The Role of Sexual Desire on Differentiation of Self and Relationship Satisfaction

Abstract

Relationship satisfaction can produce negative and positive outcomes that impact physical and psychological well-being. Predicting relationship satisfaction was investigated by understanding the level of differentiation of self and sexual desire in married individuals. This study further examined the moderating role of sexual desire on differentiation of self and relationship satisfaction. Individuals participated in surveys related to differentiation of self, sexual desire, and relationship satisfaction via Amazon Mechanical Turk. The study found a combination of research findings. Significant findings indicated higher differentiation of self-predicted lower relationship satisfaction, contrary to what the study originally hypothesized. There was no support that higher sexual desire predicted greater relationship satisfaction. Additionally, higher sexual desire as a moderating variable strengthened the association between differentiation of self and relationship satisfaction negatively. This study suggested sexual desire is not influential in creating relationship satisfaction even when differentiation of self is high.