BRIEF
TABLE 2 Psychiatric
Diagnosis
of Two Groups
of Jail Inmates
Group Diagnostic
Group
I (N=445)
Number
Number
the criminal
this
whenever
Percent
psychotic Functional psychosis Organicpsychosis
102 15
22.9 3.4
3 2
3.0 2.0
Antisocial personality Other personality disorder Neurosis Alcoholism
65 90 II 53
14.6 20.2 2.5 11.9
Drug addiction Transient situational
38
8.5
13 16 2 18 6
13.0 16.0 2.0 18.0 6.0
disturbance Mental deficiency Convulsivedisorder* Evaluation only: Undetermined
26 12 10 18 15
5.8 2.7 2.3 4. 1 3.4
3 1 1 36 0
3.0 1.0 1.0 36.0 0.0
*In addition
The
no diagnosis
to other
BY JOHN
of Marital
N. EDWARDS,
PH.D.,
MARITAL
dicate
INTERCOURSE
that that
is universally coitus
between
15
AND
ALAN
spite
(1). Since
the presence
and
tivity
is largely
a function
of the
cially
sanctioned
partner,
marriage
to
be
relatively
one
intensity
a right
would
expect
a
receptive the
to
system
inherited responsibility for these perrather than preference. However, we in removing even the most severely
individuals
from
of being
released
the jail
for
to a hospital
I. 1975 projection.
Orchid,
2.
Jail
any
substantial
on each
occasion.
Denver 1974
County
Dec
1974
Statistics.
Denver.
Denver
County
Jail,
attests to the fact that this is not the case. Problems abound, especially those of an individual nature, and the highest reported mean frequencies of marital intercourse (about 3 times a week among individuals 18-24 old)
are
far
below
any
theoretical
limits
(2).
Although the problematic character and relative infrequency of intercourse between spouses are clearly recognized in contemporary studies, certain aspects have been overlooked, e.g., the cessation of marital coitus, which has been investigated primarily in the elderly (3). Rather than being an abnormal phenomenon associated with, for example, chronic physical or mental illness or postpartum taboos, cessation of intercourse occurs in a sizable segment of the general marned population, and marital intercourse, as our data
and
a
ac-
of a so-
coitus and
PH.D.
years
bein-
ofsexual
availability
nonproblernatic
frequent in occurrence. However, ature-psychiatric, psychological,
that
REFERENCES
BOOTH,
form of sexual All societies is both
duty
most
and
Intercourse
the only prescribed. spouses
was
We feel it is tragic that such numbers of severely mentally ill persons are being left to be dealt with by a jail rather than by the psychiatric community.
The authorsfound that marital coitus had ceasedfor definable period (median =8 weeks) in one-third of a sample of144 men and22J women who were relatively young and had been married an average ofi 1 years. An analysis offactors related to the social background and marital relationship ofthe respondents indicated that the cessation behavior ofmen is more highly predictable than that ofwomen and that antecedents ofthis behavior differ markedly between the sexes. The authors suggest that, even among relatively young couples, marital intercourse is discontinous and problematic.
havior
system possible
period of time. Some individuals returned to the jail 4 or 5 times (not counted as separate evaluations) in
diagnosis.
Cessation
justice it was
seemed to have sons by default were unsuccessful
Group2(N=100)
Percent
that
COMMUNICATIONS
in very
a large body of literand sociological-
Dr. Edwards is Associate Professor, Department Polytechnic Institute and State University, , and Dr. Booth is Professor, Department versity of Nebraska. Lincoln, Neb.
ginia 24061
This
study
Government
was
supported
by the
Ministry
of State
of Sociology, Blacksburg, of Sociology, for
Urban
VirVa. UniAffairs,
of Canada.
Opinions expressed herein are those of the authors sarily reflect the views of the Canadian Ministry Affairs.
