Women with sexual trauma histories more likely to engage in “Duty Sex”

Women with a history of nonconsensual sexual experiences are more likely to engage in sex out of feelings of obligation, according to a new study published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine. The study found that these women reported more frequent “Duty Sex,” lower sexual satisfaction, and higher levels of sexual pain compared to women without such histories.

Previous research has identified various reasons why people have sex, including factors related to insecurity and obligation. “Duty Sex” encompasses motivations such as avoiding partner disappointment or fulfilling perceived relational expectations.

Earlier studies have linked Duty Sex to lower sexual satisfaction and greater sexual pain. However, the current study focused on whether histories of nonconsensual sexual experiences predict Duty Sex and whether this relationship is mediated by sexual dysfunction.

“In our research for our book Why Women Have Sex, my colleague David Buss and I found a large number of women reported having sex out of a sense of obligation rather than for sexual pleasure. We termed this ‘Duty Sex,'” said study author Cindy M. Meston, a professor of clinical psychology at University of Texas at Austin and the director of the Female Sexual Psychophysiology Laboratory. “In the current study, we were interested in learning whether there were factors that predicted which women engaged in frequent Duty Sex.”

For the study, researchers surveyed 658 women aged 18 to 68, with an average age of 34.3 years. Participants were primarily heterosexual (79.3%) and predominantly White (76.1%), though individuals from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds, including African American (9.3%) and Hispanic (5.8%), were also represented. Most participants were married (43.8%) or in a committed relationship (23.1%), while a smaller proportion reported being single, casually dating, or in non-monogamous relationships.

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Participants were required to reside in the United States or Canada, be fluent in English, and have been sexually active within the past month. Nearly half of the participants (44.5%) reported experiencing at least one nonconsensual sexual event, with a variety of trauma types, severities, and timings represented in the group.

To assess sexual function, the researchers used the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI), which evaluates six domains: desire, arousal, lubrication, orgasm, satisfaction, and pain. Lower FSFI scores indicate poorer sexual function, with a total score below 26.55 denoting clinical sexual dysfunction.

Sexual motivations were measured using the Sex Motives Scale, which included items related to various reasons for engaging in sex, such as pleasure, intimacy, self-affirmation, and obligation (referred to as Duty Sex). Participants rated the frequency of engaging in sex for each reason on a scale from “almost never” to “almost always.”

The researchers found that women with a history of nonconsensual sexual experiences reported higher frequencies of Duty Sex compared to those without such histories.

Women with a history of nonconsensual sexual experiences also exhibited lower overall sexual function, particularly in the domains of vaginal lubrication and orgasm. These women reported experiencing more sexual pain and lower sexual satisfaction than those without trauma histories. However, there were no significant differences between the two groups in the domains of sexual desire or arousal.

Even after controlling for differences in sexual function, however, nonconsensual sexual experiences remained a strong predictor of Duty Sex engagement. Women with trauma histories were 35% more likely to report frequent Duty Sex compared to those without.

Interestingly, a history of nonconsensual sexual experiences did not predict the frequency of other sexual motives, such as intimacy, pleasure, or self-affirmation. This suggests a unique relationship between trauma history and Duty Sex.

The researchers also found that women who engaged more frequently in Duty Sex also reported greater problems with sexual pain.

“It is not uncommon for women to occasionally engage in sex out of a sense of duty or obligation,” Meston told PsyPost. “This does not mean the encounter is necessarily bad or will lead to a sexually dissatisfying relationship. In fact, for some women what begins as a dutiful response to a partner’s sexual advances might end in genuine enjoyment, pleasure, and intimacy.”

“However, given our findings highlight how women who experience sexual pain and women who have a history of nonconsensual sex are more likely to engage in Duty Sex, it may be important for women who fall into these categories to seek help in discovering ways to engage in sex that is more self-determined and pleasure based.”

The study, like all research, has limitations. The reliance on self-reported data may lead to inaccuracies due to recall bias or social desirability. Additionally, the researchers measured motivations for sex retrospectively, rather than capturing context-specific motives for each sexual encounter.

Future research could address these limitations by employing longitudinal designs to better understand how Duty Sex evolves over time and impacts relationships. Exploring the psychological and relational outcomes of engaging in Duty Sex, such as emotional well-being and partner satisfaction, could also provide valuable information for clinical interventions.

“We hope to learn under what conditions does engaging in Duty Sex lead to negative emotions and relationship dissatisfaction and under what conditions does it have neutral or positive consequences for both the individual and the relationship,” Meston said.

The study, “Predictors of duty sex frequency in women,” was authored by Kate B. Metcalfe, Chelsea D. Kilimnik, and Cindy M. Meston.