can experience the desire and drive for sex but they have the problems of not being able to have physical arousal and enjoy the sensations at the same time or they cannot stay aroused all the way to the end of sexual intercourse. These problems are considered the typical situations of sexual arousal disorder. The DSM-IV has no guidelines or rules as to how often or rarely these types of problems must occur or not occur to be considered a disorder or just to be considered normal. On the other hand, a diagnosis is a clinical judgment based on the person’s gender, age, and expressed desires. “Masters and Johnson (1970) recommended that inhibited sexual excitement be diagnosed in a male only when he fails to attain erection and vaginal entry on 25 percent of his attempts. The causes of sexual arousal disorder include anxiety-provoking attitudes derived from parental or social teaching, fear of pregnancy or inadequate performance, and inexperience on the part of one or both partners. Ackerman and Carey (1995) contend that situational anxiety, including fear of ridicule, inadequate genital size, and (especially) performance failure, also play an important role in sexual arousal disorders. The fact that many dysfunctional men report satisfactory arousal in response to such stimuli as sexually explicit films, supports this conclusion. Still other people are able to experience sexual desire and maintain arousal but are unable to reach orgasm, the peaking of sexual pleasure and the release of sexual tension. These people are said to experience orgasmic disorders. Male orgasmic disorder is the inability to ejaculate even when fully aroused. This is rare but seems to be becoming increasingly common as more men find it desirable to practice the delay of orgasm (Rosen & Rosen, 1981). Masters and Johnson (1970) attribute male orgasmic disorder primarily to such psychological factors as traumatic experiences. The problem also seems to b...
