Physical and Psychological Causes for Sexual Dysfunctions

Essay by nikitalolCollege, UndergraduateA+, May 2004

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Sexual dysfunction is defined as and impairment of the normal physiological processes of arousal and orgasm. There are many forms of sexual dysfunction, or difficulty in sexual functioning and their causes are complex. In some cases men may develop performance anxiety which is a fear that one will be unable to meet the expectations of oneself or one's partner for sexual 'performance.' This is only one example of a sexual dysfunction, there are six main types. There are physiological and psychological causes that may be contributing factors to any sexual dysfunction.

There are two types of dysfunctions that are strictly male problems. The first of those is erectile dysfunction (impotence). Generally this is the inability to have or maintain and erection firm enough for intercourse. This dysfunction can be divided into two groups: primary erectile dysfunction and secondary erectile dysfunction. Primary erectile dysfunction is when the man has never been able to have sexual intercourse and secondary erectile dysfunction is when erection problems occurring on at least twenty-five percent of sexual encounters.

Physical causes for them are possibly diabetes, circulatory conditions, heart disease, drugs, extreme fatigue, alcohol consumption, or hormone deficiencies. Psychological causes for these dysfunctions could be performance anxiety, guilt, difficulty in expressing desires to partner, or severe antisexual upbringing.

The second group of male dysfunctions is premature ejaculation. This occurs when there is a rapid ejaculation that is beyond the man's control and his partner is nonorgasmic in at least fifty percent of their intercourse episodes. The possible causes of this dysfunction are almost always psychological. The man has learned to ejaculate quickly due to guilt, fear of discovery while masturbating, hurried experiences in cars or motels, and so on.

There are three types of sexual dysfunctions that are both male and female. The first of these is...