Health News and Information

The aggressors vs. children are more likely than other sex offenders to be the youngest child in the family, their proportion considerably exceeding what one would expect. The average aggressor vs. children was reared with five siblings—a number exceeded by only four other types of offenders. The siblings were chiefly sisters: the aggressors vs. children were one of the four groups where the sex ratio favored sisters, who more often than not were older than the aggressor vs. children.

The members of this group got along with their fathers at ages fourteen to seventeen about as well as did most sex offenders. Their adjustment to their mothers, on the other hand, was unequivocally bad: they had the second worst maternal relationship of any group. Nevertheless, enough of them did get along well with their mothers so that when we asked, “With which parent did you get along better?” we found that the number who favored their mothers was essentially the same as the number who got along equally well with both parents. This tendency for the percentage preferring the mother to equal (in the aggressors vs. children) or surpass (as in the aggressors vs. minors and adults) the percentage professing impartiality is a poor omen, shared not only by all aggressors but also by the homosexual offenders, the exhibitionists, and the incest offenders vs. children.

The aggressors vs. children are also characterized by having come from broken homes: 64 per cent, the highest figure for any group and double that for the control group. Relative to other groups, there was a tendency for the breakup to have occurred rather early, when the average (median) boy was about six years old. Also he spent the fewest years in a home in which there was both a husband and wife, regardless of whether or not cither was his own parent. Partly in eon-sequence of this, the aggressors vs. children rank first in the number of years that they lived in a household in which all the adults were women.

While from the record of broken homes it is obvious that the original parents of the aggressor vs. children did not get along well with one another, the subsequent parent and stepparent combination was also deficient in this respect: while slightly over half got along well, one third got along poorly, ranking in the lower half of the scale of inter-parental adjustment when the subject was in his middle teens.

In summary, the early life of these aggressors presents a rather dismal picture: a large number of broken homes followed by protracted residence with the mother (or surrogate mother) with whom the subject got along very badly.

With the home an unhappy place, the future aggressor vs. children, it seems, turned his interests and emotions toward other children. He occupies first place among those who had many boy and girl companions at age ten to eleven, and last place among those lacking girl companions. Whereas almost one third of the control and prison groups had no girl playmates at this age, only about 12 per cent of the future aggressors vs. children were “girl-less,” and some 32 per cent (third rank) reported having had numerous female companions. The aggressor vs. children certainly suffered from no defects in his ability to get along successfully with his peers, even though his relations with his parents left much to be desired. This social success may correlate with the large number who not only had sisters but many sisters. In this connection it is noteworthy that almost 22 per cent of this group (nearly two times as great a proportion as of the next group) first saw postpubescent female genitalia by seeing a sister’s.

Their successful social life did not lead to an unusual amount of prepubertal sex play—the aggressors vs. children are average in this respect. This is a bit surprising for yet another reason: they had more time in which to have had sex play than did other groups, because 28 per cent of them did not reach puberty until they were fifteen or older. However, they were strikingly oriented toward the heterosexual: the percentage who had exclusively heterosexual play (32 per cent) almost equals the sum of those with homosexual play and both hetero- and homosexual play. This definite preference for the heterosexual is typical of all the heterosexual aggressors who rank second, third, and fourth in the list of those whose prepubertal play was exclusively heterosexual.

There seems nothing significant about the number of years that sex play continued, but an examination of the techniques used reveals an interesting fact. The heterosexual aggressors tend more than the other groups to have had coitus before puberty—between 69 and 73 per cent of those with heterosexual play had coitus. Only one group, the offenders vs. adults, exceeds the three heterosexual aggressor groups in this respect. The future aggressors vs. children also include the largest percentage who had mouth-genital contact prior to puberty, essentially double the percentage of the sex offenders as a whole and quadruple that of the control group. In brief, the aggressors vs. children who did have prepubertal sex play were not interested in childish exhibitions and manipulations; they engaged in techniques more characteristic of adults.

Half of the group, a relatively large number, had engaged in prepubertal self-masturbation. Only three groups exceed them.

Unfortunately for our analyses, too few aggressors vs. children had prepubertal sexual contact with adults to permit reasonably valid conclusions. Nevertheless, there is a suggestion that they may rate high in this respect and that a large proportion of the contact led to coitus. It is worth noting that 33 per cent (the second highest figure among the comparative groups) had seen adult female genitalia by age eleven.

While this group of sex offenders had the second highest percentage of individuals who had good health in childhood, they also had a relatively high percentage who had poor health; combined, this results in their having had only slightly better than average health.

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In defining the term “animal contact” we wished to discount the experimental masturbation of animals by human beings which is ordinarily a juvenile activity arousing little or no erotic response in the human. In brief, the term here is limited to deliberate specifically sexual contact with an animal, engaged in with the intention of gaining sexual gratification. Therefore we regarded as “animal contact” any oral, anal, or vaginal penetration occurring between a human and some other vertebrate.

