New Study: Men Need to Cuddle Too ~ Authored By Charli Penn

Think you’re the only one who likes to spoon? Think again! There’s new research that says your man may want to kiss and cuddle even more than you do.

A new study conducted by psychologists from Indiana University's Kinsey Institute examined the sexual behavior of 1,009 couples in committed relationships from anywhere between 1 to 51 years. The couples were from the U.S., Brazil, Germany and Spain, and the results will surprise you.

Since very little research is done on long-term couples, the team’s results offer proof that many commonly accepted gender stereotypes that exist today could be way off-base. Participants in the study filled out questionnaires. The answers revealed “men who get lots of kisses and cuddles are more satisfied in their relationship,” reports LiveScience.com. Really? It appears that way, although we don’t recommend you go home and call your man a liar for saying he doesn’t want to just yet.

“It may be that men who endure in long-term relationships are the ones for whom kissing and cuddling is really important," says study author Julia Heiman.

In other unexpected results, it turns out that longer relationships make men happier, and women are less happy between years 1 to 15 of a relationship. Wow, that’s quite a stretch!  Researchers say this time frame usually correlates with having and raising kids, so the women are less focused on happiness and more on parenting.

Who enjoys cuddling more in your relationship? Do you think long-term relationships make men happier than they’re letting on?

By Charli Penn
Read more: http://www.essence.com/2011/07/07/study-men-need-to-cuddle-too/#ixzz1RWQUXk3P