AmfPsychiatry
/33:/i,
November
and do not necesof State for Urban
/976
1333
BRIEF
COMMUNICATIONS
will indicate, tends to be discontinuous for a significant proportion of couples. Several questions can be raised concerning this finding. What are the antecedents of cessation behavior? Is the discontinuance of intercourse related to an mdividual’s social background, or is the more immediate marital relationship responsible? Do men and women differ in the incidence of reported discontinuance of marital intercourse? If so, do the same factors explain their behavior? And finally, to what do such individuals attribute the cessation of intercourse, and are the reasons given the same for men and women?
500,000) of wife.
as a child,
and
Marital variables such demographic
factors
is more
The data in this study, which was conducted in 1973, come from a stratified probability sample of men and women in Toronto, Ont., Canada. The subjects were relatively young-2% were under 20, 74% were 20-39 years old, and 24% were over 40. The length of time married ranged from 1 year to more than 20 years, with a mean of 1 1 years. All individuals interviewed were part of intact famof European
or North
American
descent
with
one
or more children. The wives in all families represented were under 45 years of age. The men and women were given a 2-hour field interview and a medical exarnination. At the close of the medical examination, the physicians, who had received extensive training in interview techniques, asked a series of questions regarding sexual behavior. A total of 221 women and 144 men, some of whom were married to each other (N 124), were interviewed and examined. A systematic cornparison of the characteristics of those consenting to be both interviewed and examined, who comprised twothirds of the original sample, with those who did not consent revealed that the two groups were similar with respect to occupational status, age of head of household, and length of residence in present dwelling. The major difference was that many of the nonrespondents had migrated from Western Europe. =
Variables
Examined
The physician interviewers asked whether intercourse between the respondent and his/her spouse had ever stopped for any reason other than pregnancy and, if so, why this had happened. These queries were followed by a question regarding the length of cessation. Background variables. The background variables examined in this analysis were 1) age, 2) occupational status of the head of the household according to the Blishen Index (4), a standardized scoring system for the prestige rankings of Canadian occupations, 3) level of educational achievement, 4) ethnicity of respondent and spouse (i.e., Canadian born or not), 5) religion (Catholic or non-Catholic), 6) whether the respondent had resided in a large city (population of more than Cessation
1334
were
used
of
intercourse.
Am J Psychiatry
/33:1 1 November ,
1976
marital
variables
as number
as a perceptual
tween the married as loving as she/he
Sample
The
employment
status included
of years
married,
number of children, and whether the individual had ever been divorced. Six attitudinal factors were explored. The first exammed which partner dominated the pair. Respondents were asked, “When you disagree with your wife/husband, who gets their way?” The responses “husband always” or “husband mostly” were categorized as husband-dominated; comparable responses for the wife were coded as wife-dominated. Second, two items
METHOD
ilies
.
7) current
critical
index
of affection
be-
persons: “My wife/husband is just used to be” and “My wife/husband of
me
than
she/he
used
to
be.”
An
“agree” response to the first item or a “disagree” response to the second was scored I ; other responses were scored zero. “Don’t know” was treated as missing data in this and all other items. If a response to one or both questions indicated a decrement in love, the response was so coded. The number of disagreements between the spouses in the preceding 12 months was determined from an inventory of arguments involving family members. The initial question read, “In many households bad feelings, arguments, or fights occur from time to time. Do bad feelings, arguments, or fights ever arise in this household?” An affirmative response was followed by a detailed set of questions regarding the participants, frequency, and topics of arguments. Fourth, we determined whether either member of the pair had threatened to leave the other as an indicator of the quality of the couple’s relationship. (“A lot of people have quarrels with their husband/wife and get so angry that they ask them to leave home or they threaten to leave home themselves. Has this ever happened in your marriage?”) The individual’s general feeling ofalienation was the fifth attitudinal variable, and the sixth was whether a lack of privacy in the home had recently prevented the respondent from having sexual intercourse. Data
Analysis
The impact of the background and on the dependent variable, cessation
marital variables of marital inter-
course,
multiple
was
examined
by
means
of
regres-
sion. By entering one set of variables before the other, we are able to ascertain the unique variance explained by each set of variables as well as their shared vanance. The standardized regression coefficient (beta) represents the effect each variable has on the dependent variable, cessation ofcoitus, with the effects of all other factors held constant. Within the sample, beta may be interpreted as a measure of the importance or usefulness
of a variable
the dependent in this
sample
cessation tion than
variable indicates
in accounting for variation in (5). For example, a beta of .30 a highly significant predictor of
and is twice as useful in accounting for cessaa variable for which a beta of IS is obtained. .
