Unhealthy Intimacy? The Relationship between Intimacy and Sexual Health

Transcription

1 Volume 11, Issue 1, April Research Manuscript < Unhealthy Intimacy? The Relationship between Intimacy and Sexual Health Shanti Gina Hubbard, Psychology Faculty Mentor: Dr. Elizabeth Yost Hammer, Psychology Shanti Gina Hubbard is a Psychology major minoring in Chemistry and Philosophy from Compton, CA. After graduation in May 2014, she plans to attend graduate school continuing her research on romantic relationships. Hubbard s research interests include marriage and family therapy, as well as forgiveness, depression, morals, and romantic relationships. Her research began as an assignment in Health Psychology. In that research she found intimacy to be an important factor in romantic relationships. She decided to continue to look at how intimacy is related to sexual health. Abstract This study measured the correlation between intimacy and sexual health as measured by contraception use. Past research has looked at specific forms of contraception such as condom use for preventing sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and pregnancy. Past research has also looked at different forms of intimacy and different ways couples can show intimacy towards each other. Xavier University of Louisiana psychology students were asked to take three surveys that measured intimacy expressed in their relationships, which sexual activities they engage in and how often, as well as contraception use. I hypothesize that if there is an increased level of intimacy in a relationship, then the levels of sexual health, as measured by contraception use, will decrease. My hypothesis was not supported. Instead, it seems that people tend to care more about their sexual health the more they become sexually intimate with their partners. Key Terms: Sexual Health Intimacy Contraception

2 38 S. Hubbard True intimacy is a human constant. People of all types find it equally hard to achieve, equally precious to hold. Robert Grudin The quote above illustrates the importance of intimacy so where does hooking up, having relationships without intimacy, come in when considering contemporary college students? Has there been an increase in the amount of hookups among college students? Hooking up has a very broad definition. According to Fielder (2012), hooking up is loosely defined by sexual intimacy ranging from kissing to sexual intercourse between couples who are not dating or in a romantic relationship and do not expect to be committed to each other. Hooking up is not uncommon. Forty percent of women reported engaging in oral and vaginal sex with a person not considered a romantic partner within their first year of college (Fielder, 2012). Also, according to Weiten, Dunn, and Hammer (2015), 36% of women reported only having sex with someone once and 29% reported they had sex with someone they had known less than 24 hours. Fielder (2012) believes that we need to truly understand student s sexual behaviors in order to have better university health promotion efforts. This is important because students sexual behaviors will affect their physical and mental health and ultimately their academic success. With all the data on hooking up it would seem that what is missing from relationships is intimacy. According to Walsh (2011), the quality of life is dominated by the domain of intimacy (p. 6). There are many different views when it comes to defining intimacy. The definition of intimacy seems to vary between couples. Some believe it involves sex while others do not think sex should be considered a part of intimacy. According to the Australian Institute of Professional Counselors (n.d.), intimacy is closely associated to feelings of closeness between partners in a relationship, occurs in many different forms, and is an important part of relationship satisfaction. Forms of intimacy include cognitive, experimental, emotional, and sexual. Each form has its own characteristics, and because each form of intimacy varies between couples, determining which is most important is difficult to pinpoint. Cognitive intimacy involves sharing thoughts, ideas, similarities, and differences. Experimental intimacy involves working together to complete mutual activities. Emotional intimacy involves comfortably sharing feelings with the other person and taking the time to truly understand the other person s side of things. Sexual intimacy involves any form of sexual expression not just intercourse (Australian Institute of Professional Counselors, n.d.). When participating in sexual intercourse, while intimacy may be important, it is also important to understand how to be sexually healthy. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2012), sexual health is defined as a state of physical, emotional, mental, and social well-being in relation to sexuality (p. 1). It also must have the possibility of being pleasurable, safe, free of coercion, discrimination, and violence. The amount of risky sexual behaviors is increasing today (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2012). Risky sexual behaviors involve a form of sexual expression without the use of any contraception or protection from sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Risky behaviors also involve an increase in the number of partners and the activities done before and/or during intercourse (e.g. drinking). Eisenberg, Lechner, Frerich, Lust, and Garcia (2012) approximate that one-quarter of sexually active young women report no contraception use during their last intercourse. Contraception such as birth control pills and birth control shots are only used to prevent pregnancy. Contraception such as a condom is used to prevent pregnancy as well as minimize the risks of contracting an STI. Throughout the world, social and economic status, knowledge levels, religion, and gender roles affect contraception use (Carroll, 2010). If a person is

