title: Sexual desire discrepancy as a feature, not a bug, of long-term relationships: women's self-reported strategies for modulating sexual desire.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Sexual desire discrepancy is commonly reported by couples in long-term romantic relationships. Given the idiosyncratic nature of desire, and the lack of a "one size fits all" model approach to address desire concerns, it is useful to understand more about the range of ways that women and their partners modulate sexual desire.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study aims to assess women's strategies to influence their sexual desire and the self-reported effectiveness of these strategies.
  
  
  METHODS
  One hundred seventy-nine women who had been in a relationship with a male partner for 5+ years completed an anonymous Internet-based survey.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants responded to three open-ended items about the strategies they use to address desire issues and how helpful those strategies are.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The most common responses regarding what participants did to get desire back on track included: communication, trying to meet partner's needs, having sex without desire, and having patience/letting time work out the problem. Women also mentioned several specific strategies they had employed: communication, scheduling sex, lingerie, and a date night. However, a large number of women discussed that the issue was not resolved, and they were dissatisfied with attempted strategies.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This research provides valuable insight into the construction of women's sexual desire and the strategies used to navigate sexual desire in long-term relationships.
authors: Center for Sexual Health Promotion, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA; Department of Applied Health Science, School of Public Health, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA.
authors: Debby
authors: D
authors: Herbenick
authors: Margo
authors: M
authors: Mullinax
authors: Kristen
authors: K
authors: Mark
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003142:Communication; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007989:Libido; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D057566:Self Report; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D020018:Sexual Dysfunctions, Psychological / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D012747:Sexual Partners; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Desire Discrepancy; Female Sexual Function; Relationship Sexual Dysfunction; Sexual Desire