Changes in the premarital and marital sexual life of Czechoslovak women born between 1911 and 1970.

Abstract

Using the interview method, three sexologists examined, over a period of 36 years, the sexual development and life of 2,425 gynecological patients who were sent to Franzensbad for after-treatment of conditions following gynecological inflammations or surgery. They had all been married at least 1 year and when interviewed were 20-40 years old. The average age at the time of the first coitus dropped from 20.75 among the women born in the decade 1911-1920 to 17.8 among those born between 1961 and 1970. As far as premarital sexual life is concerned, the number of young women with numerous coital partners before marriage has continuously increased since 1931. About 50% of young brides today had premarital sexual contacts with 1-3 partners. Over the decades between 1921 and 1970, the number of women with 4-10 premarital coital partners has increased from 1% to 12%. Among women born in the decade 1961-1970, there has been a distinct increase in those who achieve coital orgasm only rarely to 26%. This is the highest percentage of this type of insufficient sexual reactivity since 1911. This unfavorable change in sexual life of young married women is discussed in the context of negative social environmental factors in Czechoslovakia today. The study concludes with the opinion that frequency of coital orgasm in women is a sensitive indicator of social environmental influences in a given society.