3 Unhealthy Special Relationships Intimacy 39 not educated about any form of contraception or its use, they cannot be expected to use it properly, if at all. If they are not allowed education on sexual health they will not understand the risks they face when engaging in sexual activities such as the risks for sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy. Why do people disregard their health in a relationship? One answer is their trust in the relationship. Couples who have been together for an extended amount of time tend to develop a sense of trust towards one another. According to Bolton, McKay, and Schneider (2010), many young adults are serial monogamists meaning that they have one sexual partner at a time and enter into a series of monogamous relationships over time. Because they are only engaging in sexual activities with one partner they believe their risks to be nonexistent and that their partner is free of any STIs. Unfortunately, this may only be an assumption, and in that case, the risk for STIs is much greater. Transitioning from condom use to no protection is often seen as a representation of their level of commitment. Also, some couples believe that not using condoms develops a more intimate relationship. The feeling of skin on skin contact is believed to bring them closer together. Condom use is high in casual relationships but tends to decline the longer the couple is together and the higher the intimacy and commitment (Manlove et al., 2011). The present study will analyze how intimacy levels relate to levels of sexual health. Previous research has looked at specific forms of contraception such as condom use (Manlove et al., 2011; Bolton, McKay, & Schneider, 2010), different forms of intimacy (Australian Institute of Professional Counselors, n.d.), and different ways couples can show intimacy towards their partner (Australian Institute of Professional Counselors, n.d.). However, research has not investigated the use of multiple forms of protection and different forms of sexual activity in relation to the levels of intimacy in a relationship. Given that intimacy is an important aspect in a relationship, sexual health should be estimated to also be important. One way to measure sexual health is through contraception use. My hypothesis is that if there is an increased level of intimacy in a relationship, then the levels of sexual health, as measured by contraception use, will decrease. Method Participants Thirty-two male and female students from Xavier University of Louisiana s Psychology Department participated in this study. All participants were in a relationship for at least six months. Participants were given extra credit in a psychology course for completing the study. Materials To measure intimacy, the Personal Assessment of Intimacy in Relationships (PAIR) (1981) was used. There were 36 questions with answers ranging from 0 to 4, 0 being not true at all and 4 being completely true. A sample item is: My partner listens to me when I need someone to talk to. Scores range from 0 to 144. Higher numbers, , indicate higher levels of intimacy between partners. To measure sexual health, the Physical Affection Scale (1998) and Methods of Contraception Tables from Carroll (2010) were used. The Physical Affection Scale is a 12-item survey with answers ranging from 0-7, 0 meaning they do not do this activity at all and 7 meaning they do it a great deal. A sample item is Cuddling. Scores can range from 0 to 84. Higher numbers, 43-84, indicate that the sexual activity is done more often. The Methods of Contraception Tables is a 17-item survey with scores ranging from 0 to 7, 0 meaning they never use a specified