BRIEF
RESU
LTS
One-third N=46,
of
and
the
36%
respondents
of the
(32%
women,
N==80)
of
the
men,
reported
that
they had ceased having intercourse with their spouse for some definable period. The median length of cessation was 8 weeks. It is immediately apparent from the data in table 1 that the behavior of men is better accounted for by the variables we examined than is that of women. As table 2 indicates, 23% of the total vanance in the cessation behavior of men as opposed to 13%
in
women
is explained
by
the
background
and
marital variables. The factors that best explain cessation clearly for men and women. For men, the background
TABLE
1
Factors
Investigated
in
Relationship
to Cessation
differ van-
of Marital
Inter-
course
Men Factor
Women
(N=l44)
Background
(N=221)
variables
Age
.01
Occupational
status
Education Wife’s ethnicity Husband’s Religion
Urban
residence
Wife’s
employment
.03 .03
.00
.00
-
.27* .30* - . 13* - .06 - . I 1*
as child status
Marital variables Years married Numberofchildren Everdivorced
Female-dominated couple Male-dominated couple Decrease in affection Marital arguments Threat to leave home
.01 .09 .08 - .08 .03
.09
.09
- .02 .02 - . 10
.03 - .05 .08
.09
Alienation Lack ofprivacy *Significantly
.09 -
ethnicity
related
to cessation
.
I 1*
.14*
.02 .07
.04 .14*
.02 .25*
.01 09*
of intercourse
(p.OS).
2
TABLE
Percentages
of Variance
Explained
by Background
and
Marital
Van-
ables
Men Variance
Total
(N=l44)
explained
variables
Explained variables Explained
Women (N=22l)
by all
considered
23
13
by background 8
Catholic,
2
by marital
variables
9
9
Shared by marital and background variables
6
2
and
current
lack
On the basis of these dently has little impact tinue
marital
The cessation
are just
behavior
ditions wife’s
of employment
of the
wife.
data, the marital situation evion the man’s decision to discon-
coitus.
findings
ily decision
the
is most
of the marital perception that making,
opposite
belief
their
influenced
relationship. her husband her
for women:
critically
by con-
ln particular, the is dominant in fam-
that
he has
become
less
affectionate, and the occurrence of threats to leave home were significantly related to cessation of intercourse. The only common factor that explains discontinuance of sex for both men and women is a perceived lack of privacy. Whether the lack of privacy actually intervened or merely provided a convenient rationale for stopping the sexual relationship is open to debate. The evidence presented in table 3 on self-reported reafor
cessation
appears,
however,
to
support
the
latter interpretation. The self-reported reasons for the cessation of mantal intercourse were varied, but they tend to fall in the eight categories given in table 3: surgery (e.g., hernia repair, hysterectomy, cholecystectomy), illness (e.g., vaginitis,
stroke,
painment holism),
(e.g., marital
“playing
- .02
-
ables have a substantial effect on the tendency to stop having intercourse. Crucial background variables for men are recent emigration from Europe, being non-
sons
Beta
COMMUNICATIONS
unspecified
depression, discord
around”),
ailments),
psychiatric
nervous breakdown, (e.g., angry at mate,
decreased
sexual
interest,
im-
alcospouse men-
struation, birth control procedure, and geographic separation (e.g., spouse working in different city, shift work, lack of privacy in the household). Obviously, the categories are not mutually exclusive or independent of causal linkages. For example, marital discord and lack of interest in sex may overlap, and psychiatric impairment may be a precursor or a consequence of mantal discord. The categories merely represent the clustens into which the responses seem to fit without straining the meaning of the respondents’ replies. The reason given most often for cessation was mantal discord. The importance of this variable is further highlighted by the fact that 52% of those who had stopped having intercourse for this reason also indicated that their spouse was less loving than he/she used to be, whereas only 30% of the individuals who reported cessation for some other reason gave this nesponse. Following marital discord in terms of frequency were illness, decreased sexual interest, and surgery. It is noteworthy that the respondents who reported cessation because of a decreased interest in sex were an average of 3 years olden than individuals who gave other reasons. Psychiatric impairment was the fifth most frequent reason given for cessation. In contrast
to
the
ables,
the
quite
similar
analysis
of background
self-reported for
men
Almost three-fourths ed cessation of marital AmfPsychiatry
reasons
and
marital
van-
cessation
were
of the individuals who intercourse to decreased
attnibutinter-
and
for
women.
