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1 correction found
It has absolutely nothing to do with physical attraction, getting older, or having kids.
That absolute statement is contradicted by relationship research. Older age and the transition to parenthood are both documented correlates of reduced sexual activity, and studies also link perceived sexual attractiveness with sexual frequency.
Full reasoning
The phrase "absolutely nothing to do with" is too strong and is contradicted by published research.
- In a large U.S. General Social Survey analysis, older age was the factor most strongly associated with past-year sexlessness for both men and women.
- In a national study of adults ages 57-85, researchers found a smooth decline in the likelihood of partnered sex with age for both men and women.
- Research on couples transitioning to parenthood reports that sexual behaviors typically decline from pregnancy into the early postpartum period, so "having kids" is not irrelevant.
- Research on marriage and body image found that wives' perceived sexual attractiveness was associated with more sexual frequency and higher sexual satisfaction, which cuts against the idea that physical attraction has "absolutely nothing" to do with sexual activity.
These studies do not mean age, attraction, or children explain every couple's sex life. But they do show the post's categorical claim is inaccurate: those factors are empirically related to sexual frequency and sexual inactivity.
4 sources
- Sociodemographic Correlates of Sexlessness Among American Adults and Associations with Self-Reported Happiness Levels: Evidence from the U.S. General Social Survey
For both genders, past-year sexlessness was most strongly associated with older age and being currently non-married in the multivariable models.
- Sexuality: Measures of Partnerships, Practices, Attitudes, and Problems in the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Study
The results suggest a smooth decline in likelihood of partnered sex with age for women and men... with only a negative linear age effect significant (at p < .001).
- Connecting through touch: Attitudes toward touch in pregnancy are associated with couples' sexual and affectionate behaviors across the transition to parenthood
New parents tend to experience a decrease, on average, in the frequency of sexual behaviors across pregnancy until 3-month postpartum... a period when these types of behaviors typically decline.
- Body Image and Marital Satisfaction: Evidence for the Mediating Role of Sexual Frequency and Sexual Satisfaction
Couples in which wives reported higher levels of perceived sexual attractiveness reported having engaged in more sex over the prior 30 days, and those associations were mediated by increased sexual frequency and higher sexual satisfaction.