A scientific study has revealed there's a link between men with lifelong premature ejaculation and certain personality traits.
Premature ejaculation 'occurs when you ejaculate (cum) earlier than you or your partner would like during sex', Cleveland Clinic explains.
It continues: "It’s a common problem, affecting 30 percent to 40 percent of people with a penis. Causes include physical problems, chemical imbalances and emotional/psychological factors. Treatments include learning techniques to delay ejaculation, counseling and medications."
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And a study has since looked further into the psychological factors which may be at play within people who experience premature ejaculation - particularly impulse control.
What was the study about?
Published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine - titled Impulse control and its association with ejaculation time in men with premature ejaculation - a study took a sample of 80 heterosexual men aged between 18 and 45.
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Forty men had been diagnosed with lifelong premature ejaculation and the other forty weren't, subsequently making up the control group.
All those involved had to have been in regular sexual relationships for six months, having vaginal intercourse at least once a week.
During intercourse, the participants were tasked with using stopwatches to measure how long it took them to ejaculate.
The times were then used alongside the UPPS Impulsive Behavior Scale and the Barratt Impulsivity Scale-11 (BIS-11) - to evaluate impulse control - as well as the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) - to measure anxiety and depression - and the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI).
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The severity of the premature ejaculation was assessed using the Arabic Index of PE (AIPE).
What were the key personality traits linked to premature ejaculation?
The study found the 40 men with diagnosed premature ejaculation had 'significantly higher' levels of premature ejaculation than the 40 in the control group, PsyPost reports.
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More interestingly, the 40 men with diagnosed premature ejaculation also had higher scores of impulsivity.
The UPPS Scale broke this down in further detail, subscales revealing the impulsivity manifested in terms of these men being worse at planning, more actively seeking sensations and showing less perseverance.
The men with premature ejaculation were divided into four subgroups based on timings - those who ejaculated the quickest, before penetration and then those who ejaculated 15 seconds after penetration, those who took 15 to 30 seconds and the final category, 30 to 60 seconds.
The traits were found to be worse the quicker the ejaculation. The patients in the premature ejaculation group also showed 'higher levels of anxiety and depression,' the study further noted.
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PsyPost states the levels were as much to five times higher in anxiety compared to the control group and six times higher in terms of depression.
Though, the depression and anxiety didn't differ much when looking at the break down of time subgroups.However, it's unclear whether all these states were felt as a result of the premature ejaculation or caused it.
So, what's next?
Future research is needed on the link between impulsivity and premature ejaculation
The study resolved that the findings show impulse control 'plays a significant role in lifelong premature ejaculation'.
Advocating for new treatment possibilities to be considered for the condition, the study states: "It is important for clinicians to assess impulse control and consider therapeutic interventions for men presenting with premature ejaculation complaints, particularly in those classified as severe."
However, it adds future studies are necessary to understand the issue more deeply.
The study continues: "A clinician’s quantitative assessment of ejaculation time and the severity of PE among men presenting to the clinic with complaints of PE may reveal accompanying comorbid conditions more effectively."
Topics: Sex and Relationships, Science
Poppy Bilderbeck