/33:1/,
Not’ember
/976
1335
BRIEF
COMMUNICATIONS
TABLE
3
Self-Reported
Reasons
for Cessation
Women
M en
(N=80)
Reason
N
Surgery Illness Psychiatric impairment Marital discord Decreasedinterestinsex Menstruation Birthcontrolprocedure Geographic separation
Total
(N =46)
%
the sexes: social background factors have a far more substantial effect on the tendency of men to cease intencourse than do factors related to the marital situation, whereas the reverse is true for women. Only a perceived lack of privacy is predictive of the cessation of intercourse for both men and women. It is inter-
Intercourse
of Marital
N
(N=I26)
%
7 15 6 34 9 3 4
9 19 8 42 Il 4 5
6 10 4 16 6 2 0
13 21 9 35 13 4 0
2
2
2
5
N
%
esting
13
10
25
20
10 50 15
8 40 12
5
4
4
3
4
3
est in sex, birth control procedure, or geographic separation reported that the cessation had lasted 3 months or more. Sixty percent of those who cited psychiatric impairment reported lengthy cessation, followed by 46% in the surgery category, 30% for marital discord, and 16% who gave illness as the reason for having stopped intercourse. It is interesting to note that, as prominent as marital discord was in the other analyses, it ranked sixth in terms of the percentage of mdividuals within the eight categories who reported lengthy cessation.
SUMMARY
AND
note,
however,
that
only
small,
non-
bilities
that
exist.
Certainly,
psychiatric
and marital discord are obvious continuous marital intercourse, effect, should command greater
impairment
to practitioners. Diswhether it be cause or attention.
CONCLUSIONS
One-third of this stratified sample of relatively young men and women who had been married for an average of only 1 1 years had ceased marital coitus for a definable period. Since the median length of cessation was 8 weeks, it seems that coitus may be highly discontinuous for many married couples. The cessation behavior of men is more highly predictable than that of women in terms of factors related to social background and the marital relationship. Moreover, the background and marital variables that best explain sexual cessation differ markedly between
1336
to
significant differences were found between men and women with regard to self-reported causes of cessation of marital intercourse. It appears, on the basis of these findings, that we need to reexamine the assumptions that are often made as to how efficacious the societal prescription of marital coitus is and what level of sexual activity may be considered as within a “normal” range. Assuming that the respondents in this study are representative (and, given our sampling techniques, there is no reason to question that they are not), discontinuous intercourse is an experience of a sizable proportion of the population and implies, at least under certain circumstances, that the obligatory nature of marital coitus is abrogated, sometimes for rather extensive periods of time. However, inasmuch as most of the self-reported reasons for cessation point to situations amenable to intervention, the findings also call into question our awareness of the situation and the remedial possi-
AmJPsychiatry
/33:11,
November
1976
REFERENCES
I. Edwards 179 2.
Kinsey
the
JN: AC,
Human
Sex in Society. Pomeroy
Female.
Chicago,
WB, Martin Philadelphia,
Rand
McNally,
C, et al: Sexual WB Saunders
1972,
p
Behavior Co, 1953,
in p
351
3. Pfeiffer E, Verwoerdt A, Davis GC: Sexual behavior in middle age. Psychiatry 128:1262-1267, 1972 4. Blishen B: A socio-economic index for occupations in Canada. Canadian Review ofSociology and Anthropology 4:41-53, 1967 5.
Darlington
and
practice.
