Abstract
This study aimed to determine the role of sex guilt as a mediating variable in the association between relationship and sexual satisfaction in the Filipino culture. Sex guilt is the generalized expectancy for self-mediated punishment for violating, or for the anticipation of violating, proper sexual conduct. Using intersectionality as a lens, this study imposed a mediation model on four categories: (1) Unmarried Filipino Women; (2) Married Filipino Women; (3) Unmarried Filipino Men; (4) Married Filipino Men. Secondary analysis of data from 630 Filipino participants completing an online questionnaire of sexual behaviors was done. Results showed that sex guilt has no significant associations with relationship and sexual satisfaction in both Married Filipino Women and Unmarried Filipino Men. However, sex guilt exhibited a significant indirect effect in the link between relationship and sexual satisfaction in both Unmarried Filipino Women and Married Filipino Men. Results of this study could aid in finding a culturally grounded definition of sexual satisfaction, implementation of sexual health programs, education, and addressing needs of married couples in marital and relationship therapy in the country.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ahrold, T. K., Farmer, M. A., Trapnell, P. D., & Meston, C. M. (2011). The relationship among sexual attitudes, sexual fantasy, and religiosity. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 40(3), 619–630.
Amato, P. R., & Previti, D. (2003). People’s reasons for divorcing: Gender, social class, the life course, and adjustment. Journal of Family Issues, 24(5), 602–626.
Anderson, T. L., & Emmers-Sommer, T. M. (2006). Predictors of relationship satisfaction in online romantic relationships. Communication Studies, 57(2), 153–172.
Austria, C. (2004). The church, the state and women’s bodies in the context of religious fundamentalism in the Philippines. Reproductive Health Matters, 12(24), 96–103.
Byers, E. S. (1996). How well does the traditional sexual script explain sexual coercion? Review of a Program of Research Journal of Psychology and Human Sexuality, 8(7), 25.
Byers, E. S. (2005). Relationship satisfaction and sexual satisfaction: A longitudinal study of individuals in long-term relationships. Journal of Sex Research, 42, 113–118.
Byers, E. S., & Cohen, J. (2017). Validation of the interpersonal model of sexual satisfaction with women in a same-sex relationship. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 41(1), 32–45.
Byers, E. S., Demmons, S., & Lawrance, K. (1998). Sexual satisfaction within dating relationships: A test of the interpersonal exchange model of sexual satisfaction. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 15, 257–267.
Byers, E. S., & MacNeil, S. (2006). Further validation of the interpersonal exchange model of sexual satisfaction. Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy, 32(1), 53–69.
Carvalheira, A., Træen, B., & Štulhofer, A. (2015). Masturbation and pornography use among coupled heterosexual men with decreased sexual desire: How many roles of masturbation? Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 41, 626–635.
Choo, H. Y., & Ferree, M. M. (2010). Practicing intersectionality in sociological research: A critical analysis of inclusions, interactions, and institutions in the study of inequalities. Sociological Theory, 28(2), 129–149.
Christopher, F. S., & Sprecher, S. (2000). Sexuality in marriage, dating, and other relationships: A decade review. Journal of Marriage and Family, 62(4), 999–1017.
Claudio, S. E. (1999). Discourse analysis. In S. Guerrero (Ed.), Gendersensitive & feminist methodologies: A handbook for health and social researchers (pp. 259–267). UP Center for Women’s Studies.
Cole, E. R. (2009). Intersectionality and research in psychology. American Psychologist, 64(3), 170–180.
Crawford, M., & Popp, D. (2003). Sexual double standards: A review and methodological critique of two decades of research. The Journal of Sex Research, 40(1), 13–26.
Cruz, G. T., Laguna, E., & Raymundo, C. (2001). Family influences on the lifestyle of the Filipino Youth. East-west working papers population series. Retrieved from http://www.eastwestcenter.orglfileadmin/stored/pdfs/POPwp10808.pdf
Cruz, R. V., & Caringal-Go, J. F. (2020). Filipinos behind closed doors: Nonsexual and sexual constructs as predictors of sexual and relationship satisfaction in Filipino individuals. Sexuality & Culture. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-020-09795-5
Dalisay, G. A., Mendoza, R., Santos, J., & Echevaria, A. (1995). Luto ng Diyos: Mga kwento ng buhay mag-asawa. Akademya ng Sikolohiyang Pilipino.
Daly, M., Wilson, M., & Weghorst, S. J. (1982). Male sexual jealousy. Ethology and Sociobiology, 3, 11–27.
Darling, C. A., & Davidson, J. K. (1987). Guilt: A factor in sexual satisfaction. Sociological Inquiry, 57(3), 251–271.
Day, R. D., & Acock, A. (2013). Marital well-being and religiousness as mediated by relational virtue and equality. Journal of Marriage and Family, 75(1), 164–177.
De Irala, J., Osorio, A., Del Buergo, C. L., Belen, V. A., De Guzman, F. O., Calatrava, M. C., & Torralba, A. N. (2009). Relationships, love and sexuality; What the Filipino teens think and feel. BMC Public Health, 9(282), 717–723.
De Jose, E. G. (2013). Filipino adolescents’ sexual attitudes and behaviors: Results from a university cohort. Academic Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies, 2(8), 717–727.
Delgado-Infante, M. L., & Ofreneo, M. A. P. (2014). Maintaining a “good girl” position: Young Filipina women constructing sexual agency in first sex within Catholicism. Feminism & Psychology, 24(3), 390–407.
Edwards, J. N., & Booth, A. (1994). Sexuality, marriage, and well-being: The middle years. In A. S. Rossi (Ed.), The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation series on mental health and development: Studies on successful midlife development. Sexuality across the life course (pp. 233–259). University of Chicago Press.
Efron, B., & Tibshirani, R. J. (1993). An introduction to the bootstrap. Chapman & Hall/CRC.
Emery, R. E. (Ed.). (2013). Cultural sociology of divorce: An encyclopedia. SAGE Publications Inc.
Emmers-Sommer, T. M. (2002). Sexual coercion and resistance. In M. Allen, R. W. Preiss, B. M. Gayle, & N. A. Burrell (Eds.), Interpersonal communication: Advances in meta-analysis (pp. 315–343). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Emmers-Sommer, T. M., Allen, M., Schoenbauer, K. V., & Burrell, N. (2018). Implications of sex guilt: A meta-analysis. Marriage and Family Review, 54(5), 417–437.
Englander, K., Yáñez, C., & Barney, X. (2012). Doing science within a culture of machismo and marianismo. Journal of International Women’s Studies, 13(3), 65–85.
Finnis, J. (1997). The good of marriage and the morality of sexual relations: Some philosophical and historical observations. The American Journal of Jurisprudence, 42(1), 97–134.
Fisher, M., Voracek, M., Rekkas, P. V., & Cox, A. (2008). Sex differences in feelings of guilt arising from infidelity. Evolutionary Psychology, 6(3), 436–446.
Fisher, W. A., Donahue, K. L., Long, J. S., Heiman, J. R., Rosen, R. C., & Sand, M. S. (2015). Individual and partner correlates of sexual satisfaction and relationship happiness in midlife couples: Dyadic analysis of the international survey of relationships. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 44, 1609–1620.
Gadassi, R., Bar-Nahum, L. E., Newhouse, S., Anderson, R., Heiman, J. R., Rafaeli, E., & Janssen, E. (2016). Perceived partner responsiveness mediates the association between sexual and marital satisfaction: A daily diary study in newlywed couples. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 45(1), 109–129.
Gilandas, A., Gostardo-Conaco, C., & Sevilla, J. (1982). Sex and the single Filipino: The omega women. Philippine Education Company.
Good, M., & Willoughby, T. (2014). Institutional and personal spirituality/religiosity and psychosocial adjustment in adolescence: Concurrent and longitudinal associations. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 43(5), 757–774.
Gorsuch, R. L., & Venable, G. D. (1983). Development of an “age universal” I-E scale. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 22(2), 181–187.
Gruskin, S., Yadav, V., Castellanos-Usigli, A., Khizanishvili, G., & Kismödi, E. (2019). Sexual health, sexual rights and sexual pleasure: meaningfully engaging the perfect triangle. Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters, 27(1), 29–40.
Gumban, G. D., Martos, R. J. B., Rico, K. W. M., Bernarte, R. P., & Tuason, I. C. (2016). Let’s talk about sex: Parental communication and sexual behavior of male Filipino youth. Asia Pacific Journal of Multidisciplinary Research, 4(2), 130–139.
Gunderson, M. P., & McCary, J. L. (1979). Sexual guilt and religion. The Family Coordination, 28, 353–357.
Hackathorn, J. M., Ashdown, B. K., & Rife, S. C. (2016). The sacred bed: Sexual guilt mediates religiosity and sexual satisfaction for unmarried people. Sexuality and Culture, 20(1), 153–172.
Hayes, A. F. (2012). PROCESS: A versatile computational tool for observed variable mediation, moderation, and conditional process modeling [White paper]. Retrieved from http://www.afhayes.com/public/process2012.pdf
Heiman, J. R., Long, J. S., Smith, S. N., Fisher, W. A., Sand, M. S., & Rosen, R. C. (2011). Sexual satisfaction and relationship happiness in midlife and older couples in five countries. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 40, 741–753.
Hull, T. (2008). Sexual pleasure and wellbeing. International Journal of Sexual Health, 20(1–2), 133–145.
