Frequency of Sexual Dysfunction in “Normal” Couples

Abstract

In analyzing the responses of 100 predominantly white, well educated and happily married couples to a self-report questionnaire, this study examined the frequency of sexual problems experienced and the relations of those problems to sexual satisfaction. Although over 80 per cent of the couples reported that their marital and sexual relations were happy and satisfying, 40 per cent of the men reported erectile or ejaculatory dysfunction, and 63 per cent of the women reported arousal or orgasmic dysfunction. In addition, 50 per cent of the men and 77 per cent of the women reported difficulty that was not dysfunctional in nature (e.g., lack of interest or inability to relax). The number of "difficulties" reported was more strongly and consistently related to overall sexual dissatisfaction than the number of "dysfunctions." (N Engl J Med 299:111–115, 1978)