A Longitudinal Study of the Psycho-Social Effects of Vasectomy

A follow‐up study of the effects of vasectomy on sexual behavior

“…In a series of papers (Rodgers, Ziegler, Rohr, and Prentiss, 1963;Rodgers, Ziegler, Altrocchi, and Levy, 1965;Ziegler, Rodgers, and Kriegsman, 1966;Ziegler and Rodgers, 1968;Ziegler, Rodgers, and Prentiss, 1969), Rodgers and Ziegler reported on a longitudinal study of the psycho-social effects of vasectomy. They used interviews, a questionnaire, and a standard personality test, Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), and studied 37 couples over a four-year period.…”

“…There are a few follow-ups of vasectomized patients reported in the literature but they are studies of special American groups, such as criminals, the retarded, or psychiatric patients (Popenoe, 1929;Johnson, 1964), are rather personal and anecdotal in nature (Garrison and Gamble, 1950;Poffenberger and Poffenberger, 1963;Landis and Poffenberger, 1965), are psychiatric and psychosocial, that is examine motivation and guilt feelings (Rodgers, Ziegler, Rohr, and Prentiss, 1963;Rodgers, Ziegler, Altrocchi, and Levy, 1965;Ziegler, Rodgers, and Kriegsman, 1966;Ziegler and Rodgers, 1968;Ziegler, Rodgers, and Prentiss, 1969), or are studies of groups in developing countries (Apte and Gandhi, 1970;Sharma, 1170;Sundaram, 1970). Furthermore, only the husband was interviewed in these studies, except for the work of Ziegler, et al (1968) who interviewed husband and wife in a comparison of couples who used vasectomy with couples who used oral contraception.…”

La stérilisation masculine

“…Nombre d'entre eux [7,17,22,26,31] ont établi des bilans favorables des résultats de cette intervention. Mais des opinions opposées se font jour également.…”

What’s a Guy To Do?: Contraceptive Responsibility, Confronting Masculinity, and the History of Vasectomy in Canada

“…44 To reconcile this contradiction, the study argued that men who had committed themselves to a permanent procedure might be reluctant to "admit it was a mistake, especially if such admission implies that they are no longer as 'masculine' as they were formerly." 45 The article arising from the study went so far as to state that, in some cases, the psycho-social effects of vasectomy could lead to serious complications including impotence, inability to ejaculate, divorce, and general disturbance of psychological function and family relationships. 46 Workplace patterns for men who underwent vasectomy in the 1960s further suggest that concerns around masculinity did play a role in whether men chose vasectomy for contraception.…”

“…45 The article arising from the study went so far as to state that, in some cases, the psycho-social effects of vasectomy could lead to serious complications including impotence, inability to ejaculate, divorce, and general disturbance of psychological function and family relationships. 46 Workplace patterns for men who underwent vasectomy in the 1960s further suggest that concerns around masculinity did play a role in whether men chose vasectomy for contraception. According to Michael Kimmel, the purpose of performing masculinity has not been to prove masculinity to women, but to other men.…”