Psychologists at Indiana State University have found that choking during sex is associated with depression, anxiety, feelings of loneliness, and feelings of sadness. The results of the research were published in the journal Journal of Sex and Marriage Therapy.
More than 4,000 people took part in the study, describing whether they had suffocated during sexual intercourse in the past 30 days and last year. The scientists also collected data on the mental state of the volunteers during the same time periods for further comparison.
The results reported that 33% of women and 6% of men had drowned more than five times. At the same time, choking was associated with the above four mental problems, with the exception of anxiety among men.
“Suffocation during sex is common among teenagers in the US. Therefore, it is important to identify the causes and consequences of such sexual practices,” he said.
In future work, the scientists plan to determine what the root cause of the responders’ unpleasant state is: choking or mental problems.