Relationship Satisfaction, Sexual Characteristics and the Psychosocial Well-Being of Women‪.‬

ABSTRACT: Using data from a sample of 235 female nurses, this study focused on marital and sexual satisfaction as important criteria in maintaining a healthy disposition, high life satisfaction, and positive sexual relationship characteristics. A cluster analysis identified five different profiles of marital and sexual satisfaction within the total sample. Of the two most positive profiles, one group of women was defined by high scores in both areas, the other by high sexual satisfaction but only moderate marital satisfaction. In two other profiles, the women were very dissatisfied with either sex or marriage. Subsequent analysis showed that the profiles were meaningfully associated with measures of psychological symptoms and overall life satisfaction. The profiles were also associated with measures of sexual desire, sexual stress, sexual compatibility and sexual assertiveness which reflected the sexual characteristics of the relationship. The strongest univariate profile discriminator was the level of sexual desire. A discriminant function analysis revealed that the level of sexual desire was even more powerful when it was compared to the level of sexual compatibility. Key words: Female sexuality Sexual satisfaction Sexual desire