Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy in Interdisciplinary Studies
with a concentration in Psychology
and specializations in Social Psychology and Sexology
by
December, 2008
Core Faculty: Lawrence J. Ryan, Ph. D.
Union Institute and University
Cincinnati. Ohio
Copyright © 2009
I want to thank my wife, Rita Meissner, for the love and support she showed me throughout my academic journey, and most specifically through the completion of this dissertation. Her unconditional love, laughter, and pointed criticism have made this journey much more palatable.
I am grateful to my First Core and advisor, Dr. Lawrence Ryan, a wise and understanding mentor, for his guidance and patience through my doctoral program and dissertation. Further, I would like to thank the other members of my doctoral committee, Dr. Raymond Noonan, Dr. Nathaniel Vietor, and the second Core Reader, Dr. Linda Hopkins, for their counsel and encouragement. A special thanks to my Peers in the committee, Dr. Vickie Durham and Dr. Timothy O'Brien, for being there when I needed their assistance; their suggestions, encouragement, and guidance were appreciated.
There are other individuals that deserve a special mention; they have made this extraordinary journey a lot less complicated and more rewarding for me. Their encouragement and support encouraged me to finish what I started four years ago. Special thanks to my dear friend Dr. Donald Parkerson for his encouragement and statistical shrewdness, his wife Dr. Joanne Parkerson for her continued help and support with the project. My special thanks to my friend Ms. Cathy Maahs-Fladung, one of my statistical mentors, for her patience, guidance, and counsel during the development stages of the research methodology and data analysis. A special thank you to my consultant and friend Dr. Karl Weunsch for his wicked sense of humor and statistical expertise.
Sincere thanks to my friend and editor, Dr. Rebecca Godwin, for her candor, patience, advice on proper grammar, and good wines.
In addition, I would like to thank all of those people that believed in me and encouraged me to reach my life-long goals. At East Carolina University, I would like to thank my friend and colleague Dr. Cathy Hall for her continuing support and encouragement.
The present study explored the marital and sexual satisfaction of a sample of 1,376 men and women swingers via an on-line survey. Marital and sexual satisfaction scales were used to measure the levels of satisfaction of the sample in both variables. Demographics characteristics of the sample, attitudes towards swinging experiences, and swinging sexual behaviors were also examined. Data analysis revealed that both men and women in the sample scored at the high end of the marital and sexual satisfaction scales. Further statistical procedures yielded minimal differences between the scores of men and women in those measures. The swinging experience was measure by multiple choice questions. Regarding swinging activities and experiences, men and women swingers reported being satisfied with their swinging activities. Men were more likely than women to have suggested swinging to their partners; the two major reasons given for engaging in swinging activities were sexual variety and fantasy fulfillment; most of the participants reported participating in swinging activities four to five times a year and finding their swinging partners via the Internet. The demographic data revealed that the individuals in the sample were mostly white, aged between thirty and fifty years of age, in their first marriage, college educated from urban or suburban areas, and with a mean income between forty and seventy five thousand dollars yearly. Most of the men reported being heterosexual while a small number reported being bisexual; over half of the women reported having a bisexual orientation and only a small number were heterosexual. The limitations of the study were described and discussed and the following recommendations were suggested. Further research is needed with the swinging population to determined the impact of swinging on the family unit, engage in further research with couples to evaluate the responses of each individual, and conduct a comprehensive longitudinal study to gather information on the long-term effects of swinging on the marital relationship.
LIST OF TABLES
| 1. Martial Satisfaction Scale Scores (T-Tests) |
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| 2. Sexual Satisfaction Scale Scores (T-Tests) |
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G1.Age of Participants |
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G2.Response to the Question “If You are Married This is Your…” |
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G3.Response to the Question, “How Long Have You Been in the Present Relationship?” |
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G4.Education Level of the Participants |
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G5.Household Income of Participants |
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G6.Occupation of the Participants |
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G7.Type of Community of Residence of the Participants |
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G8.Size of Community of Residence |
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G9.Geographical Area of Residence of Participants |
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G10.Political Views and Affiliations of Participants |
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G11.Religious Views of the Participants |
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G12.“How Long Have You and Your Partner Been Engaged in Swinging Activities? |
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G13.“Who First Introduced the Idea of Swinging Into Your Relationship?” |
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G14.Swinging Activity Frequency |
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G15.Swinging Sexual Preferences: Sexual Behaviors |
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G16.Orgasm Frequency During Swinging Activities |
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G17.“How Do You Find Other Swingers? |
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G18.“How Often Do You and Your Partner Frequent Swingers’ Clubs? |
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LIST OF FIGURES
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Figure 1. Sexual orientation; men |
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Figure 2. Sexual orientation; women |
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Figure 3. Comparison of the racial profile of men and women respondents |
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Figure 4. Comparison of the ages of men and women respondents |
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Figure 5. Comparison of the number of times men and women had been married |
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Figure 6. Comparison of how long men and women had been swinging |
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Figure 7. Comparison of responses of men and women regarding their attitudes towards swinging |
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Figure 8. Comparison of the rationale given by men and women for engaging in swinging activities |
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Figure 9. Orgasm frequency of men and women during swinging activities |
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LIST OF APPENDICES
APPENDIX A: TEMPLATE FOR WEBMASTERS |
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APPENDIX B: TEMPLATE FOR PROSPECTIVE PARTICIPANTS |
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APPENDIX C: INDEX OF MARITAL SATISFACTION SCALE |
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APPENDIX D: SEXUAL SATISFACTION SCALE |
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APPENDIX E: RESEARCH PARTICIPATION CONSENT FORM |
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APPENDIX F: RESEARCH INSTRUMENT |
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APPENDIX G: ADDITIONAL TABLES |
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