According to recent research new couples who jump into bed together on the first date do not last as long in relationships as those who wait, so should we be asking ourselves is it better to wait? Well maybe it is something worth considering if you’re about to embark on a new successful relationship, with a potential life partner. It has also backed up our own relationship experts view too.
Research at Brigham Young University in the U.S who used a sample of almost 11,000 unmarried people, discovered a direct link between the length and strength of a partnership and the amount of time they took to have first have sex. The study showed that those who waited to initiate sexual intimacy were found to have longer and more positive outcomes in their relationships while those who couldn’t help themselves reported that their dalliances struggled to last more than two years.
The report stated that ‘Results suggested that waiting to initiate sexual intimacy in unmarried relationships was generally associated with positive outcomes,’ and was published by the U.S. National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health. But would apply equally in the UK we feel.
‘The reported effect was strongly moderated by relationship length, with individuals who reported early sexual initiation reporting increasingly lower outcomes in relationships of longer than two years. The study examined four sexual-timing patterns: 1) Having sex prior to dating,2) Initiating sex on the first date or shortly after, 3) Having sex after a few weeks of dating, and 4) Sexual abstinence. Each one of these fields yielded different results in relationship satisfaction, stability and communication in dating situations.
‘While recent studies have suggested that the timing of sexual initiation within a couple’s romantic relationship has important associations with later relationship success, few studies have examined how such timing is associated with relationship quality among unmarried couples,’ said the report.
So if you’re looking for a new relationship currently, is this study maybe the key to success?
It is certainly a strong consideration and our own In House relationship expert at Attractive Partners, Nadia Ansari has strongly recommended not rushing in is the key to making relationships work in the past, perhaps the Brigham Young Universities findings confirms the experts view!
