Rosen, N. O.,* Dawson, S. J.,* Leonhardt, N. D., Vannier, S. A., & Impett, E. A. (in press).
Trajectories of sexual well-being among couples in the transition to parenthood. Journal of
Family Psychology. * denotes shared first-authorship.
In this paper, we sampled 203 first-time parent couples and sought to establish unique classes of
trajectories at the level of the couple for four aspects of sexual well-being – sexual frequency,
desire, satisfaction, and distress. We found that changes to couples’ sexual well-being over time was heterogeneous. Sexual frequency had two classes: high (33%) and low (67%); sexual desire
had three classes: moderate (36%), high (25%), and discrepant (39%); sexual satisfaction had
two classes: high (64%) and low (36%); and sexual distress had two classes: low (76%) and
discrepant (24%). Overlap in classes of sexual well-being was variable such that high and low or
discrepant (between partners) classes did not always co-occur. Findings provide more nuanced
information about new parents’ postpartum sexual health, which may facilitate early assessment and intervention.