Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, 1355 Oxford Street, P.O. Box 15000, Halifax, NS, B3H 4R2, Canada.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, IWK Health Centre, Halifax, NS, Canada.
Arch Sex Behav. 2020 Nov;49(8):2849-2861. doi: 10.1007/s10508-020-01667-1. Epub 2020 Mar 13.
New mothers often experience significant declines in their sexual and relationship satisfaction compared to pre-pregnancy, yet there has been limited research examining protective factors. Intimacy-defined as the degree of disclosure and perceived partner responsiveness in a relationship-has been identified as contributing to the positive adjustment of individuals coping with novel life stressors, as well as to general sexual and relationship satisfaction. However, it is unknown whether sexual disclosure and/or partner responsiveness are reciprocally related to sexual and relationship satisfaction. This study examined the longitudinal associations between sexual intimacy-that is, intimacy in the context of sex-and sexual and relationship satisfaction in first-time mothers. First-time mothers (N = 171) completed online measures assessing disclosure and perceived partner responsiveness specific to their sexual relationship, sexual satisfaction, and relationship satisfaction at 3, 6, and 12 months postpartum. Analyses were conducted with path analysis using a longitudinal panel mediation model. Greater perceived partner responsiveness in relation to sex at a prior wave predicted increases in both sexual and relationship satisfaction at the subsequent wave. Sexual disclosure did not contribute to sexual or relationship satisfaction over time; the results did not support a reciprocal model of sexual disclosure and perceived partner responsiveness, nor indirect effects of these variables on outcomes. Perceived partner responsiveness in relation to sex is positively related, and temporally precedes sexual and relationship satisfaction in first-time mothers.
新妈妈在产后通常会经历显著的性和关系满意度下降，而针对保护因素的研究却很有限。亲密关系——定义为关系中披露程度和感知到的伴侣反应性——已被确定为有助于个体应对新的生活压力源的积极调整，以及对一般的性和关系满意度的影响。然而，性披露和/或伴侣反应性是否与性和关系满意度相互关联，目前还不清楚。本研究考察了初次生育母亲的性亲密关系（即性背景下的亲密关系）与性和关系满意度之间的纵向关联。初次生育母亲（N=171）在产后 3、6 和 12 个月完成了在线测量，评估了与性关系相关的性披露和感知到的伴侣反应性、性满意度和关系满意度。使用纵向面板中介模型进行路径分析。在前一波中感知到的伴侣对性的反应性越高，下一阶段的性和关系满意度就越高。性披露并没有随着时间的推移对性或关系满意度产生贡献；研究结果不支持性披露和感知到的伴侣反应性的互惠模型，也不支持这些变量对结果的间接影响。在初次生育母亲中，与性相关的感知到的伴侣反应性与性和关系满意度呈正相关，且在时间上先于它们。
