PSYCHOSOCIAL DOSORDERS AND DYSFUNCTIONS:
These are social problems caused mainly by psychosocial lactors. Myths about males and
Temales would have us believe that many women are frigid and uninterested in sexual pleasure,
while most men can hardly get enough. Both myths conceal the facts which have been revealed
through accumulated experiences of sex researchers and therapist. The facts are that both men
and women have similar desires for sexual pleasure, but both sexes may experience
psychological problems that interfere with the attained of pleasure.
PSYCHOSEXUAL DYSFUNCTIONS:
c aisorders that involve impairments in the sexual response cycle, either tiC uo
dOn Or the ability to achieve it. In disorders associated with desire phase individuais y
Siow ttle or no sexual drive or interest. In disorders associated with excitement phase, icit l
not be able to maintain an erection. In the orgasm phase men may experience prematurc
ejaculation or rapid orgasm, when the time between the beginning of sexual stimulation and
ejaculation is unsatisfactorily brief.
A common problem for women is inhibited female orgasm, inhibited male orgasm does occur
but it is much less common. Many women do not routinely experience orgasm in sexual
intercourse, a patterm which is common so it can hardly be called dysfunction.
The treatment of psychosexual dysfunctions has undergone nothing short of a revolution in
recent years. Masters and Johnson based their therapy on the actual problems a person is
experiencing rather than things that may not be related or irrelevant to the problem. They also
said that therapy should occur in the context of a sexual relationship. This means that whenever
possible a person who is having sexual dificulties should include their sexual partner in their
treatment. Masters and Johnson also suggested that therapy be conducted by two therapists both
male and female .Most issues that arise čan be dealt with better by having the perspectives of
both sexes as the therapists and by having both partners present. Finally, they suggested that
therapy be kept as brief as possible and include "homework" for the couples to try corrective
measures on their own and report back progress the next session.
INCEST: is a sexual relationship between two relatives, which is virtually a universal taboo. By
far the most common form of incest is a brother to sister sexual relationship, with father daughter
sexual relationship being second most common. Mother-son incest and same sex incest (father
son) are not common incestuous patterns. Generally speaking the greater the age discrepancy of
the individuals involved the greater the resulting problem.
Incest is psychologically harmful not only for immediate family relationships but also for the
future relationships of the child involved in incest." Another misfortune associated with incest is that any resulting off-spring has higher than average
risksfor genetic disorders and mental retardation.
PARAPHILIAS: are psvchosexual disorders in which the source of an individual's sexual
sual object, ritual or situation. Many sexual patterns deviate from what we
Consider be normal. These abnormal pattens of sexual arousal from usual sources
ferishismtransvestism, exhibitionism, and voveurism, sadism, machoism and pedophla
FETISHlSM: Is a psychosexual disorder in which an individual relies on inanimate object or a
Specific body part for sexual gratification. Even though an individual may have a sexual
preference - for example a man's preference for women with long legs or a woman s preIerence
1or men with beards or bald head, most of us are attracted to someone because of a wide range ofpersonal factors. Some individuals become obsessed with certain objects- fur, women s pants stockings that arouse them. Most fetishists are men.
TRANSVESTISM: Is a psychosexual disorder in which an individual obtains sexual gratification
by dressing up like a member of the opposite sex.Most transvestites view themselves as
heterosexual and lead quite conventional lives, cross dressing only in the privacy of their homes.
One transvestite pattern is to cross- dress only during sexual relations with his or her partner.
EXHIBITIONISM: Is a psychosexual disorder in which individuals expose their sexual anatomy
to others to obtain sexual gratification.
SADISM: Is a psychosexual disorder in which individuals derive sexual gratification from
inflicting pain on others.
PEDOPHILIA: Is a psychosexual disorder in which the sex object is a child and the intimacy
usually involves manipulation of the child's genitals. A pedophilia covertly or overtly
masturbates while talking to children, manipulates the child's sex organs or has the child engage
in sexual behavior. Most pedophilias are men usually in their 30's or 40's The target of men
pedophilia often is a child he knows, such as a child of a relative, neighbor or family friend.
In one rare
Erectile Failure: is the inabilitv of a male to achieve or maintain an erection.In one rare manifestation primary erectile failure the male has never been able to have an erection.But in
more common case, secondary ereetile failure, the male though now unable to have a
s had at least one in the past. Firectile failure is not uncommon problem, and it is the rale
no has never experienced it at least once during his life time, This is hardly surprising, sine
the ability to achieve and hold an erection is sensitive to alcohol, drugs, performarice Teats,
anxiety and a host of other factors, It becomes a more serious problem when it occurs more an
occasionally
PRE-MATURE EJACULATION: This is a situation when the male is unable to delay orgasm as
long as he wishes. "Because as long as he wishes is dependent on a man's-and his partner s
attitude and opinions about how long is appropriate, this is a difficult disorder to define, and
Sometimes the problem can be resolved simply by having a male re-define how long he wants to
delay ejaculation
Pre-mature ejaculation is often a psychological problem, since there are rarely physical reasons
for it
One cause may be early sexual learning: Because sexual experience at adolescence is often
accompanicd by FEAR OF BEING CAUGHT, some men learn early in their lives to reach
orgasm as quickly as possible
INHIBITED EJACULATION: is the opposite problem. In this case the male is unable to
cjaculate when he wants to, if at all. Sometimes learning relaxation techniques is sufficient to
allow men to overcome the difficulty.
Some women experience anorgasm or lack of orgasm.In primary anorgasmic dsyfuction, women
have never experienced orgasm, while in secondary orgasmic dysfunction a woman is capable of
experiencing orgasm only under certain conditions such as during masturbation but not during
sexual intercourse. Because the inability to have orgasm during sexual intercourse is so common.
with some one-third of all women reporting they do not receive suficient stimulation to have
orgasm during sexual intercourse Some sex researchers suggest that secondary orgasmic
dysfunction is not a dysfunction at all, but merely a normal variation of female sexuality.
INHIBITED SEXUAL DESIRE: This is when the motivation for sexual activity is restrained or
lacking entirely. When people with inhibited sexual desire find themselves in circumstances that
Iypically evoke sexual feelings, they begin to turn off sexually and may even experience a kind
of sexual "anesthesia" Ultimately they may begin to avoid situations of sexual nature, thereby
foregoing intimacy with others.