RB:
Multiple
Psychol
regression
Bull 69:161-182,
in
psychological 1968
research
TABLE 2 Psychiatric
Diagnosis
of Two Groups
of Jail Inmates
Group Diagnostic
Group
I (N=445)
Number
Number
the criminal
this
whenever
Percent
psychotic Functional psychosis Organicpsychosis
102 15
22.9 3.4
3 2
3.0 2.0
Antisocial personality Other personality disorder Neurosis Alcoholism
65 90 II 53
14.6 20.2 2.5 11.9
Drug addiction Transient situational
38
8.5
13 16 2 18 6
13.0 16.0 2.0 18.0 6.0
disturbance Mental deficiency Convulsivedisorder* Evaluation only: Undetermined
26 12 10 18 15
5.8 2.7 2.3 4. 1 3.4
3 1 1 36 0
3.0 1.0 1.0 36.0 0.0
*In addition
The
no diagnosis
to other
BY JOHN
of Marital
N. EDWARDS,
PH.D.,
MARITAL
dicate
INTERCOURSE
that that
is universally coitus
between
15
AND
ALAN
spite
(1). Since
the presence
and
tivity
is largely
a function
of the
cially
sanctioned
partner,
marriage
to
be
relatively
one
intensity
a right
would
expect
a
receptive the
to
system
inherited responsibility for these perrather than preference. However, we in removing even the most severely
individuals
from
of being
released
the jail
for
to a hospital
I. 1975 projection.
Orchid,
2.
Jail
any
substantial
on each
occasion.
Denver 1974
County
Dec
1974
Statistics.
Denver.
Denver
County
Jail,
attests to the fact that this is not the case. Problems abound, especially those of an individual nature, and the highest reported mean frequencies of marital intercourse (about 3 times a week among individuals 18-24 old)
are
far
below
any
theoretical
limits
(2).
Although the problematic character and relative infrequency of intercourse between spouses are clearly recognized in contemporary studies, certain aspects have been overlooked, e.g., the cessation of marital coitus, which has been investigated primarily in the elderly (3). Rather than being an abnormal phenomenon associated with, for example, chronic physical or mental illness or postpartum taboos, cessation of intercourse occurs in a sizable segment of the general marned population, and marital intercourse, as our data
and
a
ac-
of a so-
coitus and
PH.D.
years
bein-
ofsexual
availability
nonproblernatic
frequent in occurrence. However, ature-psychiatric, psychological,
that
REFERENCES
BOOTH,
form of sexual All societies is both
duty
most
and
Intercourse
the only prescribed. spouses
was
We feel it is tragic that such numbers of severely mentally ill persons are being left to be dealt with by a jail rather than by the psychiatric community.
The authorsfound that marital coitus had ceasedfor definable period (median =8 weeks) in one-third of a sample of144 men and22J women who were relatively young and had been married an average ofi 1 years. An analysis offactors related to the social background and marital relationship ofthe respondents indicated that the cessation behavior ofmen is more highly predictable than that ofwomen and that antecedents ofthis behavior differ markedly between the sexes. The authors suggest that, even among relatively young couples, marital intercourse is discontinous and problematic.
havior
system possible
period of time. Some individuals returned to the jail 4 or 5 times (not counted as separate evaluations) in
diagnosis.
Cessation
justice it was
seemed to have sons by default were unsuccessful
Group2(N=100)
Percent
that
COMMUNICATIONS
in very
a large body of literand sociological-
Dr. Edwards is Associate Professor, Department Polytechnic Institute and State University, , and Dr. Booth is Professor, Department versity of Nebraska. Lincoln, Neb.
ginia 24061
This
study
Government
was
supported
by the
Ministry
of State
of Sociology, Blacksburg, of Sociology, for
Urban
VirVa. UniAffairs,
of Canada.
Opinions expressed herein are those of the authors sarily reflect the views of the Canadian Ministry Affairs.
