By Justin Lehmiller
People don’t always use condoms consistently, and there are a large number of reasons for this. However, one that has increasingly been of interest to sex scientists is something termed condom use resistance. This occurs when the partners don’t agree on whether condoms should be used and the one who doesn’t want to use a condom tries to convince the other to forgo protection. (more…)
By Justin Lehmiller
Research suggests that sex could potentially be good for us in a lot of ways. For example, studies have found that, among men, frequent orgasms are linked to enhanced immune system functioning [1], a lower risk of prostate cancer [2], as well as a lower risk of premature death [3]. In addition, research has found that frequent sexual activity is associated with enhanced memory among older adults, both male and female [4]. Beyond these potential physical and cognitive benefits, a new study in the journal Emotion suggests that sex might be good for our mental health and well-being, too. (more…)
By Justin Lehmiller
What makes for a satisfying marriage? Previous studies have found that couples who have sex more often tend to be happier. In other words, how we feel about our relationships would seem to depend, at least in part, on how much sex we’re having. However, those studies didn’t necessarily take both quantity and quality of sex into account simultaneously, which may have given us the wrong idea about how sexual frequency is linked to relationship satisfaction. Indeed, a recent study published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior suggests that frequent sex isn’t nearly as important as good sex when it comes to how people feel about their marriages. (more…)
By Justin Lehmiller
What percent of the time do women reach orgasm during vaginal intercourse? Multiple studies have been published on this topic, but the results have varied consideriably, making it difficult to draw firm conclusions.
Why have the findings been so different from one study to the next? According to recent research in the Archives of Sexual Behavior, part of the reason may be due to the fact that scientists haven’t been asking the question in the same way across studies. The truth of the matter is that question wording matters when it comes to studying women’s orgasms. It matters a lot. (more…)
By Justin Lehmiller
What is a day in the life of a sex researcher like? In this interview series, I talk to some of the world’s foremost authorities on sex in order to answer this question, but also to provide a glimpse into what they’re currently working on, what the media tends to get wrong about sex, and what they think about some of the most pressing issues facing the field of sex research today.
For this interview, I spoke with Dr. Sari van Anders, who holds a doctoral degree in biological and cognitive psychology from Simon Fraser University and studies a range of topics, including social neuroendocrinology, sexuality, gender/sex, sexual diversity, and feminist and queer science. Dr. van Anders is the newly appointed Canada 150 Research Chair in Social Neuroendocrinology, Sexuality, and Gender/Sex at Queen’s University in Canada. What follows is the transcript of our email conversation. (more…)
