20 Behaviors That Boost Relationship and Sexual Satisfaction

"People often ask, "How can I make my relationship better?" For some, that means improving affection, attraction, and general relationship satisfaction. For others, it means turning up desire, passion, and overall sexual satisfaction, too. Therefore, I'm always on the lookout for new research that helps people increase their loving connection and sensual chemistry-especially when the "fix" is relatively simple and easy to add to a relationship routine."

"Fortunately, I found that kind of research in this year's Archives of Sexual Behavior journal, by Clark and Lefkowitz (2025). As the title suggests, the pair was interested in exploring "sexual and affectionate behaviors and satisfaction for adults in romantic relationships." To do so, they surveyed romantic partners of different gender identities and sexual orientations about how often they performed various intimate relationship behaviors. Those answers were then used to create three unique partner behavioral profiles:"

"Infrequent physical behavior partners: those who did not frequently engage in any affectionate or sexual behaviors, except for a moderate amount of kissing and hugging. Affection-focused behavior partners: those who engaged in frequent affectionate behaviors, but not sexual behaviors. Comprehensive physical behavior partners: those who performed both affectionate and sexual behaviors frequently. Clark and Lefkowitz then looked for differences among those three behavioral types."

Physical interaction between intimate partners significantly influences both relationship and sexual satisfaction. More frequent affectionate behaviors such as kissing and cuddling are associated with higher relationship satisfaction, while more frequent sexual behaviors such as making out and intimate touching are associated with higher sexual satisfaction. Romantic partners of different gender identities and sexual orientations were surveyed about how often they performed various affectionate and sexual behaviors. Responses formed three behavioral profiles: infrequent physical behavior partners, affection-focused behavior partners, and comprehensive physical behavior partners. No differences in affectionate or sexual behaviors appeared across man/man, woman/woman, man/woman, or gender-diverse relationships.

Read at Psychology Today