Sex and Income

Read about the author Samantha Evans

Sex is apparently like money: the more you have, the better you feel and if you are having more sex than your neighbours, that’s even better.

Research conducted by Professor Tim Wadsworth at the University of Colorado, Boulder, demonstrated how sexual frequency is linked with happiness. Using national data and statistics, he found that happiness increased in correspondence with sexual activity – but people who believed that they were having less sex than their peers were unhappier than those who believed they were having just as much sex or more than their peers.

The study surveyed 15,386 people and asked them questions about sexual frequency between 1993 and 2006. After factoring other variables such as income, race, marital status, education and age, he concluded that respondents who had sex at least 2-3 times a month were 33% more likely to report a higher level of happiness than those who reported having no sex during the previous 12 months. Those having sex once a week were 44% more likely to report higher levels of happiness and those having sex 2-3 times a week were the happiest, being 55% more likely to report a higher level of happiness. The people in the study may not have been in a relationship and therefore did not have the social interaction and benefits that a relationship can create.

Gaining information about sexual frequency can be problematic but there is mass media and other sources of information, such as magazines publishing their own sexual satisfaction surveys, which reveal how often people say they are having sex.

Wadsworth found that if members of a peer group are having sex 2-3 times a month but believe their peers are indulging in sexual intercourse once a week, their probability of reporting a higher level of happiness falls by 14%.

The way most people engage in social comparison is problematic as we tend to look up at others, creating feelings of inadequacy rather than looking down and feeling better off. Some people also lie about their sexual activity just to make themselves appear better than their peers.

So don’t always believe what you hear or assume that the neighbours are swinging from the chandeliers every evening: they are probably just putting up shelves or listening to what you are getting up to!