Study Overview provides background on the study, describes the questions we will ask, explains why the study focuses on men from the Church of Christ, and describes the final study report. When the study begins on June 1, 2024, men interested in participating can click the Questionnaire button on this page.
Welcome to our study website!
This research project applies exclusively to men from the Church of Christ who have experienced troubling emotions or spiritual anxiety over having minimal to no sexual activity with their wives for a period of six months or longer. Many marriage counselors report this sexual experience as very common among men of all ages, yet almost no existing research explains how men cope with this experience or resolve their feelings.
You may be eligible to participate in this study:
If you are currently or formerly a member of the Church of Christ
If you are currently experiencing or previously experienced troubling emotions about your sexual relationship with your wife
If you are currently married to your wife or divorced from her
Talking about this experience is difficult, and you may have never spoken to anyone about it before. The fact that men do not want to talk about it is exactly why counselors do not know which coping activities help men or which coping activities hurt or make the situation worse.
We need insights from men with a variety of relationship outcomes. We need to hear from men who were distressed but remained married and eventually restored a satisfying sexual relationship with their wives. We need to hear from men who remained married and were satisfied with ending their sexual relationship with their wives. We need to hear from men who have not resolved their feelings and are still distressed by their sexual relationship. And, we need insights from men who resolved their distress by divorcing their wives.
We are trying to make it easier for you to describe your experience by using an anonymous online questionnaire to ask you questions. You do not have to talk to a person face-to-face, do not have to give us your name, and do not even have to give us your email address.
This study in national in scope, so no one can back into who you are, where you live, or any other facts about you specifically. We are providing this anonymity because we need you to be comfortable and honest. Without your honesty and willingness to take a chance, other men will continue struggling with these confusing and distressing emotions, and their counselors may not know how to help.