Science about abstinence

[a_Anita]

Do you know about scientific studies who have something to say about mental health and (sexual) abstinence? I don’t know if there has been done such a study, but it would help a bit in discussions with non-Catholics if there is scientific evidence about that people are doing quite well without sex. Do you know about such studies?

 

[PaulfromIowa]

Abstinence from sexual relations and mental health are quite separate issues. There is a strong correlation between sexually deviant behavior and adverse mental health, although it is not clear which might cause the other. There are some who try to claim that sexual abstinence causes emotional problems, but that is nonsense with nothing to support it.

 

[Otar_Mendes]

A forced abstinence especially for ideological reason is never a good thing. It’s anti-natural,anti-human and harmful for your health. Add to this that you can’t even masturbate(a perfectly natural for homo sapiens and highly evolved animals activity essential for sexual development) within the Catholic teaching and it might get ugly.

-regular sex reduces risk of heart disease by half(!)

• regular sex contributes to weight loss and overall fitness
• it brings pain-relief
• it reduced depression
• it boosts your immune system ( Less-frequent colds and flu)
• it reduces risks of prostate problems
• lack of regular ejaculation severely decreases one’s sperm motility and normal morphology

etc

Add to that possible emotional problems.

I’m not saying we HAVE to have sex X times a week\day but, a prolonged abstinence unlike a temporary voluntary (not forced) abstinence , is not something good

 

[e_c]

A forced abstinence especially for ideological reason is never a good thing. It’s anti-natural,anti-human and harmful for your health

-regular sex reduces risk of heart disease by half(!)

• regular sex contributes to weight loss and overall fitness
• it brings pain-relief
• it reduced depression
• it boosts your immune system ( Less-frequent colds and flu)
• it reduces risks of prostate problems
• lack of regular ejaculation severely decreases one’s sperm motility and normal morphology

etc

Add to that possible emotional problems.

You will want to provide some links to reputable medical sources substantiating your claims. They sound inaccurate, and/or based on correlation, and/or based on easily substituted causation (i.e. go for a walk instead, it will do the same thing, etc.).

As for “anit-natural and anti-human,” well, that doesn’t seem to mean much other than “not normal.”

 

[PelagiathePenit]

There is science behind oxytocin. When women have sex their body releases oxytocin, they bond with their partners the same way they bond with they babies they nurse.

 

[edwest2]

Abstinence is always voluntary. For single persons, chastity and self-control go together. Mastering emotional and physical urges goes beyond sexual abstinence. For married couples, sexual activity should be open to life.

Ed

 

[ATraveller]

Do you know about scientific studies who have something to say about mental health and (sexual) abstinence? I don’t know if there has been done such a study, but it would help a bit in discussions with non-Catholics if there is scientific evidence about that people are doing quite well without sex. Do you know about such studies?

I tried looking for such studies focusing on a more direct link between the two as a challenge and these are the closest I could find that have recently been published:
2017:

Although sexual activity is commonly believed to be a key component of emotional well-being, little is known about the factors associated with the absence of sexual activity or its associations with self-reported happiness…]The purported detrimental impact of sexlessness on self-reported happiness levels was not evident in this large, nationally representative study after adjusting for sociodemographic factors. Sexless Americans reported very similar happiness levels as their sexually active counterparts.

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28275930
2010 and the entire study has been made available to everyone by the authors:

Hierarchical regression analyses in the sample of 511 Catholic diocesan priests from South India confirmed that commitment to celibacy was negatively associated with burnout (that is it had a negative association with emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation and a positive association with personal accomplishment), and on the other hand, it was positively associated with engagement.

Keep in mind ‘negative association’ is ‘inverse relationship’ (I prefer the latter over the former) so celibacy for the priests meant they were less burnt out and were better at engaging with their parishioners.
researchgate.net/publication/270534990_Does_Commitment_to_Celibacy_Lead_to_Burnout_or_Enhance_Engagement_A_Study_among_the_Indian_Catholic_Clergy?ev=auth_pub

There are plenty of massive gaps in our knowledge of many things unfortunately and this happens to be one of them. I sense their isn’t much interest or not many want to fund such studies.
If you want a less direct relationship between the two variables, their are a few topics covered such as abstinence leads to happier marriages and this has been replicated many times.

 

[mikekle]

Im not so sure about that, I can remember my late teenage and early 20s years, when I was very sexually active, I do remember feeling a whole lot better, feeling ‘looser’/ more relaxed in general. Times back then when I would go extended periods without, I could definitely feel the difference, felt like a lot of pent up aggression/ anxiety, etc. all of that would go away as soon as I had sex again, seemed to last about a week or so, and then I could feel all that building up again.

Although now that Im in my 40s, its different, I no longer get all that building up anymore.

 

[ATraveller]

I want to fix something I wrote yesterday:

If you want a less direct relationship between the two variables, their are a few topics covered such as abstinence before marriage leads to happier marriages and this has been replicated many times.