AmfPsychiatry
/33:/i,
November
and do not necesof State for Urban
/976
1333
BRIEF
COMMUNICATIONS
will indicate, tends to be discontinuous for a significant proportion of couples. Several questions can be raised concerning this finding. What are the antecedents of cessation behavior? Is the discontinuance of intercourse related to an mdividual’s social background, or is the more immediate marital relationship responsible? Do men and women differ in the incidence of reported discontinuance of marital intercourse? If so, do the same factors explain their behavior? And finally, to what do such individuals attribute the cessation of intercourse, and are the reasons given the same for men and women?
500,000) of wife.
as a child,
and
Marital variables such demographic
factors
is more
The data in this study, which was conducted in 1973, come from a stratified probability sample of men and women in Toronto, Ont., Canada. The subjects were relatively young-2% were under 20, 74% were 20-39 years old, and 24% were over 40. The length of time married ranged from 1 year to more than 20 years, with a mean of 1 1 years. All individuals interviewed were part of intact famof European
or North
American
descent
with
one
or more children. The wives in all families represented were under 45 years of age. The men and women were given a 2-hour field interview and a medical exarnination. At the close of the medical examination, the physicians, who had received extensive training in interview techniques, asked a series of questions regarding sexual behavior. A total of 221 women and 144 men, some of whom were married to each other (N 124), were interviewed and examined. A systematic cornparison of the characteristics of those consenting to be both interviewed and examined, who comprised twothirds of the original sample, with those who did not consent revealed that the two groups were similar with respect to occupational status, age of head of household, and length of residence in present dwelling. The major difference was that many of the nonrespondents had migrated from Western Europe. =
Variables
Examined
The physician interviewers asked whether intercourse between the respondent and his/her spouse had ever stopped for any reason other than pregnancy and, if so, why this had happened. These queries were followed by a question regarding the length of cessation. Background variables. The background variables examined in this analysis were 1) age, 2) occupational status of the head of the household according to the Blishen Index (4), a standardized scoring system for the prestige rankings of Canadian occupations, 3) level of educational achievement, 4) ethnicity of respondent and spouse (i.e., Canadian born or not), 5) religion (Catholic or non-Catholic), 6) whether the respondent had resided in a large city (population of more than Cessation
1334
were
used
of
intercourse.
Am J Psychiatry
/33:1 1 November ,
1976
marital
variables
as number
as a perceptual
tween the married as loving as she/he
Sample
The
employment
status included
of years
married,
number of children, and whether the individual had ever been divorced. Six attitudinal factors were explored. The first exammed which partner dominated the pair. Respondents were asked, “When you disagree with your wife/husband, who gets their way?” The responses “husband always” or “husband mostly” were categorized as husband-dominated; comparable responses for the wife were coded as wife-dominated. Second, two items
METHOD
ilies
.
7) current
critical
index
of affection
be-
persons: “My wife/husband is just used to be” and “My wife/husband of
me
than
she/he
used
to
be.”
An
“agree” response to the first item or a “disagree” response to the second was scored I ; other responses were scored zero. “Don’t know” was treated as missing data in this and all other items. If a response to one or both questions indicated a decrement in love, the response was so coded. The number of disagreements between the spouses in the preceding 12 months was determined from an inventory of arguments involving family members. The initial question read, “In many households bad feelings, arguments, or fights occur from time to time. Do bad feelings, arguments, or fights ever arise in this household?” An affirmative response was followed by a detailed set of questions regarding the participants, frequency, and topics of arguments. Fourth, we determined whether either member of the pair had threatened to leave the other as an indicator of the quality of the couple’s relationship. (“A lot of people have quarrels with their husband/wife and get so angry that they ask them to leave home or they threaten to leave home themselves. Has this ever happened in your marriage?”) The individual’s general feeling ofalienation was the fifth attitudinal variable, and the sixth was whether a lack of privacy in the home had recently prevented the respondent from having sexual intercourse. Data
Analysis
The impact of the background and on the dependent variable, cessation
marital variables of marital inter-
course,
multiple
was
examined
by
means
of
regres-
sion. By entering one set of variables before the other, we are able to ascertain the unique variance explained by each set of variables as well as their shared vanance. The standardized regression coefficient (beta) represents the effect each variable has on the dependent variable, cessation ofcoitus, with the effects of all other factors held constant. Within the sample, beta may be interpreted as a measure of the importance or usefulness
of a variable
the dependent in this
sample
cessation tion than
variable indicates
in accounting for variation in (5). For example, a beta of .30 a highly significant predictor of
and is twice as useful in accounting for cessaa variable for which a beta of IS is obtained. .
