Abstinence from Masturbation and Hypersexuality

Abstract

Despite the lack of evidence for negative health effects of masturbation, abstinence from masturbation is frequently recommended as a strategy to improve one's sexual self-regulation. We adopted a framework of perceived problems with pornography to collect first hints about whether abstinence from masturbation stems from a psychological and behavioral "addiction" or conflicting attitudes. In an online questionnaire survey recruited via a non-thematic Reddit thread (n = 1063), most participants reported that they had tried to be abstinent from masturbation. As visible from zero-order correlations and multiple linear regression, motivation for abstinence was mostly associated with attitudinal correlates, specifically the perception of masturbation as unhealthy. While there were associations with hypersexuality, no significant correlation with behavioral markers such as maximum number of orgasms was found. Higher abstinence motivation was related to a higher perceived impact of masturbation, conservatism, and religiosity and to lower trust in science. We argue that research on abstinence from masturbation can enrich the understanding of whether and how average frequencies of healthy behavior are pathologized.Publisher's Note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

The Pornography “Rebooting” Experience: A Qualitative Analysis of Abstinence Journals on an Online Pornography Abstinence Forum

“…In relation to coping strategies for maintaining abstinence from pornography, findings from three qualitative studies of men from different recovery contexts, the aforementioned Italian online forum members (Cavaglion, 2008 ), members of 12-step groups (Ševčíková, Blinka, & Soukalová, 2018 ), and Christian men (Perry, 2019 ), demonstrate that apart from making use of practical strategies, these individuals typically perceived that providing mutual support to each other within their respective support groups was instrumental to their ability to remain abstinent. A recent quantitative study of men from the subreddit r/EveryManShouldKnow (Zimmer & Imhoff, 2020 ) found that motivation to abstain from masturbation was positively predicted by perceived social impact of masturbation, perception of masturbation as unhealthy, decreased genital sensitivity, and one aspect of hypersexual behavior (i.e., dyscontrol). While useful, the findings from these studies are limited in their transferability to pornography users abstaining from pornography today as part of the “rebooting” movement because they are over a decade old, before the emergence of the movement (i.e., Cavalgion, 2008 , 2009 ), because they were contextualized specifically within a 12-step recovery milieu (Ševčíková et al, 2018 ) or religious context (Burke & Haltom, 2020 ; Diefendorf, 2015 ; Perry, 2019 ), or because participants were recruited from a non-“rebooting” forum (Zimmer & Imhoff, 2020 ; see also Imhoff & Zimmer, 2020 ; Osadchiy, Vanmali, Shahinyan, Mills, & Eleswarapu, 2020 ).…”

Case-Based Learning: Upaya Menstimulasi Intensi Remaja untuk Berkomunikasi Secara Adekuat dengan Orang Tua tentang Kesehatan Seksual

“…Namun, dari sudut pandang aspek kesehatan, kecanduan masturbasi merupakan hal yang tidak baik bagi kesehatan remaja. Produktivitas dan konsentrasi belajar dapat terganggu (Zimmer & Imhoff, 2020). Tim pengabdi sudah memberikan informasi tersebut untuk remaja.…”

Is Ejaculation Frequency in Men Related to General and Mental Health? Looking Back and Looking Forward

“…Another study ( Zimmer and Imhoff, 2020 ) examined the motivation for abstinence in a large, online-based survey. The authors found that the motivation to abstain from masturbation most strongly correlated with attitudes toward masturbation.…”

“…The most interesting aspect of such internet-based, social-media movements is the widespread notion that masturbation as such is subject to negative appraisal ( Hartmann, 2020 ). The motivation to abstain is rooted in the belief that masturbation is unhealthy ( Zimmer and Imhoff, 2020 ). And while hypersexuality and excessive pornography consumption have been acknowledged as problematic behavior ( Kafka and Hennen, 2003 ; Kafka, 2010 ; Grubbs et al, 2019a , b ), this is not scientifically established for the effect of masturbation and ejaculation on general or mental health at all.…”