Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

A Cross-Cultural Investigation of Satisfaction with Sex Life Among Emerging Adults

  • Published:
Social Indicators Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Despite increasing interest in psychology of subjective well-being, little is known about satisfaction with sex life outside of western countries. This study investigated cross-cultural similarities and differences in the levels and correlates of sex satisfaction among emerging adults in Angola, Brazil, Macao, and Portugal. Nine hundred and sixty-one college students participated in the research. The majority of participants in the samples reported being satisfied with their sex live. The mean scores of the Angolan, Brazilian and Portuguese participants surpassed those of the Macanese participants. No sex differences were found in sex satisfaction across cultural groups. Predictors of sex satisfaction tended to show consistency across the components of subjective well-being. Findings are discussed within the scope of the literature and directions for future investigation are suggested.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Argyle, M. (2001). The psychology of happiness (2nd ed.). Hove: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arnett, J. J. (2000). Emerging adulthood: a theory of development from the late teens through the twenties. American Psychologist, 55, 469–480.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arrindell, W. A., van Niewenhuizen, C., & Luteijn, F. (2001). Chronic psychiatric status and satisfaction with life. Personality and Individual Differences, 31, 145–155.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ayyash-Abdo, H., & Alamuddin, R. (2007). Predictors of well-being among college youth in Lebanon. The Journal of Social Psychology, 147, 265–284.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brennan, D., Biswas-Diener, R., Mohr, C. D., Mortazavi, S., & Stein, N. (2013). Friends and family: A cross-cultural investigation of social support and subjective well-being among college students. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 8, 65–75.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brislin, R. W. (2000). Some methodological concerns in intercultural and cross-cultural research. In R. W. Brislin (Ed.), Understanding culture’s influence on behaviour (2nd ed., pp. 349–411). Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cate, R. M., Koval, J., Loyd, S. A., & Wilson, G. (1995). Assessment of relationship thinking in dating relationships. Personal Relationships, 2, 77–95.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cheung, M., Wong, P., Liu, K., Yip, P., & Lam, T. (2008). A study of sexual satisfaction and frequency of sex among Hong Kong Chinese couples. Journal of Sex Research, 45, 129–139.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Colson, M. H., Lemaire, A., Pinton, P., Hamidi, K., & Klein, P. (2006). Sexual behaviours and mental perception, satisfaction and expectations of sex life in men and women in France. Journal of Sex Medicine, 3, 121–131.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cruz, G. V., & Mullet, E. (2013). The practice of pux-puxa among Mozanbican women: A systematic inventory of motives. Journal of Sex Research. doi:10.1080/00224499.2013.795925.

  • Diener, E., & Diener, C. (1996). Most people are happy. Psychological Science, 7, 181–185.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E. R., Emmons, R., Larsen, R., & Griffin, S. (1985). The satisfaction with life scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49, 71–75.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E., Nappa-Scollon, C. K., Oishi, S., Dzokoto, V., & Suh, E. M. (2000). Positivity and the construction of life satisfaction judgments: Global happiness is not the sum of its parts. Journal of Happiness Studies, 1, 159–176.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E., & Suh, E. (2000). Measuring subjective well-being to compare quality of life of cultures. In E. Diener & E. Suh (Eds.), Culture and subjective well-being (pp. 2–12). Cambridge: The MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E., Suh, E. M., Lucas, R. E., & Smith, H. L. (1999). Subjective well-being: Three decades of progress. Psychological Bulletin, 2, 276–302.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Diener, E., Suh, E., Smith, H., & Shao, L. (1995). National differences in reported subjective well-being: Why do they occur? Social Indicators Research, 34, 7–32.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Furnham, A. (2001). Self-estimates of intelligence: Culture and gender differences in self and other estimates of general (g) and multiple intelligences. Personality and Individual Differences, 31, 1381–1405.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Haavio-Mannila, E., & Kontula, O. (1997). Correlates of increased sexual satisfaction. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 26, 399–419.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hatfield, E., & Rapson, R. L. (1995). Love and sex: Cross-cultural perspectives. New York: Allyn & Bacon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Henderson-King, D. H., & Veroff, J. (1994). Sexual satisfaction and marital well-being in the first years of marriages. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 11, 509–534.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hooghe, M. (2012). Is sexual well-being part of subjective well-being? An empirical analysis of Belgian (Flemish) survey data using an extended well-being scale. The Journal of Sex Research, 49, 264–273.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hyde, J. S. (2005). The gender similarity hypothesis. American Psychologist, 60, 581–592.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kang, S., Shaver, P. R., Sue, S., Min, K., & Jing, H. (2003). Culture specific patterns in the prediction of life satisfaction: Roles of emotion, relationship quality, and self-esteem. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 29, 1596–1608.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Laumann, E., et al. (2006). A cross-cultural study of subjective sexual well-being among older women and men: Findings from the global study of sexual attitudes and behaviors. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 35, 145–161.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, N., Ng, M., Zhou, L., & Haeberle, E. J. (1997). Sexual behaviour in modern China. Report on the nationwide survey of 20,000 men and women. New York: Continuum International Publishing Group.