BRIEF
RESU
LTS
One-third N=46,
of
and
the
36%
respondents
of the
(32%
women,
N==80)
of
the
men,
reported
that
they had ceased having intercourse with their spouse for some definable period. The median length of cessation was 8 weeks. It is immediately apparent from the data in table 1 that the behavior of men is better accounted for by the variables we examined than is that of women. As table 2 indicates, 23% of the total vanance in the cessation behavior of men as opposed to 13%
in
women
is explained
by
the
background
and
marital variables. The factors that best explain cessation clearly for men and women. For men, the background
TABLE
1
Factors
Investigated
in
Relationship
to Cessation
differ van-
of Marital
Inter-
course
Men Factor
Women
(N=l44)
Background
(N=221)
variables
Age
.01
Occupational
status
Education Wife’s ethnicity Husband’s Religion
Urban
residence
Wife’s
employment
.03 .03
.00
.00
-
.27* .30* - . 13* - .06 - . I 1*
as child status
Marital variables Years married Numberofchildren Everdivorced
Female-dominated couple Male-dominated couple Decrease in affection Marital arguments Threat to leave home
.01 .09 .08 - .08 .03
.09
.09
- .02 .02 - . 10
.03 - .05 .08
.09
Alienation Lack ofprivacy *Significantly
.09 -
ethnicity
related
to cessation
.
I 1*
.14*
.02 .07
.04 .14*
.02 .25*
.01 09*
of intercourse
(p.OS).
2
TABLE
Percentages
of Variance
Explained
by Background
and
Marital
Van-
ables
Men Variance
Total
(N=l44)
explained
variables
Explained variables Explained
Women (N=22l)
by all
considered
23
13
by background 8
Catholic,
2
by marital
variables
9
9
Shared by marital and background variables
6
2
and
current
lack
On the basis of these dently has little impact tinue
marital
The cessation
are just
behavior
ditions wife’s
of employment
of the
wife.
data, the marital situation evion the man’s decision to discon-
coitus.
findings
ily decision
the
is most
of the marital perception that making,
opposite
belief
their
influenced
relationship. her husband her
for women:
critically
by con-
ln particular, the is dominant in fam-
that
he has
become
less
affectionate, and the occurrence of threats to leave home were significantly related to cessation of intercourse. The only common factor that explains discontinuance of sex for both men and women is a perceived lack of privacy. Whether the lack of privacy actually intervened or merely provided a convenient rationale for stopping the sexual relationship is open to debate. The evidence presented in table 3 on self-reported reafor
cessation
appears,
however,
to
support
the
latter interpretation. The self-reported reasons for the cessation of mantal intercourse were varied, but they tend to fall in the eight categories given in table 3: surgery (e.g., hernia repair, hysterectomy, cholecystectomy), illness (e.g., vaginitis,
stroke,
painment holism),
(e.g., marital
“playing
- .02
-
ables have a substantial effect on the tendency to stop having intercourse. Crucial background variables for men are recent emigration from Europe, being non-
sons
Beta
COMMUNICATIONS
unspecified
depression, discord
around”),
ailments),
psychiatric
nervous breakdown, (e.g., angry at mate,
decreased
sexual
interest,
im-
alcospouse men-
struation, birth control procedure, and geographic separation (e.g., spouse working in different city, shift work, lack of privacy in the household). Obviously, the categories are not mutually exclusive or independent of causal linkages. For example, marital discord and lack of interest in sex may overlap, and psychiatric impairment may be a precursor or a consequence of mantal discord. The categories merely represent the clustens into which the responses seem to fit without straining the meaning of the respondents’ replies. The reason given most often for cessation was mantal discord. The importance of this variable is further highlighted by the fact that 52% of those who had stopped having intercourse for this reason also indicated that their spouse was less loving than he/she used to be, whereas only 30% of the individuals who reported cessation for some other reason gave this nesponse. Following marital discord in terms of frequency were illness, decreased sexual interest, and surgery. It is noteworthy that the respondents who reported cessation because of a decreased interest in sex were an average of 3 years olden than individuals who gave other reasons. Psychiatric impairment was the fifth most frequent reason given for cessation. In contrast
to
the
ables,
the
quite
similar
analysis
of background
self-reported for
men
Almost three-fourths ed cessation of marital AmfPsychiatry
reasons
and
marital
van-
cessation
were
of the individuals who intercourse to decreased
attnibutinter-
and
for
women.