Some 16 per cent of the offenders vs. children had had animal contact; this was, as usual, almost wholly in their early postpubertal life. Sixteen per cent is, in comparison with other groups, an intermediate proportion; consequently, it is rather surprising to find that in terms of both mean and median frequency (among those having animal contacts) the offenders vs. children usually rank second. Since the activity chiefly occurred early in postpubertal life, frequencies can be calculated only for the first two age-periods; puberty-15 and 16-20. The average (median) offender vs. children had between 4 and 5 animal contacts a year up to age fifteen and between 8 and 9 from age sixteen to twenty. The mean frequency was about once in two weeks in both age-periods, which is second only to that of the control group.

The age-specific incidence of animal contacts among the unmarried offenders vs. children begins with 10 per cent between puberty and age fifteen, and following the rule that animal contacts become less frequent with age, falls to 6 per cent in age-period 16-20 and to 4 per cent throughout the next two age-periods. Relative to other groups, these offenders occupy intermediate positions in the rank-orders until the last age-period, 26-30, when their 4 per cent figure earns them second rank.

In the proportion of the total outlet constituted by animal contact, the unmarried offenders rank third from puberty to fifteen and sixteen to twenty, the percentages being 2.0 and 1.2 respectively.

Note that the offenders vs. children were in second rank (though with only 8 per cent) of those who had fantasies of animal contact during masturbation. This predilection was not seen in the content of their sex dreams, however.

As a group the offenders vs. children did not have an especially rural background, so this cannot be used as an explanation for the unexpectedly high frequency of animal contact.

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Obviously if you have dandruff you must use a dandruff shampoo. These contain either zinc pyrithione or selenium sulfide as active ingredients and so must be used according to manufacturers instructions on the label. If the shampoo containing pyrithione does not work for you switch to one with selenium sulfide. All dandruff shampoos have their active ingredients listed.

Where normal shampoos are concerned you have to experiment until you find a shampoo that suits your hair and leaves it in excellent condition. Cheap shampoos are inclined to be strong while the more expensive ones are better perfumed and more gentle. Most have detergent as their cleansing agent. A shampoo that is too strong will leave your hair feeling brittle and your scalp uncomfortably tight and it will strip the hair of its protection and the scalp of its natural oils. If the brand you use does not meet your demands switch brands until you find one that does.

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Should doubts, depression and feelings of failure or futility take hold, recognize them for what they are, symptoms of M-M, and try to create a way to overcome them by thinking or doing something different. The recommendation is: control your thoughts and block out depression by taking evasive action.

This may not be easy at 3 a.m. as you lie in bed, your problems crystal clear and engulfing you while everyone else is apparently blissfully asleep. There is nothing quite as effective at night as a parade of personal problems for instilling a sense of life-panic and misery.

But, as they say, think about an itch and you begin to itch. If in a cinema you think your ankles are being bitten by a flea, in no time you feel as if a flea is having a party in your pants. If on a boat you worry about being seasick, you are seasick.

Emotional problems, therapists say, are no different. If you think about them, you worry about them; worry about them and they become magnified out of all proportion. Especially at night.

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A high level of cholesterol in the blood clogs the arteries so it is sensible always to keep to a minimum the amount of foods you know contain cholesterol. As we age, the walls of important arteries thicken thus making the passage of blood difficult. With the addition of cholesterol further clogging the passage, the heart has to work harder still and can be severely taxed as it tries to force blood through to where it is needed. It is this extra effort and strain that leads to strokes and heart attacks.

A certain amount of cholesterol is permanently present in our blood, the exact amount only calculable by blood analysis. At twenty the average content is about 180 milligrams rising to around 200 milligrams at thirty, 220 milligrams at forty and, at fifty the figure is likely to have increased to around 230 milligrams. Relative blood pressures for the same ages are around 122/76, 125/76, 129/81 and 134/83.

To keep your cholesterol levels down to an acceptable level avoid all animal fats and cut down on milk products and eggs. This means eating less meat fat, less fatty meats (like pork, mutton, duck and all sausage) and limiting yourself to small amounts only of milk, cheese and eggs (never more than three a week). The rule is always to avoid fried foods and use polyunsaturated spreads like margarine instead of butter. Salad oils though fattening in excessive quantity, being of vegetable origin, are polyunsaturated too and it is generally believed that they actually combat cholesterol by working to reduce its level in the blood. Olive oil is monosaturated which means it is neither saturated (fatty), nor polyunsaturated — but acceptable. All vegetables and fruit are free of cholesterol content.