Janda, L. H., & Bazemore, S. D. (2011). The revised Mosher sex-guilt scale: Its psychometric properties and a proposed ten-item version. Journal of Sex Research, 48(4), 392–396.
Jung, P. (2000). Sexual pleasure: A roman catholic perspective on women’s delight. Theology & Sexuality, 12, 26–47.
Landau, M. J., Goldenberg, J. L., Greenberg, J., Gillath, O., Solomon, S., Cox, C., & Pyszczynski, T. (2006). The siren’s call: Terror management and the threat of men’s sexual attraction to women. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 90(1), 129–146.
Lawrance, K. A., & Byers, E. S. (1995). Sexual satisfaction in long-term heterosexual relationships: The interpersonal exchange model of sexual satisfaction. Personal Relationships, 2(4), 267–285.
Leyson, J. F. (2004). Philippines. In R. T. Francoeur & R. J. Noonan (Eds.), The continuum complete international encyclopedia of sexuality (pp. 824–845). Retrieved from http://www.kinseyinstitute.org/ccies/ph.php.
Loscocco, K., & Walzer, S. (2013). Gender and the culture of heterosexual marriage in the United States. Journal of Family Theory & Review, 5(1), 1–14.
Love, R. E., Sloan, L. R., & Schmidt, M. J. (1976). Viewing pornography and sex guilt: The priggish, the prudent, and the profligate. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 44(4), 624–629.
Mahoney, A., Pargament, K. I., Jewell, T., Swank, A. B., Scott, E., Emery, E., & Rye, M. (1999). Marriage and the spiritual realm: The role of proximal and distal religious constructs in marital functioning. Journal of Family Psychology, 13(3), 321–338.
McCall, L. (2005). The complexity of intersectionality. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 30(3), 1771–1800.
McClelland, S. I. (2010). Intimate justice: A critical analysis of sexual satisfaction. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 4(9), 663–680.
Medina, B. (2001). The Filipino family (2nd ed.). University of the Philippines Press.
Meltzer, A. L., Makhanova, A., Hicks, L. L., French, J. E., McNulty, J. K., & Bradbury, T. N. (2017). Quantifying the sexual afterglow: The lingering benefits of sex and their implications for pair-bonded relationships. Psychological Science, 28(5), 587–598.
Mosher, D. L. (1961). The development and validation of a sentence completion measure of guilt (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio.
Mosher, D. (1973). Sex differences, sex experience, sex guilt, and explicitly sexual films. Journal of Social Issues, 29, 95–112.
Mosher, D. L., & Cross, H. J. (1971). Sex guilt and premarital sexual experiences of college students. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 36(1), 27–32.
Murray, K. M., Ciarrocchi, J. W., & Murray-Swank, N. A. (2007). Spirituality, religiosity, shame and guilt as predictors of sexual attitudes and experiences. Journal of Psychology and Theology, 35(3), 222–234.
Natividad, J. N., & Marquez, M. P. N. (2004). Sexual risk behaviors. In C. Meija-Raymundo & G. T. Cruz (Eds.), Youth sex and risk behaviors in the Philippines. Demographic Research and Development Foundation and the UP Population Institute
Ofreneo, M. (2007). Filipino female adolescents and virginity: Schema, attitude, social influences, and behavioral correlates. In A. B. I. Bernardo, M. C. Gastardo-Conaco, & M. E. C. D. Liwag (Eds.), The self, relationships, and subjective well-being in Asia: Psychological, social and cultural perspectives (pp. 149–166). Kyoyook-Kwahak-Sa Publishing Co.
Paul, V. I. (1968). Humanae vitae. Retrieved from http://w2.vatican.va/content/paul-vi/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-vi_enc_25071968_humanae-vitae.html
Previti, D., & Amato, P. R. (2004). Is infidelity a cause or a consequence of poor marital quality? Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 21(2), 217–230.
Pui-lan, K. (2005). Postcolonial imagination and feminist theology. Westminster John Knox Press.
Raposas, T. (2008). Marriage and domestic violence: A fatal combination in the Philippines, where divorce is illegal. The Women’s International Perspective. Retrieved from http://www.alternet.org/story/74044/marriage_%26_domestic_violence%3A_a_fatal_combination_in_the_philippines,_where_divorce_is_illegal
Regnerus, M. D. (2007). Forbidden fruit: Sex and religion in the lives of American teenagers. Oxford University Press.
Reyes, R. (2008). Love, passion and patriotism: sexuality and the philippine propaganda movement. Singapore: National University of Singapore Press in association with the University of Washington Press.
Roces, M. (2009). Prostitution, women`s movements and the victim narrative in the Philippines. Womens Studies International Forum, 32, 270–280.
