Self-Determination and Sexual Experience in Dating Relationships

The authors propose the model of self-determined sexual motivation to examine sexual motivation in dating relationships using a self-determination theory (sdt) framework. this model predicted that sexual need satisfaction would mediate the association between self-determined sexual motives and the outcome variables of psychological well-being and relational quality. three studies tested this model. study 1 was a cross-sectional study that investigated sexual motivation in dating relationships. study 2 was an event-contingent interaction record study that investigated specific sexual interactions over 2 weeks. study 3 combined event- and interval-contingent methods using a daily diary to examine the model for both partners to enable examination of actor and partner effects. discussion section focuses on the power of examining sdt in the sexual domain. © 2013 by the society for personality and social psychology,inc.