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Because of his discontentment with his lot a menopausal man’s temper is often on a short fuse. He behaves in an irritable manner, his temper flaring up at the smallest provocation. The irritability is irrational and unintentional. Bad moods may last many hours. Best defensive action is to avoid him as he will take out his temper tantrum on anyone near him. If however you are the man in question, take yourself away. Go for a walk, take in a movie. Enjoy the solitude of your own company until the irrational irritability passes.

In his observations a London analyst concludes that whereas one might cynically accuse old people who in their last years turn to religion of doing so from superstition, preparing for heaven rather than hell, menopausal men turn to religion purely for the emotional pillar and support it affords them. Renewed faith assists them through life. In their prayers they ask for help, indulgence, direction and generosity that they might sort out the muddle of their lives and fulfil life’s obligations satisfactorily and, if possible, to turn their lives to better use. To change. Faith gives a feeling that in some secure way their lives are being protected. Without God’s help they feel impotent about effecting change.

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At the present time an increasing number of physicians choose a group of drugs called ‘beta-blockers’ because they have fewer side-effects than previously available drugs.

The dose of beta-blocker drugs which most effectively reduces a person’s high blood pressure will differ because each person seems to respond differently to a fixed dose. It takes a few weeks for your doctor to find the dose most appropriate for you, but once he has found it, you can continue on that dose for a long time, and you will only need to have check-ups every three or six months. Unfortunately, the beta-blockers have some side-effects. These are not disabling but may be disturbing. They include a feeling of lassitude, occasional light-headedness, and sometimes episodes of insomnia or of weird disturbing dreams, but they usually only occur with large doses of the drug. Some people are unable to take the beta-blocker drugs. They include people with asthma, diabetes, and heart failure. Other drugs are available to help them.

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There is also no evidence in humans that homosexuality is due to an abnormal hormonal balance which occurred pre-natally. This is in contrast to lower animals (and birds) whose sexual ‘preferences’ and attitudes can be reversed if sufficient doses of the inappropriate sex hormone is injected into the mother at a precise time during her pregnancy.

Nor is there any evidence that once adult, people with a homosexual erotic preference have lower blood levels of the male hormone, testosterone, although one investigation suggested this. Recent, more accurate measurements of blood levels of testosterone show that there is no difference between those of heterosexuals and those of homosexuals.

A homosexual preference is neither inherited nor due to hormonal imbalance, but it may be due, to some extent at least, to conditioning during infancy and childhood. In several studies of homosexuality by psychoanalysts, one or more of the following relationships or behaviours were said to lead to a homosexual erotic preference.

-Too intense or possessive mothering

-A weak, affectionless, or absent father

-A combination of an intense relationship with the mother and a distant or weak relationship with the father

-Strict, unbending, moralistic, uncommunicative, sexually repressed parents

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Recently it has been clear why this is so. It is now possible to measure the levels of testosterone circulating in the blood with considerable accuracy. Dr Lawrence and Dr Swyer, who conduct the endocrinology clinic in University College Hospital in London, found no difference in the circulating levels of testosterone between impotent men with normal genitals and men who were not impotent. Low testosterone levels were only found among men whose impotence was associated with a disease of the pituitary gland which prevents the normal development of the genitals at puberty. Very few impotent men have low blood testosterone levels. However, if they have, their impotence may respond to testosterone injections, or tablets of a special form of testosterone. These men tend to be old and, in their case, testosterone often works, although it is uncertain whether the hormone has a direct effect or whether the cure is due to the expectation that the drug will work.

More imaginative, if less aesthetic, has been the development of splints to treat impotence. It is the scientific equivalent of the old army gibe ‘If your cock won’t stand up, lash it to a toothbrush’. An original, if bizarre, suggestion was to implant the penile cartilage of a whale into the penis of a man. This experiment is said to have been attempted in Russia and has never been repeated! The disadvantages are obvious.

Research in recent years has shown the limitations of the ‘stopwatch’ definition, and another definition has been proposed. This is that premature ejaculation occurs if a man ejaculates either before entering or, more usually, after his penis is in his partner’s vagina, so quickly that a normally orgasmic woman gets little or no enjoyment from the episode of sexual intercourse. By avoiding any time-interval, this definition excludes a man who ejaculates soon after entering the woman’s vagina, but who has satisfied his partner sexually by helping her to orgasm during an extended period of sex-play, or whose partner reaches her orgasm very quickly. But the definition fails to recognize that many women obtain sexual pleasure from the feel of the man’s penis thrusting in her vagina, and from the close body contact which occurs during prolonged sexual intercourse.

A man who ejaculates prematurely has the problem that he is unable to delay his sexual response voluntarily, and he passes rapidly from the late plateau stage (in which many men can remain for long periods) to the stage when ejaculation is inevitable. In other words, a premature ejaculator is the reverse of a woman who cannot reach orgasm. In her case, messages from the sex centre in the brain inhibit the reflex which causes orgasm; in his case, messages from the brain facilitate the reflex which controls orgasm and ejaculation.