For the study, researchers at Charles University in Prague interviewed 960 men, ages 15 to 88. They asked them a bunch of questions about their sex lives, like whether they are prone to premature ejaculation and how long their sex sessions typically last.
Then, on an even deeper personal level, they asked them to describe their relationship with their mothers growing up, and how old they were when they first fell in love. The idea behind the entire set of questions was to see just how much a guy’s psychological state impacts his physical one.
So, the results? It turns out that dropping the “L” bomb later in life, as well having a strained
“The association of poorer current sexual function with (historical) older age at first being in love might suggest some enduring conflict regarding sexuality and/or intimacy,” they write in the study. And as for the mother thing? “One explanation for this finding is that psychogenic factors (when a physical illness stems from an emotional stress) may play a more important role,” they say.
So basically, if a guy has intimacy issues stemming from childhood in any way, it could impact his sexual performance later in life.
Of course, this study was merely associational, and did not prove cause and effect — which means that falling in love later and/or having a bad relationship with your mother as a child doesn’t necessarily cause you to have more sexual dysfunction down the line.
But what we do know for sure is that this study is in line with a whole slew of previous research on the psychology of sex, the majority of which has found that, for the most part, sex is waaaaay more psychological than we realize.
“Some folks have trouble focusing on the moment during sex due to stress/anxiety, overactive minds, trouble letting go, and relaxing. Others have more serious psychological issues which may impede intimacy — and it’s important to tease out which camp you belong to,” Rachel Sussman, LCSW, a relationship
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