“Not Now, I Am Too Stressed”: Stress and Physical Intimacy in Early Marriage

Abstract

Stressful events can disrupt couples’ emotional connection, yet prior research is mixed regarding whether stress also disrupts couples’ physical intimacy. This study considered whether stress must reach a critical threshold before hindering couples’ sexual activity and physical affection (i.e., a curvilinear association). Couples ( N = 144 couples plus four additional wives) completed two 14-day daily diary tasks during the early years of marriage. Multilevel modeling revealed a within-person curvilinear association between daily stress and sexual activity. Contrary to expectations, the likelihood of sexual activity declined as stress increased from low to moderate, then leveled off as stress continued to increase. For physical affection, a linear effect emerged. On days of greater stress, women, but not men, reported less affection. Further analyses suggested that women’s stress is more influential than men’s stress for couple’s physical intimacy. Findings highlight the nuanced ways in which stress is linked to a vital component of satisfying relationships.