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Sexual Satisfaction Among Newlywed Conservative Christians: the Role of Sexual Anxiety, Sexual Assertiveness, Sexual Communication, and Religious Coping

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Sexual Satisfaction Among Newlywed Conservative Christians: the Role of Sexual Anxiety, Sexual Assertiveness, Sexual Communication, and Religious Coping Sexual Satisfaction among Newlywed Conservative Christians: The Role of Sexual Anxiety, Sexual Assertiveness, Sexual Communication, and Religious Coping by Jessica M. Johnston-York, M.A. A Dissertation In Counseling Psychology Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Texas Tech University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Approved Sheila Garos, Ph.D. Chair of Committee Susan S. Hendrick, Ph.D. Steven Richards, Ph.D. Jessica L. Alquist, Ph.D. Clyde Hendrick, Ph.D. Mark Sheridan, Ph.D. Dean of the Graduate School August, 2019 Copyright 2019, Jessica Michelle Johnston-York Texas Tech University, Jessica M. Johnston-York, August 2019 Acknowledgments As one of my idols in the field of psychology, Carl Rogers, stated, “the only person who is educated is the one who has learned how to learn and change.” The path to earning my Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology has certainly taught me that there is no finish line in the pursuit of learning. I am indebted to several individuals who have helped foster my personal and professional growth over the last five years. In particular, I am very grateful to have received much guidance from the members of my dissertation committee: Dr. Sheila Garos, Dr. Susan Hendrick, Dr. Steven Richards, and Dr. Jessica Alquist. I would also like to extend a special thanks to Dr. Clyde Hendrick for his willingness to join my dissertation committee on short notice. I truly appreciate Dr. Garos for always supporting me and my research in human sexuality. I owe much thanks to the entire staff at the TTU Student Counseling Center for my development as a therapist. I would also like to thank John Schumacher and Emily Branscome who both assisted me in interpreting the data for my dissertation. I really appreciate the support of my labmates, Jackie Caston, Emily Branscome, Maggie Piper, and Matt Sharkey, and our lab’s research assistant, Samantha Villareal. Additionally, thank you to my Counseling Psychology cohort: Jackie Caston, Alexis Arevalo, Stephanie Van Horn, Cecilia Bess, Tyler Bradstreet, and Nina MacLean. Pursuing a Ph.D. is a long, challenging process, but I felt very welcomed and supported since my interview at Texas Tech University thanks to these individuals. I would be remiss not to thank my family; Mom, Dad, Jen, Mike, and Joe: I would not have had the courage and confidence to choose this route if not for you all. To my pets, Clementine and Eva, I appreciate your cuddles as I worked on this document. And finally, to my husband Tyler, I am truly lucky to have your never-ending love and support. Thanks for taking the risk in moving to Lubbock, for marrying me, and for making our lives an adventure. ii Texas Tech University, Jessica M. Johnston-York, August 2019 Table of Contents Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................. ii Abstract .....................................................................................................................................v List of Tables .......................................................................................................................... vi List of Figures ........................................................................................................................ vii 1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................1 Sexual Satisfaction ...............................................................................................................1 Religiosity and Religious Fundamentalism .........................................................................4 Sexual Assertiveness ............................................................................................................5 Sexual Guilt and Sexual Anxiety .........................................................................................6 Religious Coping .................................................................................................................9 Sexual Communication ......................................................................................................10 Purpose and Significance of the Study ..............................................................................11 Limitation in Past Research ...............................................................................................12 Research Questions and Hypotheses .................................................................................12 2. Method ..............................................................................................................................15 Power Analysis ..................................................................................................................15 Participants .........................................................................................................................15 Design ................................................................................................................................15 Procedure ...........................................................................................................................16 Measures ............................................................................................................................17 3. Results ...............................................................................................................................21 Descriptive Information about Measured Variables ..........................................................21 Missing Data and Data Cleaning Procedures.....................................................................22 Conditional Process Modeling ...........................................................................................22 Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) ........................................................................................25 Hierarchical Multiple Regression ......................................................................................26 4. Discussion..........................................................................................................................28 Limitations .........................................................................................................................36 Future Directions ...............................................................................................................37 Implications........................................................................................................................39 5. References .........................................................................................................................40 iii Texas Tech University, Jessica M. Johnston-York, August 2019 6. Appendices ........................................................................................................................53 A: Extended Literature Review .........................................................................................53 B: Tables ............................................................................................................................83 C: Figures ...........................................................................................................................85 D: Demographic Measure ..................................................................................................91 E: Index of Sexual Satisfaction (ISS) ................................................................................93 F: The Revised 12-Item Religious Fundamentalism Scale (RF Scale)..............................95 G: The Sexual Assertiveness Subscale of the Multidimensional Sexuality Questionnaire .....................................................................................................................97 H: The Sexual Anxiety Subscale of the Multidimensional Sexuality Questionnaire .....................................................................................................................98 I: The Brief Religious Coping Measure (Brief RCOPE) ...................................................99 J: Sexual Self-Disclosure Questionnaire (SSDQ) ............................................................100 iv Texas Tech University, Jessica M. Johnston-York, August 2019 Abstract Conservative Christians are often underprepared for the initiation of a sexual relationship in marriage due to receiving negative messages about sex and sexuality (Brotherson, 2004; Ellison, 2011) as well as limited or no sexual experience prior to marriage (Beck et al., 1991; Davidson et al., 2004). In addition, religious orthodoxy and rigidity is related to more impaired sexual functioning among married couples (Purcell, 1984). Given that conservative Christians prohibit divorce (Francoeur, 2001), these individuals may continue to suffer in their relationship unless they rely on coping mechanisms, social support, or psychotherapy. There has historically been a lack of focus on marital sexual experiences in the literature (Christopher & Sprecher, 2000), despite the prevalence of sexual dysfunctions among married couples (Laumann et al., 1994). Past research examining religiosity and sexual satisfaction has yielded inconsistent results, likely due to the variable definitions used for religiosity (Davidson et al., 1995; Davidson et al., 2004; Laumann et al., 1994; Purcell, 1984; Simpson & Ramberg, 1992). The present
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