Attachment Anxiety Predicts A Steep Decline in Men’s Sexual Desire during the ‘Honeymoon’ Phase

What is it about?

This study was aimed to examine how attachment insecurities and gender shape sexual desire during the “honeymoon” phase of romantic relationships. For that purpose, we followed two samples of 62 dating couples and 175 newlyweds for 8 to 18 months. Results demonstrated that although desire decreased over time in both men and women, this decline was impacted by attachment anxiety in men.

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Why is it important?

Although the decline in sexual desire is common in monogamous couples, the findings suggest that desire is not necessarily doomed to wane over time, and may be more fragile when people are preoccupied with their relationship.