1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«The overall aim of this study was to present a portrait of the sexual well-being of couples seeking relationship therapy. [The] first goal was to document the prevalence of sexual problems in mixed-sex couples seeking relationship therapy and compare their level of sexual satisfaction to couples in the community. [It was] also investigated the extent to which male and female partners differ in sexual well-being.» (p. 122)

Questions/Hypothèses :
The research questions are: «In what percentage of couples does the man, the woman, or both report a clinically significant sexual problem? [H]ow does their sexual satisfaction compare to the sexual satisfaction of couples in the community? [A]re there gender differences in sexual well-being (sexual problems, sexual satisfaction)?» (p. 122)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
«The sample included 298 mixed-sex couples seeking relationship therapy at a private practice in Montreal. Couples were recruited over a 2.5-year period from 2013 to 2015. The majority of couples were French speaking (91.6%) and Caucasian (95.2%). The mean age was 43 for men […] and 41 for women […].» (p. 122)

Instruments :
Questionnaires

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

The «results suggest that reduced sexual well-being and sexual problems are prevalent in relationally distressed couples. [Authors] found that, in 30% of the couples in our sample, at least one partner’s score suggested that they were experiencing a clinically significant sexual problem. This percentage is higher than what is typically found in community samples using similar criteria for assessing sexual problems […]. Furthermore, couples in [the] sample reported lower satisfaction than did couples from a control sample of community couples and this difference was statistically significant. […] The results also provide information about the types of sexual problems that are most common among individuals seeking relationship therapy. That is, low sexual desire was the most common problem, experienced by more than half of the women and more than a quarter of the men. Although [authors] cannot conclude causation from these correlational data, this suggests that individuals who face problems and conflicts in their relationship are less likely to want to engage in sexual activity with their partner (low desire). [The] results also suggest that women who seek relationship therapy experience lower sexual satisfaction and more problems (overall and in all areas of sexual functioning) than their male partner.» (p. 128)