Men married to ‘nice’ women who are laidback and easygoing are apparently having more sex
It's the WIFE'S personality which affects the frisky frequency... not the husband's
THE woman has the final say in how often a couple have sex, according to a new study.
And scientists reckon they can guess how often you are getting frisky based on a woman’s personality – and five key traits.
In particular, ladies who were more agreeable and open tended to have sex more frequently than those who weren’t.
It was bad news for blokes, after researchers found a man’s personality type had NO influence on how often couples did the dirty.
Scientists at Florida State University studied 278 newlywed straight couples, generally between their mid 20s and early 30s, and asked them to keep a two-week sex diary.
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The loved up pairs were all in the honeymoon period, having been married for less than six months, and Dr Andrea Meltzer and Dr James McNulty also did personality tests on the participants.
When it came to frequency, the average couple had sex three or four times over the course of the fortnight.
The researchers noted that although previous studies suggest men initiate sex more than women, it was the wife’s personality which determined whether or not they actually did the deed.
When they did get intimate, couples were asked to rate their satisfaction on a seven-point scale.
When it came to enjoyment, the more open males were more likely to report dissatisfaction, but the same did not apply to females.
But don’t worry if you’re not having sex twice a week, the authors noted that the habits of these couples, who were all new to marriage, would be different to those who have been married for years, or were in the early stages of dating.
The BIG FIVE personality traits:
Extroversion: Sociability, assertiveness and emotional expressiveness.
Agreeableness: Trust, kindness and affection.
Openness: Imagination, curiosity and broad ranging interests.
Conscientiousness: Thoughtfulness, organised and less impulsive.
Neuroticism: More common feelings of guilt, envy, anger and/or anxiety.
And it wasn’t just the science of sex they were interested in.
People with high levels of neuroticism were found to be more likely to have negative mood swings – leaving them prone to feeling irritable, anxious and depressed – while people on the other end of the spectrum were more emotionally stable.
Meanwhile conscientious people were less likely to feel stressed, and had less health problems as a result.
Past research has found that neuroticism can cause stress hormone cortisol to be released, thereby taking a serious toll on the immune system and leading to higher rates of heart disease among obsessive people.