Being abstentionist can ensure marriage stability, study claims

Premarital sex is no longer taboo in America, but a new report suggests abstinence beyond marriage can lead to a long and happy life.

Researchers at Brigham Young University found that 45 percent of men and women who had sex only with their partner reported a “very high” level of relationship stability in their marriage.

But only 25 percent of people with five to nine sexual partners reported similar levels, and only 14 percent of those with 10 or more partners.

The researchers suggest their findings may be due to the risk of comparison or previous sexual partners interfering with a marriage.

However, Brigham Young University follows suit the guidelines of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which preach against premarital sex.

Researchers noted the study was “checked for religiosity, recording for each participant how often spirituality is an important part of life, how often prayer is given and how important religious belief is.”

‘Being highly religious is associated with both fewer sex partners and longer relationships. We wanted to make sure that any differences we found based on sexual history weren’t just related to how religious the people in the sample were,” the study reads.

The report included surveys of 3,750 individuals in committed couple relationships who were asked to report relationship satisfaction on a scale of one to five.

The team found that in the US, the average number of sexual partners before marriage is 6.7, with men and women reporting nearly identical numbers.

“We found that for each additional sex partner reported, the likelihood of falling into the highest relationship satisfaction category decreased by nearly four percent,” the researchers wrote.

“Relationship stability showed an even greater change, falling by 6.5 percent for each additional sex partner, and sexual satisfaction fell by four percent for each additional premarital sex partner.”

Questions included, “How many times have you thought your relationship (or marriage) could get into trouble?” “How often have you and your partner talked about ending your relationship (or marriage)?” and “How many times have you broken up or broken up and then got back together?”

Researchers found that people who have only had sex with their partner report higher levels of marital stability

The team found that in the U.S., the average number of premarital sexual partners is 6.7, and men and women reported nearly identical numbers

The answers ranged from ‘never’ (1) to ‘very often’ (5).

The inexperienced group, those who abstained from sex before court-martial, reported their marriages were “very stable” — 43 percent of men and 42 percent of women.

Only 40 percent of the less experienced group, those who had two to four sexual partners, reported similar levels of stability.

The more experienced group, with five to nine partners, reported high levels of stability only half as often.

And only 25 percent of the group’s spouses reported that their marriages were very stable.

The likelihood of those in the highly experienced group, with 10 or more partners, dropped even further — only 14 percent of both men and women reported the highest level of stability in their marriage.

The study also assessed participants’ sexual satisfaction using a similar questionnaire.

Those who abstained from premarital sex also reported higher levels of sexual satisfaction with their spouse compared to individuals who had previous sexual partners

Those in the inexperienced group were again most likely to report being ‘very satisfied’ with all aspects of their sexual relationship, with more than 1 in 5 reporting high sexual satisfaction (20 percent of women and 21 percent of the men).

About 18 percent of women and 20 percent of men in the less experienced group reported similar levels.

Only one in ten in the more experienced group reported being sexually satisfied with their partner – 11 percent of women and 12 percent of men.

And only one in 14 respondents of highly experienced husbands (seven percent of women and seven percent of men) reported being very satisfied with their marital sex life.

“These findings challenge the idea that sexual experimentation in the dating years helps people ‘settle down’ and prepare for marriage,” the study reads.

Perhaps they do the exact opposite. In general, it appears that sexual exclusivity between spouses makes individuals most ready for the intimacies of marriage and best prepared to establish a mutually satisfying sexual relationship with their spouse that will sustain a relationship through all stages of marriage. maintains.’