Good news for couples who wait
Source: Agencies |
August 22, 2010, Sunday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
COUPLES who get to know each other before being intimate have a better chance of having a lasting relationship, but in some cases even a casual fling can lead to true love, according to new research from the United States.
Most of the 56 percent of 642 adults questioned in the University of Iowa study who said they had waited until they got serious before they had sex reported having a high-quality relationship.
The number was higher than for the 27 percent of people who had sex while dating casually and the 17 percent who were intimate while in a non-romantic relationship.
"There's something about the characteristics of people who wait before sex that is linked to higher-quality relationships," said Iowa sociology professor Anthony Paik.
Paik, who reported the findings in the journal Social Science Research, said the research suggests that the courtship process acts as a screening mechanism.
"The debate is 'why can't we have sex now?' The expectation is that sex should occur very quickly. But doing so, you're losing out on some information that might be useful," he said.
"On average, the more costly the process leading into the relationship, the more likely it is to work."
But Paik said the findings did not show that an early sexual relationship had a direct negative impact on relationships.
When he filtered out people who said they had frequent non-romantic or casual dating sexual relationships, he found that the gap in relationship quality between serious and non-serious contexts of sexual activity disappeared.
"It means it's possible for two strangers to lock eyes in a bar, and go home together, and actually end up in a long-term relationship," Paik said
The reason some people report lower quality relationships has more to do with who they are than when they chose to have sex, said Paik.
Certain people are prone to finding relationships less rewarding, and they are more likely to have casual sex.
Most of the 56 percent of 642 adults questioned in the University of Iowa study who said they had waited until they got serious before they had sex reported having a high-quality relationship.
The number was higher than for the 27 percent of people who had sex while dating casually and the 17 percent who were intimate while in a non-romantic relationship.
"There's something about the characteristics of people who wait before sex that is linked to higher-quality relationships," said Iowa sociology professor Anthony Paik.
Paik, who reported the findings in the journal Social Science Research, said the research suggests that the courtship process acts as a screening mechanism.
"The debate is 'why can't we have sex now?' The expectation is that sex should occur very quickly. But doing so, you're losing out on some information that might be useful," he said.
"On average, the more costly the process leading into the relationship, the more likely it is to work."
But Paik said the findings did not show that an early sexual relationship had a direct negative impact on relationships.
When he filtered out people who said they had frequent non-romantic or casual dating sexual relationships, he found that the gap in relationship quality between serious and non-serious contexts of sexual activity disappeared.
"It means it's possible for two strangers to lock eyes in a bar, and go home together, and actually end up in a long-term relationship," Paik said
The reason some people report lower quality relationships has more to do with who they are than when they chose to have sex, said Paik.
Certain people are prone to finding relationships less rewarding, and they are more likely to have casual sex.
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