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Sex and the Pursuit of Happiness: How Other People’s Sex Lives are Related to our Sense of Well-Being

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  • Tim Wadsworth

Abstract

A growing literature suggests that income, marriage, friendship, sex, and a variety of other factors influence self-reported happiness. Why these characteristics matter has been less examined. Scholars have recently demonstrated that part of the effect of income is relative. More income makes people happier, in part, because it sets them above their peers. Until now, the role of relative comparison in the study of happiness has been limited to income. The current work extends this focus to another activity—sex. Using GSS data, I examine how respondents’ frequency of sex, as well as the average sexual frequency of their cohort, influences their happiness. The findings suggest that happiness is positively correlated with their own sexual frequency, but inversely correlated with the sexual frequency of others. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2014

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  • Tim Wadsworth, 2014. "Sex and the Pursuit of Happiness: How Other People’s Sex Lives are Related to our Sense of Well-Being," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 116(1), pages 115-135, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:soinre:v:116:y:2014:i:1:p:115-135
    DOI: 10.1007/s11205-013-0267-1
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Philip M. Pendergast & Tim Wadsworth & Charis E. Kubrin, 2019. "Suicide in Happy Places: Is There Really a Paradox?," Journal of Happiness Studies, Springer, vol. 20(1), pages 81-99, January.
    2. Cheng, Zhiming & Smyth, Russell, 2015. "Sex and happiness," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 26-32.
    3. Kelly Stamper Balistreri, 2018. "Family Structure and Child Food Insecurity: Evidence from the Current Population Survey," Social Indicators Research: An International and Interdisciplinary Journal for Quality-of-Life Measurement, Springer, vol. 138(3), pages 1171-1185, August.
    4. Lawrence, Elizabeth M. & Rogers, Richard G. & Wadsworth, Tim, 2015. "Happiness and longevity in the United States," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 145(C), pages 115-119.
    5. Nikolaev, Boris, 2016. "Does other people's education make us less happy?," Economics of Education Review, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 176-191.

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