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Cited by 340Evolutionary Psychology and Human BehaviorMarriage and Sexual RelationshipsAttachment and Relationship Dynamics

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 34 of the 36 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Sexual Motivation and the Duration of Partnership

Klusmann, Dietrich·2002·Archives of Sexual Behavior
DOI 10.1023/a:1015205020769
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Abstract

The variation of sexual motivation with duration of partnership is analyzed in data from a survey of German students. The sample of 1865 includes only students aged 19-32 who reported to be heterosexual and to live in a steady partnership. Main results are (1) sexual activity and sexual satisfaction decline in women and men as the duration of partnership increases; (2) sexual desire only declines in women; and (3) desire for tenderness declines in men and rises in women. Because these results are based on cross-sectional data, a longitudinal explanation is precarious. Individual differences in mating strategy associated with the probability of having a partnership of shorter or longer duration at the time of the survey may account for some part of the findings. This possibility set aside, post hoc explanations for the results as reflecting a modal time course of partnership are evaluated with regard to habituation, routine, gender role prescriptions, and polarization of roles. In addition, an explanation from evolutionary psychology is offered, entailing the following ideas: the psychological mechanisms of attachment in an adult pair bond have evolved from the parent-child bond. Due to this nonsexual origin, a stable pair-bond does not require high levels of sexual desire, after an initial phase of infatuation has passed. Nevertheless, male sexual desire should stay at a high level because it was selected for in evolutionary history as a precaution against the risk of sperm c…

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Crossref · 10.1023/a:1015205020769

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Cites

Show all 36 references

Research works printed but not linked: 4

  1. Schmidt, G. (Ed.). (2000). Kinder der sexuellen Revolution. Kontinuität und Wandel studentischer Sexualität 1966–1996. Gießen: Psychosozial-Verlag.
  2. Schmidt, G., Klusmann, D., Dekker, A., & Matthiesen, S. (1998). Changes in student's sexual behaviour: 1966–1981–1996. A first report on a longitudinal study in West Germany. Scandinavian Journal of Sexology, 1, 157–173.
  3. Simon, W., & Gagnon, J. H. (1987). Theories of human sexuality: A sexual scripts approach. In J. H. Geer & W. T. O'Donohue (Eds.), Theories of human sexuality (pp. 363–383). New York: Plenum.
  4. Symons, D., & Ellis, D. (1989). Human male-female differences in sexual desire. In A. E. Rasa, C. Vogel, & E. Voland (Eds.), The sociobiology of sexual and reproductive strategies (pp. 131–147). London: Chapman and Hall.

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Metadata

Authors
Klusmann, D.
Affiliations
University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (DE)
Corresponding author
Klusmann, Dietrich
Venue
Archives of Sexual Behavior
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2002-06
Volume
31
Issue
3
Pages
275-287
ISSN
  • 0004-0002 (ISSN-L)
  • 1573-2800
DOI
10.1023/a:1015205020769
OpenAlex
W2132975110
Semantic Scholar
43835c0e2e123a2106d74a4cd266693a6364748d
Cited by
340
References
36
Citations by year
2026: 8 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 13 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 16 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 15 · 2019: 23 · 2018: 20 · 2017: 12 · 2016: 18 · 2015: 14 · 2014: 24 · 2013: 14 · 2012: 22
FWCI
6.68
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Licence
Locations
  • Archives of Sexual Behavior (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Marriage and Sexual Relationships
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Attachment and Relationship Dynamics
Keywords
sexual motivation, sexual desire, sexual satisfaction, sexual activity, partnership duration, heterosexual couples, young adults, gender differences, pair bond, attachment, evolutionary psychology, mating strategies, infatuation, sperm competition, tenderness
MeSH terms
Adult, Cross-Sectional Studies, Biological Evolution, Female, Gender Identity, Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Libido, Male, Masturbation, Motivation, Object Attachment, Personal Satisfaction, Surveys and Questionnaires, Sexual Behavior, Sex Factors, Time Factors

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CoChat. (2026). Citation check: Sexual Motivation and the Duration of Partnership. https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.1023/a:1015205020769
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Klusmann, D. (2002). Sexual Motivation and the Duration of Partnership. Archives of Sexual Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1023/a%3A1015205020769