Think your married life is drab? This is the reason why

Married couples do indulge in sexting, but it is much less common than in young adult relationships and consists more of intimate talk with their partners than sending nude or nearly nude photos via mobile phones, suggests a new study.

Now, this is another casualty of being married. According to a new study, married couples do report sexting, but it is much less common than in young adult relationships and consists more of intimate talk with their partners than sending nude or nearly nude photos via mobile phones.

Research in the past suggested that sexting could be a useful therapeutic approach to increase intimacy in couples reporting for counselling. (Shutterstock)

“Sexting Among Married Couples: Who is Doing It, and Are They More Satisfied?” further examines the link between sexting behaviour and relationship satisfaction or ambivalence.

Read: Everyone’s affected: Bad marriages make men angry, women sad

Co-authors Brandon McDaniel, The Pennsylvania State University, College Park, and Michelle Drouin, Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, report specific differences between sending sexy messages versus sexually explicit pictures and relationship quality for men compared to women with high/low levels of attachment anxiety or avoidance.

Read: Celebrations! Secret to a happy marriage found

Research in the past has suggested that sexting might be a useful therapeutic approach to increase intimacy in couples reporting for counselling. The current study, however, seems to indicate that sexting may still be seen as something used by those feeling less secure in their relationships. Clearly more research is called for, says Editor-in-Chief Brenda K. Wiederhold.

The study is published in Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking.