Aspects of Sexual Functioning and Satisfactionby PEhomepage.com Editorial Team
Even though premature ejaculation (PE) is one of the most common male sexual dysfunctions, researchers have had difficulty defining causes, such as psychological, behavioral, or physical etiologies. There are no accepted definitions or screening tools for physicians to use in diagnosing it. Current definitions for PE emphasize ejaculation that occurs before a person desires it, marked distress in both the male and female partner, and lack of voluntary control. Most studies in PE concentrate primarily on intravaginal ejaculation latency time (IELT), with the standard time for a PE diagnosis being less than 2 minutes.
The study’s purpose was to determine if a short set of questions could assist in detecting PE. In addition, researchers also sought to determine the relationship, if any, between ejaculation and sexual functioning and if any distress accompanied the ejaculation response
Knowledge Networks (KN) maintains a database of individuals, including 40,000 men, who agree to participate in research panels. Researchers pulled participants for their study from this population of men. Men were recruited to participate in the study by random-dialing a sample of households, then by reverse address match, mailing a letter introducing the study, and finally through telephone recruitment. Participants used a WebTV interface to provide demographic information and complete the final survey. KN participants were sent an email that gave them an overview of the survey before the survey was administered. Survey participants were allowed to opt out of the survey at any time. By using the WebTV interface, participants could toggle back and forth between the survey and regular television if someone entered the room, and participants could refuse to answer any questions that made them feel uncomfortable.
A random sample of 2,648 male panel members at least 21 years of age and older were selected and sent the survey. Several emails and a follow-up phone call encouraged men to complete the survey. At the end of the 2-week survey period, 2056 men completed the study. Reviewing the data based on inclusion criteria (heterosexual men, sexually active in the last 6 months, and stable relationship) yielded a final survey pool of 1,158 men.
Of the 1,158 men who completed the survey questions, 32.5% (classified as “probable PE”) reported that they ejaculated before they wished and that PE was either somewhat a problem or very much a problem. The remaining respondents were categorized as non-PE. The probable PE group reported poor control over ejaculation (49.7) vs. men in the non-PE group (1.4%). The probable PE group also reported shorter sexual intercourse experiences than they wished than men in the non-PE group, 76.2% vs. 7.4% respectively. Finally, the men in the probable PE group also reported fewer thrusts than they desired compared to the non-PE group (65.6% and 2.8% respectively).
Men classified as probable PE noted other areas of concern in terms of sexual functioning including overall satisfaction with sexual intercourse, satisfaction with the sexual relationship, difficulty becoming aroused, difficulty discussing sexual problems, problems obtaining an erection, and unable to avoid anxiety over intercourse. Men in the non-PE group reported lower levels of difficulty in these areas. Both groups of men felt that meeting their partner’s sexual needs was extremely important to the sexual relationship (89.4% of probable PE men vs. 88.5% of non-PE men).
This survey was designed to measure, as closely as possible, the definition put forth by the American Psychiatric Association’s
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th Edition Text Revision) (DSM-IV-TR). This definition states that PE is “persistent or recurrent onset of orgasm and ejaculation with minimal sexual stimulation before, on, or shortly after penetration and before the person wishes it.” In addition, PE “causes marked distress or interpersonal difficulty.”
The study did have limitations, namely not fully representing
U.S. demographics (education, economic level, and education level). Also, there were factors of the DSM-IV-TR that were not addressed by the study, such as opiate drug use and whether or not the sexual relationship was a novel experience (although participants were required to be in a stable relationship of at least six months).
Source: Rowland, David, M.D., et. al. “Self-reported Premature Ejaculation and Aspects of Sexual Functioning and Satisfaction.”
The Journal of Sexual Medicine, 2004, p. 225-234.
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