  • Lucas, R. E., Diener, E., & Suh, E. (1996). The discriminant validity of well-being measures. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71, 616–628.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lucas, R. E., & Gohm, C. (2000). Age and sex differences in subjective well-being across cultures. In E. Diener & E. M. Suh (Eds.), Subjective well-being across nations and cultures (pp. 291–317). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lyubomirsky, S., Sheldon, K. M., & Schkade, D. (2005). Pursuing happiness: The architecture of sustainable change. Review of General Psychology, 9, 111–131.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mulhall, J., King, R., Glina, S., & Hvidsten, K. (2008). Importance of and satisfaction with sex among men and women worldwide: Results of the Global Better Sex Survey. Journal of Sex Medicine, 5, 788–795.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Munoz Sastre, M. T., Vainsonneau, G., Neto, F., Girard, M., & Mullet, E. (2003). Forgiveness and satisfaction with life. Journal of Happiness Studies, 4, 323–335.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Myers, D. (2000). The funds, friends, and faith of happy people. American Psychologist, 55, 56–67.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neto, F. (1993). Satisfaction with life among Portuguese adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 22, 125–134.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neto, F. (1995). Predictors of satisfaction with life among second generation migrants. Social Indicators Research, 35, 93–116.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neto, F. (2001). Personality predictors of happiness. Psychological Reports, 88, 817–824.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neto, F. (2005). The satisfaction with love life scale. Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development, 38, 2–13.

    Google Scholar 

  • Neto, F. (2012). The satisfaction with sex life scale. Measurement and Evaluation in Counseling and Development, 45, 18–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neto, F., Furnham, A., & Paz, R. (2007). Sex and culture differences in perceptions of estimated multiple intelligence for self and family: A Macanese-Portuguese comparison. International Journal of Psychology, 42, 124–133.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Neto, F., & Pinto, M. C. (2013). The satisfaction with sex five across the adult life span. Social Indicators Research, 114, 767–784.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oishi, S., Akimoto, S. A., Ricchard, J. R., & Suh, E. M. (2013). Feeling understood as a key to cultural differences in life satisfaction. Journal of Research in Personality, 47, 488–491.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ojanlatva, A., Helenius, H., Rautava, P., Ahvenainen, J., & Koskenvuo, M. (2003). Importance of and satisfaction with sex life in a large Finish population. Sex Roles, 48, 543–553.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pavot, W., & Diener, E. (2008). The satisfaction with life scale and the emerging construct of life satisfaction. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 3, 137–152.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shin, D. C., & Johnson, D. M. (1978). Avowed happiness as an overall assessment of the quality of life. Social Indicators Research, 5, 475–492.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simões, A. (1993). São os homens mais agressivos que as mulheres? Revista Portuguesa de Pedagogia, XXVII, 387–404.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, P., & Bond, M. (1998). Social psychology across cultures. London: Prentice-Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, A., Lyons, A., Ferries, J., Richters, J., Pitts, M., Shelley, J., et al. (2011). Sexual and relationship satisfaction among heterosexual men and women: The importance of desired frequency of sex. Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy, 37, 104–115.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sprecher, S., & Cate, R. M. (2004). Sexual satisfaction and sexual expression as predictor of relationship satisfaction and stability. In In J. H. Harvey, A. Wenzel, & S. Sprecher (Eds.), The handbook of sexuality in close relationships (pp. 235-256). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

  • Suh, E., Diener, E., Oishi, S., & Triandis, H. (1998). The shifting basis on life satisfaction judgments across cultures: Emotions versus norms. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 482–493.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tucker, K. L., Ozer, D. J., Lyubomirsky, S., & Boehm, J. K. (2006). Testing for measurement invariance in the satisfaction with life scale: A comparision of Russians and North Americans. Social Indicators Research, 78, 341–360.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vitterso, J., Roysamb, E., & Diener, E. (2002). The concept of life satisfaction across cultures: Exploring its diverse meaning and relation to economic health. In E. Gullone & R. A. Cummins (Eds.), The universality of subjective well-being indicators (pp. 81–103). Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Watson, D., Clark, L., & Tellegen, A. (1988). Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: The PANAS scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54, 1070–1079.

    Google Scholar 

  • World Databse of Happiness. Available from URL: http://www.eur.nl/fsw/research/happiness.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculdade de Psicologia e de Ciências da Educação, Universidade do Porto, Rua Alfredo Allen, 4200-135, Porto, Portugal

    Félix Neto & Maria da Conceição Pinto

Authors
  1. Félix Neto
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Maria da Conceição Pinto
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Félix Neto.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Neto, F., Pinto, M.C. A Cross-Cultural Investigation of Satisfaction with Sex Life Among Emerging Adults. Soc Indic Res 120, 545–557 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-014-0604-z

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11205-014-0604-z

Keywords

Search

Navigation