Psychology researchers recently uncovered a somewhat paradoxical finding while studying the relationship between narcissism and sexual activity: Highly narcissistic men are more likely to experience difficulty reaching orgasm but they also report more premature ejaculation.
The new research, published in the Sexual and Relationship Therapy, suggests that narcissistic men’s arousal might be more dependent on the specific conditions surrounding sexual interactions, such as whether they have a new partner.
“Various personality traits and disorders (such as narcissism) have been associated with sexual response and satisfaction,” said study author David L. Rowland, a senior research professor at Valparaiso University. “Our research reiterates the negative impact that narcissism has on relationship satisfaction, but adds new perspective on how this personality characteristic may also affect a man’s sexual response during partnered sex.”
In the study, 1,297 men (who ranged in age from 18 to 85) completed a comprehensive questionnaire that collected data regarding demographic characteristics, medical conditions, sexual and relationship histories during the previous 12-24 months, sexual dysfunctions, and sexual narcissism.
The participants were categorized as being low, medium, or high in sexual narcissism based on their responses to the Hurlbert Index of Sexual Narcissism. Those high in sexual narcissism strongly agreed with statements such as “In sex, I like to be the one in charge,” “I believe I have a special style of making love,” “Emotional closeness can easily get in the way of sexual pleasure,” and “Pleasing yourself in sex is most important.”
The researchers observed significant relationships between sexual narcissism and a number of relationship and sexual variables. Men higher in sexual narcissism reported greater likelihood of having a sexual partner, more frequent masturbation and partnered sex, a greater importance of/interest in sex, lower sexual satisfaction, and lower overall relationship satisfaction. They were also more likely to prefer masturbation over partnered sex.
Sexual narcissism was also positively associated with some sexual problems. Sexual narcissism was not associated with erectile dysfunction, but men higher in sexual narcissism reported both a greater difficulty reaching orgasm during partnered sex and a greater tendency towards premature ejaculation.
“Narcissistic men are strongly driven by their own desire for pleasure, deriving sexual satisfaction more from orgasm than from other factors associated with partnered sex such as feelings of intimacy and relational interactions,” Rowland told PsyPost. “They are also more prone to quicker ejaculation (presumably early in a sexual relationship) and to difficulty reaching ejaculation (presumably as relationship novelty wanes), suggesting that their sexual arousal may be driven more by situational than internally-stable factors. Narcissism combined with sexual dysfunctional symptomology to predict lower relationship satisfaction.”
But the study, like all research, includes some caveats.
“This is a correlational study, so one needs to be cautious about drawing causal conclusions, for example, stating that narcissism is the cause of diminished sexual and relationship satisfaction, or of more problematic sexual response during partnered sex,” Rowland explained. “Other factors not assessed in our study may be responsible for these outcomes.”
The study, “Narcissism, sexual response, and sexual and relationship satisfaction“, was authored by Balázs András Varga, Dorottya Sal, Laurel B. Oosterhouse, Krisztina Hevesi, and David L. Rowland.
