The role of sexual passion in romantic relationship functioning: A dyadic analysis

Abstract

The dualistic model of sexual passion defines sexual passion as a strong motivational drive to engage in various types of partnered and non-partnered sexual activities and distinguishes two types of sexual passion that lead to distinct consequences, obsessive sexual passion (OSP) and harmonious sexual passion (HSP). The purpose of the present research was to examine the associations between these two types of sexual passion and relationship functioning in partners of romantic relationships using dyadic analyses. Heterosexual participants (132 couples; n = 264) completed an online survey which included three indicators of relationship functioning: relationship quality, sexual satisfaction, and level of conflict. An actor-partner interdependence model analysis (APIM) revealed that, for both men and women, HSP was positively associated with relationship functioning, whereas OSP was negatively associated with it. In addition, results unveiled significant partner effects, such that both men’s and women’s HSP were associated with their partners’ perceptions of relationship functioning, but not for OSP. Finally, there were a significant moderation between men’s HSP and women’s OSP on women’s relationship functioning, suggesting that men’s HSP can buffer the negative effect of women’s OSP. The present results provide evidence that sexual passion can either facilitate or hinder relationship functioning through multiple personal and dyadic pathways.