The impact of sexual self-disclosure, sexual compatibility, and sexual conflict on predicted outcome values in sexualrelationships

In this study, predicted outcome value theory (Sunnafrank, 1988, 1990) was applied to sexual interactions to identify the specific types of communication people use to develop predicted outcome values for their sexual relationships. Sexual self-disclosure, sexual compatibility, and sexual conflict were identified from independent lines of research (e.g., Offman & Matheson, 2005) and theoretically linked with sexual predicted outcome values. Data were collected using an anonymous online questionnaire surveying 395 women and men from the United States. The results demonstrated that participants' positive predicted outcome values for their sexual relationships were related to interactions that were high in sexual self-disclosure, limited in sexual conflict, and highlighted areas of sexual compatibility. Additionally, the topics of sexual self-disclosure (e.g., birth control), areas of sexual compatibility (e.g., mutual sexual attraction), and sources of sexual conflict (e.g., anal sex) were also explored.