4 40 S. Hubbard form of protection at all and 7 meaning they always use a specified form of protection. A sample item is Male Condom. Scores can range from 0 to 119. Higher numbers, , indicate the specific form of protection is done more frequently. Procedure This study is nonexperimental/ correlational. Participants were surveyed in groups in a classroom. They were given two copies of an informed consent form. They signed both copies and returned one. Participants took the three questionnaires measuring the intimacy expressed in the relationship, which sexual activities are done and how often, as well as how much protection is used. They were given in this order. After taking the three surveys, they returned them and received a debriefing form. Once the debriefing form was given, they signed for their extra credit and left. Results Using Pearson s correlation, a significant positive correlation was found between sexual intimacy and sexual health, r(32)=.451, p=.007 thereby showing that as the levels of sexual intimacy increase, the levels of sexual health, as measured by contraception use, also increase. More specifically the correlations between physical affection (given and received) and emotional intimacy, r(32)=.504, p=.002; r(32)=.627, p<.001, show that as the levels of physical intimacy increase the levels of emotional intimacy also increase. Correlations between physical affection (received) and intellectual intimacy, r(32)=.386, p=.024, show that as the levels of physical affection increase the levels of intellectual intimacy also increase. Correlations between physical affection (received) and recreational intimacy, r(32)=.368, p=.032, show that as the levels of physical affection increase the levels of recreational intimacy also increase. No other relationships were found. Discussion I hypothesized that if there is an increased level of intimacy in a relationship, the levels of sexual health, as measured by contraception use, will decrease. I expected a negative correlation between intimacy and sexual health, but it was not supported by my data. Even though my hypothesis was not supported, I discovered other interesting information. I found that as sexual intimacy increased the more sexually healthy, people tend to be, as measured by contraception use. Perhaps people tend to care more about their sexual health the more they become sexually intimate with their partners. The level of intimacy does not seem to be the only factor towards sexual health in a relationship. Perhaps the length of the relationship is what influences how sexually healthy partners are. Due to the significant positive correlation between sexual intimacy and sexual health, it is possible that sexual health is more important to people as the intimacy increases in their relationship. On the contrary, it was believed that as people get more comfortable with each other the less likely they are to be sexually healthy. Many people are becoming serial monogamists, meaning that they go from one committed relationship to another (Bolton, McKay, and Schneider, 2010). This does not provide the best conditions for each relationship, meaning the individual does not take the time to evaluate themselves or what went wrong in the previous relationship. Perhaps there is more trust developed in relationships than previously estimated which resulted in the positive correlation between sexual intimacy and sexual health. There were some limitations to this study. The only participants were Xavier University of Louisiana psychology students. This could be a

5 Unhealthy Special Relationships Intimacy 41 problem because the results may not be applicable to a college student attending a predominately white institution. Because partners had to be in a relationship for at least six months it is possible that this is the beginning happy stage of the relationship. The couple is still getting to know each other and has not quite developed a sense of complete trust yet. With further research it is possible that my hypothesis could be supported. Perhaps follow-up studies could survey married couples because they have been in a relationship for a longer period of time so it is expected that they would have a strong sense of trust with each other. Future research could also survey older adults in longterm relationships because they tend to be more serious about their relationships than college students. Finally, other colleges and students with different majors could bring a different perspective and increase the variety of data. Understanding the reasons why people choose to be sexually healthy or not can help develop better strategies for implementing sexual health. References Australian Institute of Professional Counselors. (n.d.). Losing Intimacy in my relationship: A life effectiveness guide. Retrieved from Bolton, M., McKay, A., & Schneider, M. (2010). Relational influences on condom use discontinuation: A qualitative study of young adult women in dating relationships. Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, 19, Carroll, J.L. (2010). Contraception and abortion. In Sexuality now embracing diversity 4e (pp ). Wadsworth Cengage Learning. Lust, K.A., & Garcia, C.M. (2012). Characterizing sexual health resources on college campuses. Journal of Community Health: The Publication for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, 37, Fielder, R.L. (2012, October 29). Are hookups replacing romantic relationships on college campuses? Science Daily. Retrieved from Manlove, J., Welti, K., Barry, M., Peterson, K., Schelar, E., & Wildsmith, E. (2011). Relationship characteristics and contraceptive use among young adults. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 43, Schaefer, M. T., & Olson, D. H. (1981). Assessing intimacy: the PAIR Inventory. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 7, Walsh, R. (2011). Lifestyle and mental health. American Psychologist. Advance online publication. doi: /a Weiten, W., Dunn, D.S., & Hammer, E.Y. (2015). Psychology applied to modern life (11 th edition). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Cengage Learning. World Health Organization. (2012). Sexual health. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved from Volsky, J.A. (1998). Intimacy, marital satisfaction, and sexuality in mature couples. Retrieved from MQ39448.pdf Eisenberg, M.E., Lechner, K.E., Frerich, E.A.,

6 42 S. Hubbard Acknowledgements I would like to thank Dr. Elizabeth Yost Hammer and the Psychology department for their assistance in making this research a success. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivate Works 3.0 License. To view a copy of this license, visit: