(PS10-C70) Feeling Better: Sexual Activity and Satisfaction Predict Next-day Positive Affect Among Sexual Assault Survivors

Abundant evidence links sexual activity to subsequent positive emotions (Blanchflower & Oswald, 2004), which may arise from physiological effects and social connectedness (Kashdan et al., 2018). Among college and community adults, happiness ratings are highest after sexual activity (Grimm et al., 2015) and sexual activity predicts greater positive affect two days later (Kashdan et al., 2018). Yet, it is unclear whether these findings generalize to survivors of sexual assault. Sexual assault often has disruptive effects on sexual functioning and pleasure (Maseroli et al., 2018; Weaver, 2009); nevertheless, many survivors report sexual satisfaction (Leonard et al., 2008), suggesting continued positive benefits of consensual sex. This study tests the hypotheses that sexual activity and satisfaction will predict greater next-day positive affect and lower negative affect among sexual assault survivors.

Participants were 82 community women with a history of sexual assault (M_age = 22.8, SD = 3.2, 73.2% non-Hispanic White, 56.1% heterosexual, 30.5% bisexual) who completed baseline self-report measures and a three-week ecological momentary assessment (EMA) period with three surveys per day. Primary study variables were assessed at Level 1 (past day partnered sexual activity and satisfaction at the morning survey, current affect at the afternoon survey). Three Level 2 covariates were assessed at baseline: whether women were in an intimate relationship, identified as a sexual minority versus heterosexual, and tended to think about their assault experiences during sexual situations. Multilevel structural equation modeling (MSEM) was used to examine within- and between-person effects. Missing data was addressed using MLR. Level 1 variables were estimated with random intercepts and fixed slopes. We tested two complimentary models examining sexual activity (Model 1, across all 1,722 EMA days) and sexual satisfaction (Model 2, across 224 days when participants reported partnered sex).

In Model 1, partnered sexual activity predicted greater next-day positive affect (b = 0.17, SE = 0.06, p = .002, β = 0.09) but not next-day negative affect (b = -0.07, SE = 0.04, p = .08, β = -0.05). Unexpectedly, at the between-level, sexual activity was unrelated to average affect across the EMA period after controlling for relationship status, sexual orientation, and frequency of assault-related thoughts during sex. In Model 2, greater sexual satisfaction predicted greater next-day positive affect (b = 0.15, SE = 0.03, p < .001, β = 0.27) and lower next-day negative affect (b = -0.07, SE = 0.02, p = .001, β = -0.20). Similarly, at the between-level, greater sexual satisfaction was associated with greater positive affect (b = 0.18, SE = 0.07, p = .01, β = 0.50) and lower negative affect (b = -0.07, SE = 0.04, p = .04, β = -0.38) after controlling for relationship status, sexual orientation, and assault-related thoughts during sex.

Findings indicate that partnered sexual activity–especially emotionally and physically satisfying sex–predicts relatively long-lasting increases in positive affect for women with a history of sexual assault. Thus, satisfying sexual encounters may be a clinical intervention target to cultivate joy among survivors.