New research suggests that the suppression of sexual thoughts among religious people only begets a greater preoccupation with sexual thoughts and fantasies.
“I grew up in a religious community and today I define myself as religious,” said study author Yaniv Efrati of Beit Berl College.
I also noticed that many religious people are busy with the question of whether their sexual behavior is normal or not.”.
A survey of 661 teens found that religious adolescents reported greater preoccupation with unwanted sexual thoughts and fantasies than secular adolescents.
A second survey of 522 teens found that religious adolescents tended to report lower well-being, which was linked to their preoccupation with unwanted sexual thoughts.
“It would not be prudent to say that religious people have a higher compulsive sexual behavior than secular people,” Efrati said.
The Rebound Effect in Unsuccessful Suppression of Sexual Thoughts Among Religious Adolescents“. »