Consent and Contraceptives: An Investigation of Dyadic Processes within Sexual Relationships

To form healthy and satisfying sexual relationships, couples must implement effective sexual communication. Prior research mainly focuses on the female perspective when looking at communication about important relational aspects (e.g., sexual consent and contraceptive decision-making), but studies have indicated that sexual decisions are often made by both people in a dyad. To obtain an accurate idea of how dyadic sexual communication functions, both partners’ perspectives are needed. We investigated the dyadic practices and satisfaction regarding consent communication and contraceptive decision-making among sexually active dyads (N = 37) who were recruited through flyers and an electronic campus newsletter. Dyads individually, as well as simultaneously, completed a web-administered survey in a lab setting. The survey assessed dyad participants’ satisfaction with sexual consent communication and contraceptive decision-making. We tested effects of (1) type of consent cue and (2) agreement regarding contraceptive decision-making on these measures using independent sample t-tests. Satisfaction with consent communication and contraceptive communication were positively correlated. These findings indicate that the more satisfied people were with consent communication in their current relationship, the more satisfied they are with communication about contraceptives. Dyads were generally satisfied with both their consent communication and contraceptive decisions. People who reported using “no response” consent cues at their most recent sexual encounter were significantly less satisfied with consent communication in their relationship. Due to no response consent cues leading to lower satisfaction within the dyad, we recommend teaching and implementing effective communication strategies when communicating consent to facilitate healthy and functional relationships