Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40128497›Full record

ArticleArchives of sexual behavior2025

The Gendered Sexual Experiences and Marital Quality of Middle-Aged Same-Sex and Different-Sex Couples.

Yiwen Wang, Hye Won Chai, Debra Umberson, Sara Mernitz

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Archives of sexual behavior, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. 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

4 authors.

Yiwen WangDepartment of Sociology, Rice University, 6100 Main St., Houston, TX, 77005, USA. yiwen.wang@rice.edu.ORCID 0000-0002-7594-1396
Hye Won ChaiInstitute for Engaged Aging, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA.
Debra UmbersonDepartment of Sociology and Population Research Center, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.
Sara MernitzDepartment of Sociology and Population Research Center, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX, USA.

Funding

Program Development and Pilot CoreP30AG066614 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN · PI KAREN L FINGERMAN · 2020 to 2026
$5.2M
Scientific & Technical CoreP2CHD042849 · NICHD · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN · PI MARK D. HAYWARD · 2017 to 2026
$5.2M
How Spouses Influence Each Other's Health in Same- and Different-Sex Marriages: A Dyadic and Longitudinal Assessment from Mid to Later LifeR37AG076057 · NIA · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN · PI DEBRA J. UMBERSON · 2022 to 2026
$2.3M
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development P2CHD042849NIA NIH HHS P30 AG066614NIA NIH HHS P30AG066614NIA NIH HHS R37 AG076057NIA NIH HHS R37AG076057NICHD NIH HHS P2C HD042849
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Sex plays an important role in shaping the marital quality of couples, often in different ways for men and women in different-sex marriages. However, gender dynamics are likely to differ for same-sex compared to different-sex couples. In this study, we compared the sexual experiences and marital quality of men and women in mid-life same-sex and different-sex marriages and considered the perspectives of both spouses in each couple. We employed mixed-effects multilevel modeling to analyze U.S.-based dyadic survey data collected from 830 spouses in 415 unions using snowball sampling. We assessed gender differences in sexual frequency, sexual satisfaction, and sexual motives as well as the associations of respondent and partner reports of sexual experiences with marital quality. Both men and women in same- and different-sex marriages reported similar levels of sexual satisfaction and they were equally likely to desire sex for emotional closeness. However, compared to women in same-sex marriages, women in different-sex marriages were more likely to have sex to please their spouse, for the sake of the relationship or due to pressure from their spouse. Moreover, partner reports of feeling pressured to have sex were negatively associated with marital quality for all groups, except for men married to women. Taken together, study findings show that sexual experiences and consequences for marital quality vary for men and women in same- and different-sex marital contexts.

Indexed as

MarriagePersonal SatisfactionSexual BehaviorSexual PartnersSpousesAdultFemaleHumansInterpersonal RelationsMaleMiddle AgedSex FactorsSurveys and QuestionnairesDyadic data analysisGenderMarital qualitySame-sex marriageSexual behavior

Identifiers

PMID40128497
PMCPMC12951299

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Registered trials

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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.