Trajectories of Self-Expansion and Sexual Desire in The Early Years of a Relationship
| dc.contributor.advisor | Muise, Amy | |
| dc.contributor.author | Uppot, Akshita Ajay | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2025-11-11T20:04:14Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2025-11-11T20:04:14Z | |
| dc.date.copyright | 2025-07-30 | |
| dc.date.issued | 2025-11-11 | |
| dc.date.updated | 2025-11-11T20:04:13Z | |
| dc.degree.discipline | Psychology (Functional Area: Social and Personality) | |
| dc.degree.level | Master's | |
| dc.degree.name | MA - Master of Arts | |
| dc.description.abstract | Sexual desire declines and is challenging to maintain after the initial “honeymoon phase” of a relationship. One promising factor for explaining the trajectory of desire is self-expansion—broadening one’s sense of self through novel and exciting experiences with a partner. The current study is the first to longitudinally track desire and self-expansion in early dating couples (N = 170 couples, relationship length = 3 - 15 months) to test whether higher self-expansion buffers against the typical declines in desire. Over the 18 months, desire and self-expansion declined then levelled off showing both linear and curvilinear effects. People who were generally higher in self-expansion, and at times when they felt higher self-expansion than usual, reported higher sexual desire, but this did not protect against declines in desire over time. For women specifically, partner’s self-expansion was associated with a boost in desire but also steeper declines. Implications for self-expansion theory and sexual desire maintenance are discussed. | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/10315/43298 | |
| dc.language | en | |
| dc.rights | Author owns copyright, except where explicitly noted. Please contact the author directly with licensing requests. | |
| dc.subject | Social psychology | |
| dc.subject.keywords | Romantic relationships | |
| dc.subject.keywords | Early dating | |
| dc.subject.keywords | Sexuality | |
| dc.subject.keywords | Sexual desire | |
| dc.subject.keywords | Self-expansion | |
| dc.title | Trajectories of Self-Expansion and Sexual Desire in The Early Years of a Relationship | |
| dc.type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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