More bad news for people financially affected by the recession - a new study has found that people with a lower socioeconomic status have a less satisfying sex life.

Spanish researchers analysed the results of a sexual health survey carried out on almost 10,000 people. They found that while most people were satisfied with their sex lives, socioecominc status did play a role, particularly for women.

"People of a lower socioeconomic status claim to be less satisfied sexually, which especially applies to women who seem to be more influenced by these factors," they noted.

The study also found that people with a lower socioeconomic status tended to use contraception less often than their more well-off peers.

"Those people with a lower socioeconomic status are always those who use less contraception," the researchers said.

They pointed out that people with a higher socioeconomic status appeared to have a better awareness of their own sexual needs and greater control over the use of contraception.

"People that have a more disadvantaged socioeconomic status tend to have less satisfying and less safe sexual relations," they said.

Details of these findings are published in the journal, Annals of Epidemiology.