Psychosocial Factors Associated with Male Sexual Difficulties

The role of medical conditions, childhood experiences, and psychological and relationship factors in the development and maintenance of male sexual difficulties is not well understood. Using self-report questionnaires, the current study examined how these factors are associated with male sexual difficulties overall, as well as for each of four separate problems (low sexual desire, erectile difficulties, premature ejaculation, delayed ejaculation). The participants for the study were 331 Australian men from the general population, all of whom were in cohabiting heterosexual relationships and had experienced one or more of the aforementioned sexual problems. Data were collected via an online survey between January 2010 and April 2011. The results demonstrated that medical factors as well as current psychological factors (e.g., performance anxiety) were most likely associated with each male sexual difficulty. These findings are in contrast to those obtained with women, where relationship factors are strongly related to female sexual problems. They would suggest that the targets for sex therapy may be different for men and women, with medical problems and performance anxiety being the primary targets for men.