Circumcision Associated with Adult Difficulty in Identifying and Expressing Feelings and Circumcised Men 4.53 Times More Likely to Use Erectile Dysfunction Drugs

To read more: Alexithymia and Circumcision Trauma


This preliminary study investigates what role early trauma might have in alexithymia (difficulty in identifying and expressing feelings) acquisition for adults by controlling for male circumcision. Three hundred self-selected men were administered the Toronto Twenty-Item Alexithymia Scale checklist and a personal history questionnaire. The circumcised men had age-adjusted alexithymia scores 19.9 percent higher than the intact men; were 1.57 times more likely to have high alexithymia scores; were 2.30 times less likely to have low alexithymia scores; had higher prevalence of two of the three alexithymia factors (difficulty identifying feelings and difficulty describing feelings); and were 4.53 times more likely to use an erectile dysfunction drug. Alexithymia in this population of adult men is statistically significant for having experienced circumcision trauma and for erectile dysfunction drug use.

Bollinger, D. and Van Howe, R. , “Alexithymia and Circumcision Trauma: A Preliminary Investigation,” International Journal of Men’s Health (2011);184-195.
Updated: February 10, 2020 — 4:15 pm