Newlyweds
A newlywed couple enters a subway station after a mass wedding ceremony in which 2,016 couples participated, at Zocalo square in Mexico City, Mexico, March 19, 2016. Reuters/Edgard Garrido

A study of 216 newlyweds made by researchers from the Florida State University found that frequent sex is not linked to a couple’s happiness. However, it makes them more spontaneous in sharing their gut-level feelings about their partners.

Being spontaneous and having automatic feelings towards a partner helps in predicting the speed of a couple becoming dissatisfied with their relationship, explains Lindsey Hicks, lead author of the study and psychological scientist at the university. She adds frequent sex is good from the evolutionary point of view because it boost chances of conception, improves the bond of partners and helps them be more cooperative in raising their child.

The study, published in Psychological Science, had the newlyweds complete a survey that measures satisfaction with their relationship. They rate different qualities of their marriage, overall feelings of satisfaction and relationship with their spouse and their marriage, reports Eurekaalert.

It was followed by a computer classification task in which they had to press a specific key whenever a word appears on the screen to indicate if the word was negative or positive. Prior to the appearance of the word, a photo of their spouse appeared on the screen for a few seconds.

But the scientists point out that the spontaneous, automatic, gut-level feelings of a spouse towards the partner has no effect on the level of their satisfaction with their relationship. They conclude that satisfaction and frequent sex do not go hand-in-hand, contrary to expectations.

Hicks notes, “Deep down, some people feel unhappy with their partner but they don’t readily admit it to us, or perhaps even themselves.”