Posted on Jul 13, 2011
Women are the ones that need more cuddling, hugging, and kissing, right? Wrong, says a new study regarding cuddling and long-term relationships. Researchers who surveyed over 1,000 couples in five countries across the world found that men are more likely to stay in long-term relationships if they are getting hugs and physical affection from their spouses.

In an article that will be published in an upcoming issue of the Archives of Sexual Behavior, The Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction researchers explain that they found the opposite of what they were expecting to find: in reality, men are more satisfied in long term relationships if they receive cuddling and kisses, while women are more satisfied in long term relationship if they are sexually satisfied.

The study looked at a number of long-term relationships (between 25- and 50-year marriages) in the United States, Spain, Germany, Japan, and Brazil. Researchers said that they believe that studying what keeps marriages together is just as important as studying what causes divorces.

Researchers are quick to point out that the study only correlates the importance of physical affection and men in happy relationships – it does not directly prove that more cuddling will prevent divorce. In fact, it could simply be that men who like more physical affection are more likely to have happy long-term relationships, or that happy couples cuddle more.

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Molly B. Kenny
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Divorce and Child Custody Attorney Serving Bellevue and Seattle Washington