An analysis of self-reported sexual behavior in a sample of normal males

Ninety-eight presumably normal London men, age 20-35 and sexually active in a stable relationship, responded to an invitation at their work place to participate in a detailed sexuality interview. The interview was developed by a group of WHO collaborators to measure possible effects on sexual functioning resulting from various medical regimens (for example, a male contraceptive pill). It assessed frequency of coitus and masturbation during the previous 4 weeks, a variety of subjective ratings of sexual interest, satisfaction, and quality of relationships, as well as reports of the nature and incidence of various sexual problems. The study sample's responses displayed internal consistency and in general supported the inference that the sample was not atypical. The data appear to support Westoff's (1974) notion that the frequency of coitus has increased since the early normative reports by Kinsey et al. (1948). Most importantly, the results of principal components analyses point to the fact that overall sexual drive or "libido" (e.g., frequency of sexual behavior) is independent of several other possibly significant dimensions, including latency to orgasm, quality of sexual experience, autoeroticism, and the incidence of erectile difficulties. It is concluded that the sexuality interview provides potentially useful baseline data against which to evaluate effects of sexual therapy or drug regimens.