Attribution of Responsibility for Marital Sexual Dysfunction and Tradionalism

Abstract

Attribution of responsibility for sexual dysfunction among couples seeking sexual counseling was investigated in relation to sex of respondent and traditionalism of religious affiliation. Subjects were 190 married couples applying for treatment of sexual dysfunction. The results indicated a tendency for women to attribute responsibility to their spouses complemented by men's attribution of responsibility to themselves. However, when traditionalism of religious group affiliation was employed as a moderator, these sex differences in attribution were found to characterize only members of nontraditional religious groups. No sex differences were found for members of traditional religious groups, with average attribution scores falling around the midpoint of the spouse-self attribution dimension. Implications of the findings for further research and for practice are discussed.