/33:1/,
Not’ember
/976
1335
BRIEF
COMMUNICATIONS
TABLE
3
Self-Reported
Reasons
for Cessation
Women
M en
(N=80)
Reason
N
Surgery Illness Psychiatric impairment Marital discord Decreasedinterestinsex Menstruation Birthcontrolprocedure Geographic separation
Total
(N =46)
%
the sexes: social background factors have a far more substantial effect on the tendency of men to cease intencourse than do factors related to the marital situation, whereas the reverse is true for women. Only a perceived lack of privacy is predictive of the cessation of intercourse for both men and women. It is inter-
Intercourse
of Marital
N
(N=I26)
%
7 15 6 34 9 3 4
9 19 8 42 Il 4 5
6 10 4 16 6 2 0
13 21 9 35 13 4 0
2
2
2
5
N
%
esting
13
10
25
20
10 50 15
8 40 12
5
4
4
3
4
3
est in sex, birth control procedure, or geographic separation reported that the cessation had lasted 3 months or more. Sixty percent of those who cited psychiatric impairment reported lengthy cessation, followed by 46% in the surgery category, 30% for marital discord, and 16% who gave illness as the reason for having stopped intercourse. It is interesting to note that, as prominent as marital discord was in the other analyses, it ranked sixth in terms of the percentage of mdividuals within the eight categories who reported lengthy cessation.
SUMMARY
AND
note,
however,
that
only
small,
non-
bilities
that
exist.
Certainly,
psychiatric
and marital discord are obvious continuous marital intercourse, effect, should command greater
impairment
to practitioners. Diswhether it be cause or attention.
CONCLUSIONS
One-third of this stratified sample of relatively young men and women who had been married for an average of only 1 1 years had ceased marital coitus for a definable period. Since the median length of cessation was 8 weeks, it seems that coitus may be highly discontinuous for many married couples. The cessation behavior of men is more highly predictable than that of women in terms of factors related to social background and the marital relationship. Moreover, the background and marital variables that best explain sexual cessation differ markedly between
1336
to
significant differences were found between men and women with regard to self-reported causes of cessation of marital intercourse. It appears, on the basis of these findings, that we need to reexamine the assumptions that are often made as to how efficacious the societal prescription of marital coitus is and what level of sexual activity may be considered as within a “normal” range. Assuming that the respondents in this study are representative (and, given our sampling techniques, there is no reason to question that they are not), discontinuous intercourse is an experience of a sizable proportion of the population and implies, at least under certain circumstances, that the obligatory nature of marital coitus is abrogated, sometimes for rather extensive periods of time. However, inasmuch as most of the self-reported reasons for cessation point to situations amenable to intervention, the findings also call into question our awareness of the situation and the remedial possi-
AmJPsychiatry
/33:11,
November
1976
REFERENCES
I. Edwards 179 2.
Kinsey
the
JN: AC,
Human
Sex in Society. Pomeroy
Female.
Chicago,
WB, Martin Philadelphia,
Rand
McNally,
C, et al: Sexual WB Saunders
1972,
p
Behavior Co, 1953,
in p
351
3. Pfeiffer E, Verwoerdt A, Davis GC: Sexual behavior in middle age. Psychiatry 128:1262-1267, 1972 4. Blishen B: A socio-economic index for occupations in Canada. Canadian Review ofSociology and Anthropology 4:41-53, 1967 5.
Darlington
and
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RB:
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in
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