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ObjectiveThe authors tested competing hypotheses and examined the underlying processes linking gender attitudes to sexual activity.BackgroundSome studies suggest gender conventions increase heterosexual couples' sexual frequency by enacting sexual scripts, but others indicate egalitarianism increases sex by enhancing communication. This study addresses the debate surrounding the association of gender egalitarianism and traditionalism with couples' sexual frequency by examining the mechanisms that link gender attitudes to sexual practices.MethodThe authors examined the association between egalitarian attitudes and sexual self‐efficacy and examined how sexual self‐efficacy shapes gendered patterns of sexual initiation and sexual frequency. Analyses were conducted using an actor‐partner interdependence model with data on 2,018 individuals from 1,009 heterosexual (413 married, 261 cohabiting, and 335 dating) couples in the 2005–2006 National Couples Survey.ResultsThe results indicated women's egalitarian attitudes decreased couples' sexual frequency through decreased male sexual control, but sexual frequency increased with egalitarian attitudes surrounding sexual scripting among women. Moreover, egalitarian attitudes about domestic and paid labor were positively associated with partner communication, which enhanced partners' sexual self‐efficacy and sexual frequency.ConclusionThe findings suggest that whereas conventional attitudes increase sex through male empowerment and female disenfranchisement, egalitarian beliefs enhance sexual self‐efficacy and mutual partner decision‐making.

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