Tag Archives: study

Better Psychological Development = Better Sex

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by Everything Else • Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

An interesting study out of Johns Hopkins takes a look at the link between psychological/social development and sexual pleasure. The study found that young men and women who are psychologically healthier — people with higher self-esteem, autonomy and empathy — consistently took greater pleasure in sex.

So if you have a healthy enjoyment of sex, thank your parents (or whoever raised you) for doing a good job giving you a bit of self-esteem, independence, and empathy.

Here’s the full article:

Sexual pleasure among young adults (ages 18-26) is linked to healthy psychological and social development, according to a new study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The study is the first to use a representative population sample of heterosexuals to find a relationship between key developmental assets and sexual pleasure. The findings are published in the June 2011 issue of The Journal of Adolescent Health.

The research study examined data from 3,237 respondents ages 18 to 26 from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, Wave III: 2001-2002. “Sexual health is more than the absence of sexually-transmitted infection, unintended pregnancy, violence or other problems. It is the presence of sexual well-being,” said Adena Galinsky, PhD, co-author of the study and a doctoral student with Bloomberg School’s Center for Adolescent Health. Galinsky, currently a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Chicago, conducted the study along with Freya Sonenstein, PhD, professor and director of the Center for Adolescent Health. Continue reading →

When and Why We Say ‘I Love You’

by Everything Else • Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

A new study takes a look at who is more likely to say “I love you” first in a heterosexual relationship and what that could mean. It doesn’t surprise me that the study found that in two thirds of relationships, the man said it first.

Women, in my experience, don’t like to lay their hearts out on the line and risk seeming clingy unless they know their sentiments will be reciprocated.

In my last relationship, I thought I said ”I love you” first, but then my boyfriend kindly pointed out to me that he had actually told me he loved me twice before that — the first time the phone cut out, and the second time I just flat wasn’t listening to him and started talking about something else.

Whoops.

Here’s what the article had to say:

Women, being from Venus, have a reputation for being the first to spring “I love you” in romantic relationships.

But men actually are more likely to utter those three loaded little words first, and men admit thinking about confessing love six weeks earlier than their female partners, according to an article to be published in the June issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Continue reading →

Recent Study Gives New Meaning to Heartache

by Everything Else • Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

As if breaking up isn’t crappy enough, it looks like the feelings of rejection and loss associated with a break up can cause you actual physical pain. Further proof that Shakespeare really knew what he was talking about when he invented the word “heartache.”

In this study, “Psychologists studied 40 recently-dumped volunteers who reported intense feelings of rejection when thinking about the breakup. All underwent four MRI brain scans, including one while looking at a photo of their ex and thinking about the split, and one while viewing a friend’s photo and thinking good thoughts about that person. Another scan took place as the volunteers wore an arm device that produced a gentle, comforting warmth, and yet another when the device was hot enough to cause pain.

“During each of the two negative situations—when the volunteers thought about the breakup and when they experienced a burning sensation—the same brain regions associated with physical pain lit up, suggesting physical pain and the pain of rejection hurt in a similar way.”

The author of the study, Edward Smith noted, “There may be something special about rejection… No other negative emotion, not anger and not fear, elicits reactions in the pain matrix of the brain.”

Image: Courtesy Flickr/oedipusphinx– — – — theJWDban

Teens are Keeping It in Their Pants

by Everything Else • Tags: , , , , , , ,

I thought this article on the recent increase in teen abstinence was interesting. Not so much the fact that more teens are waiting/not getting any, but the way people are reacting to the stat.

Personally, I lost my virginity at 23. I wanted to wait until I loved the person and they loved me back — I wanted it to mean something. And it did.

I’m told 16 is a pretty typical age for cashing in the V-card, which is probably a perfectly appropriate age for some people. For me, losing my virginity at 16 would have meant losing it to no one in particular.

It’s not like I actively chose to be celibate until 23. That’s just how it worked out, and I’m cool with that. My point is, I hope that the abstinent teens in this survey aren’t waiting just to wait — sexuality is important. It doesn’t just go away if you deny its existence. Trust me. Instead, I hope teens are waiting until it means something.

Because there’s so much more to sex than just… well, sex. That is if you find the right person to experience it with.

Image: Courtesy Flickr/ Thai Jasmine