Talk:Understanding Masturbation

Add Marei Mekomos to approach 1.

“The Porn Myth” Claims Assessment (by Florin)

Studies have actually found that frequent masturbation is associated with: more prostate abnormalities, less ability to recover from erectile dysfunction, less satisfaction with one’s mental health, less relationship satisfaction & depression and less happiness. Brody, S. (2010), The Relative Health Benefits of Different Sexual Activities. The Journal of Sexual Medicine, 7: 1336-1361. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1743-6109.2009.01677.x as summarized in Fradd, Matthew. The Porn Myth: Exposing the Reality Behind the Fantasy of Pornography (p. 103).

Claim 1: frequent masturbation is associated with more prostate abnormalities. Assessment: Inaccurate.

Accurate conclusion (Ref. 88, Corona et al., 2010, p. 182 & p. 189): "prostate abnormalities also increased the chance of masturbation". Actually, the reversed association is reported (prostate abnormalities leading to more masturbation) but this is a correlational study, no causal path can be inferred.

Claim 2: frequent masturbation is associated with less ability to recover from erectile dysfunction

Assessment: Inaccurate. Accurate conclusion (Ref 55, Althof et al. 1987): In patients with impotence, self-injection treatment (with papauerine hydrochloride and phentolamine mesylate) was associated with increases in erection quality, intercourse frequency, and sexual satisfaction, and decreases in masturbation frequency for patients.

Claim 3: frequent masturbation is associated with less satisfaction with one’s mental health

Assessment: Accurate with limitations (Ref 11). Study strengths: large sample (2,810 Swedes). Study limitations: correlational study, no conclusion about causality can be drawn. The reverse association (less satisfaction/quality of mental health leading to more masturbation) is also likely (Brody, 2010; p. 1356): “Various studies have indicated associations between depression, cardiovascular disease or risk, and sexual dysfunction (especially erectile dysfunction). In addition to such obvious pathways as cardiovascular disease leading to erectile dysfunction leading to depression, other pathways are also likely”.

Claim 4: frequent masturbation is associated with less relationship satisfaction

Assessment: Accurate with limitations (according to Ref 11). Correlational study. Note: this finding is strong as it was identified in multiple nationally representative samples (see Pornography Use Effects table); however, all these studies were national surveys subject to responses biases as well as correlational in nature.

Claim 5: frequent masturbation is associated with depression Assessment: Accurate with limitations (according to Ref. 34-35). Note: finding supported by other correlational studies (Pornography Use Effects table)).

Claim 6: frequent masturbation is associated with less happiness. Assessment: Inaccurate. Accurate conclusion: “self-rated happiness was correlated with less rather than more masturbation” (Das, 2007; p. 312). This report could also mean that less happiness leads to more masturbation as no causal pathway can be implied from correlation.

References (the numbers from the original study - Brody et al., 2010 are maintained)

11) Brody S, Costa RM. Satisfaction (sexual, life, relationship, and mental health) is associated directly with penile‐vaginal intercourse but inversely with other sexual behavior frequencies. J Sex Med 2009;6:1947–54.

34) Husted J, Edwards A. Personality correlates of male sexual arousal and behavior. Arch Sex Behav 1976;5:149–56.

35) Frohlich P, Meston C. Sexual functioning and self‐reported depressive symptoms among college women. J Sex Res 2002;39:321–5.

55) Althof SE, Turner LA, Levine SB, Risen C, Kursh ED, Bodner D, Resnick M. Intracavernosal injection in the treatment of impotence: A prospective study of sexual, psychological, and marital functioning. J Sex Marital Ther 1987;13:155–67.

88) Corona G, Ricca V, Boddi V, Bandini E, Lotti F, Fisher AD, Sforza A, Forti G, Mannucci E, Maggi M. Autoeroticism, mental health, and organic disturbances in patients with erectile dysfunction. J Sex Med 2010;7:182–91.