BODY SATISFACTION AND COUPLE'S DAILY SEXUAL FUNCTIONING

Body satisfaction has been shown to have an important effect on the nature and quality of people‘s sexual experiences. However, past research has focused almost exclusively on women, and indeed no study has examined the role of both partners‘ body satisfaction or the effects of individual‘s satisfaction with partner‘s body attractiveness on sexual functioning. Moreover, almost all past studies have relied on cross-sectional self-report data; few have examined the effects of body satisfaction on day-to-day sexual experiences. To address these shortcomings, the current study used data from two daily studies to investigate the impacts of both partners‘ body satisfaction and satisfaction with partner‘s body on daily sexual functioning. Results showed a complex picture of effects that were often dependent on multiple factors. Satisfaction with partner‘s body attractiveness was showed to be a stronger predictor of individual‘s own sexual functioning than satisfaction of one‘s own body. In contrast, partner‘s satisfaction with his or her own body had negative effect on individual‘s sexual quality. Furthermore, woman‘s sexual functioning was more likely to be impacted by partner‘s satisfaction with her body as expected. And finally, couples had more frequent intercourse when both partners were matched on perceived body attractiveness but only individual who was satisfied with one‘s own body and partner‘s body experienced the lowest level of negative mood during sex. Theoretical and methodological implications for future research are discussed. Body Satisfaction and Sexual Functioning 3 Body satisfaction and couple‘s daily sexual functioning Body satisfaction, or body image satisfaction, a multidimensional concept that includes thoughts, feelings, and attitudes related to one‘s own body (Thompson, Heinberg, Altabe, & Tantleff-Dunn, 1999), has been widely studied in western societies. Low body satisfaction has been associated with numerous negative mental and physical health outcomes such as low self-esteem, reduced social effectiveness, depression and eating disorders (e.g., Donaghue, 2009; Polivy & Herman, 2002; Ricciardelli & McCabe, 2003), as well as negative interpersonal outcomes, such as low marital and sexual satisfaction ( Friedman, Dixon, Brownell, Whisman, & Wilfley, 1999; Gillen, Lefkowitz, & Shearer, 2006; Meltzer, & McNulty, 2010; Weaver, & Byers, 2006). Body satisfaction is particularly important for understanding the nature and quality of people‘s sexual experiences. Indeed lower body satisfaction has been linked to low sexual esteem, sexual desire, sexual arousal, and sexual satisfaction (Gillen, Lefkowitz, & Shearer, 2006; Meltzer, & McNulty, 2010; Weaver, & Byers, 2006). Despite the importance of this issue, past research on body satisfaction and sexual experience suffers from several important limitations. Most of the previous research has focused on women‘s body image and satisfaction, and relied on cross-sectional study designs. In addition, almost all of this research has examined body satisfaction and its impact on individuals, thus ignoring the interpersonal context in which sexual behavior typically occurs. To address these issues, the current research used data from two dyadic diary studies of sexually involved couples to examine the impact of both partners‘ Body Satisfaction and Sexual Functioning 4 satisfaction with their own body along with their partner‘s body on the quality and frequency of sexual experience.