Rosenbaum, J. E., & Weathersbee, B. (2013). True love waits: Do Southern Baptists? Premarital sexual behavior among newly married Southern Baptist Sunday school students. Journal of Religion and Health, 52(1), 263–275.
Rusbult, C. E., Martz, J. M., & Agnew, C. R. (1998). The investment model scale: Measuring commitment level, satisfaction level, quality of alternatives, and investment size. Personal Relationships, 5, 357–391.
Santa Maria, M. (2002). Youth in southeast Asia: Living within the continuity of tradition and the turbulence of change. In B. Brown, R. Larson, & T. S. Saraswathi (Eds.), The world’s youth: Adolescence in eight regions of the globe (pp. 171–206). Cambridge University Press.
Shields, S. A. (2008). Gender: An intersectionality perspective. Sex Roles, 59(5–6), 301–311.
Shrout, P. E., & Bolger, N. (2002). Mediation in experimental and nonexperimental studies: New procedures and recommendations. Psychological Methods, 7(4), 422–445.
Simon, W., & Gagnon, J. H. (1986). Sexual scripts: Permanence and change. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 15, 97–120.
Simon, W., & Gagnon, J. H. (2003). Sexual scripts: Origins, influences and changes. Qualitative Sociology, 26(4), 491–497.
Sprecher, S., & Cate, R. M. (2004). Sexual satisfaction and sexual expression as predictors of relationship satisfaction and stability. In J. H. Harvey, A. Wenzel, & S. Sprecher (Eds.), The handbook of sexuality in close relationships (pp. 235–256). Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.
Stafford, L., David, P., & McPherson, S. (2014). Sanctity of marriage and marital quality. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 31(1), 54–70.
Sullivan, K. T. (2001). Understanding the relationship between religiosity and marriage: An investigation of the immediate and longitudinal effects of religiosity on newlywed couples. Journal of Family Psychology, 15(4), 610–626.
Tan, M. (1997). Contextual factor affecting risk-related sexual behavior in the Philippines. Health Action Information Network.
Tan, M., Batangan, T., & Española, H. (2001). Love and desire. UP Center for Women’s Studies.
Tang, N., Bensman, L., & Hatfield, E. (2013). Culture and sexual self-disclosure in intimate relationships. Interpersona: an International Journal on Personal Relationships, 7(2), 227–245.
Træen, B., & Daneback, K. (2013). The use of pornography and sexual behaviour among Norwegian men and women of differing sexual orientation. Sexologies, 22, 41–48.
Ujano-Batangan, M. (2012). Pag-Ibig (love), pagnanasa (desire): Filipino adolescents and sexual risks. In Chic, Cheque, Choc. Transactions Autour des Corps de Strategies Amoureuses Contemporaines (pp. 169–182). Graduate Institute Publications.
Upadhyay, U. D., & Hindin, M. J. (2005). Do higher status and more autonomous women have longer birth intervals? Results from Cebu, Philippines. Social Science & Medicine, 60(11), 2641–2655.
Vannier, S. A., & O’Sullivan, L. F. (2012). Who gives and who gets: Why, when, and with whom young people engage in oral sex. Journal of Youth Adolescence, 41(5), 572–582.
Welldon, E. V. (1988). Mother, madonna, whore: The idealization and denigration of motherhood. Free Association Books.
Wiederman, M. W. (2005). The gendered nature of sexual scripts. The Family Journal, 13(4), 496–502.
Woo, J. S. T., Brotto, L. A., & Gorzalka, B. B. (2011). The role of sex guilt in the relationship between culture and women’s sexual desire. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 40(2), 385–394.
Woo, J. S. T., Morshedian, N., Brotto, L. A., & Gorzalka, B. B. (2012). Sex guilt mediates the relationship between sexual desire and religiosity in college-aged women. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 41(6), 1485–1495.
World Health Organization. (2010). Developing sexual health programmes: A framework for action. Geneva: World Health Organization. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/reproductivehealth/publications/sexual_health/rhr_hrp_10_22/en/
Yeh, H.-C., Lorenz, F. O., Wickrama, K. A. S., Conger, R. D., & Elder, G. H. (2006). Relationships among sexual satisfaction, marital quality, and marital instability at midlife. Journal of Family Psychology, 20(2), 339–343.
Young, M., Denny, G., Luquis, R., & Young, T. (1998). Correlates of sexual satisfaction in marriage. Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, 7(2), 115–127.
Young, M., Denny, G., Young, T., & Luquis, R. R. (2000). Sexual satisfaction among married women. American Journal of Health Studies, 16(2), 73–84.
Funding
This study has no funding.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
Ethical Approval
All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
Informed Consent
Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Cruz, R.V. The Role of Sex Guilt as a Mediating Variable in the Association of Relationship and Sexual Satisfaction: An Intersectional Approach. Sexuality & Culture 26, 616–639 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-021-09912-y
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-021-09912-y