintaining a sexually satisfying life, regardless of one's relationship status.

Indexed as

COVID-19OrgasmHumansLibidoPandemicsPersonal SatisfactionSARS-CoV-2Sexual BehaviorSexual PartnersRelationship statusSexual desireSexual satisfactionSinglehood

Identifiers

PMID34997399
PMCPMC8741568
OpenAlexW4206416017

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.