The Association of Technological Media with Sexual Satisfaction in Long-Distance Relationships

摘要

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to explore sexual satisfaction levels among couples in long-distance romantic relationships (LDRRs), and examine the use of five technological mediums (i.e., sexting, videochatting, phone calls/phone sex, emailing and social media) and their relation to sexual satisfaction amongst LDRRs couples. Methods: A quantitative research design utilized a web-based survey to examine individuals' reports of their cybersex usage across the five technological mediums and their overall sexual satisfaction. Participants were 122 heterosexual adults in LDRRs for at least the last six months who were able to access the Internet. The data were analyzed using a Person's correlation, a multiple linear regression, and an independent sample t-test. Results: The results indicated that those who use any form of cybersex (i.e., any of the five technological media) reported increased levels of overall sexual satisfaction. Those who used videochatting for cybersex usage reported higher overall sexual satisfaction scores than any other medium used for cybersex, followed by sexting usage. Demographic and other factors (i.e., age, days of face-to-face sexual activity in the last 6 months, length of current relationship in months and length of long-distance relationship in months) were explored in a multiple regression to understand their unique variance in sexual satisfaction. Only the number of days engaging in face-to-face sexual activity and the length of the long distance relationship in months contributed a unique variability to overall sexual satisfaction (accounting for 5.8% and 5.4% of the variability in overall sexual satisfaction, respectively). Men and women did not differ on levels of overall cybersex usage nor overall sexual satisfaction levels. Limitations to this study include limited generalizability of the results, an uneven sample size favoring women, and the lack of sequential nature of the relationship between variables. Conclusions: This research supports the notion that couples in LDRRs have utilized technology to be able to increase sexual satisfaction. Future research can examine these variables across specific demographic dimensions, including ethnicity, age, and especially various sexual orientations. Clinically, it may be useful to encourage couples in LDRRs to consider using technological media for cybersex to maintain closeness and sexual satisfaction.