Marital sexuality and the psychological health of professional men

A longitudinal study of married professional men explored the relation of adolescent and adult psychological health to marital sexual frequency, frustration, pleasure, and compatibility as well as the effects of sexual relations upon maturing. Psychological health was measured by seven adolescent and ten adult measures, including the MMPI, Rorschach, self- and judge-ratings, and questionnaires. Adolescent mental health did not predict any measure of adult sexual activity. Adult psychological health did not predict frequency of marital coital relations or degree of sexual frustration very consistently. It was associated more clearly with sexual pleasure and very consistently with marital sexual compatibility. Sexual relations did not contribute much to the men's maturing during adulthood; when they did, their principal effects were to further the integration and stabilization of the men's self-concepts.