When sex isn't the answer: Examining sexual compliance, restraint, and physiological stress

A Qualitative Content Analysis of Perceived Individual and Relational Consequences of Sexual Compliance and Their Contributors

Sexual compliance (i.e., consensually engaging in sex despite a lack of desire for it) is common in committed intimate relationships, but the consequences of compliance for the well-being of the individual and the relationship are poorly understood. We investigated the perceived consequences of sexual compliance and perceptions of factors contributing to negative/positive consequences by applying qualitative content analysis to free-text retrospective survey responses from 107 (mostly) Finnish adults. We identified five themes of personal consequences (emotions and mood, sexual experience, sexual desire, pressure and violations, and physical pain), four of relational consequences (relationship satisfaction, partner's response, relationship interaction, and value alignment), and nine of possible factors contributing to negative/positive consequences (communication, self-esteem, motives for sex, relationship factors, agency and self-knowledge, mental health and stress, psychological flexibility, societal norms, and past negative experiences). Perceived consequences varied widely across individuals, both in terms of whether any positive or negative consequences were experienced and whether compliance was perceived as improving or worsening specific domains of well-being. We discuss the themes identified in relation to previous theories of sexuality and intimate relationships and offer hypotheses that can be tested in future quantitative studies.

A Qualitative Examination of Withdrawing Sexual Consent, Sexual Compliance, and Young Women's Role as Sexual Gatekeepers

Introduction: Withdrawing consent for sex may be difficult for young women due to gendered sexual scripts and male persistence. Method: 40 students from Canadian universities (31 women; Mean age = 20.20 years; 75% heterosexual) were asked open-ended questions about sexual experiences and consent; data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results: Women perceived that: (1) women were responsible for communicating consent, (2) they were unaware it was acceptable to withdraw consent or did not know how to, (3) male partners often persisted in response to withdrawal of consent, and (4) these experiences factored into compliance. Conclusion: Sexual consent education, at least in North America, should increase emphasis on withdrawing consent.

"Went Along With": Acquiescence During First Sexual Experience and Late-Life Health

Working from a life course perspective, we examined how acquiescence (i.e., "lack of resistance") to an unwanted (i.e., "without experiencing a concomitant desire") first sexual experience was related to health and well-being in late life. Data were drawn from the second wave of the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (2010/11). The sample included 2558 older adults ages 62-99 (1182 men and 1376 women). Results from regression models suggested those respondents whose first sex was acquiesced reported higher levels of psychological distress and poorer physical health during late life than respondents whose first sex was wanted. Results from generalized structural equation modeling analysis further suggested that the association between acquiesced first sex and late-life health operated through adulthood socioeconomic status but not through marital relationships. We did not find gender differences in these processes.