Empathy and self-esteem seem to enhance sexual enjoyment among young adults, which in turn is linked to healthy psychological and social development.
A study by the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health looked at the linkage among three developmental assets — self-esteem, autonomy and empathy — and three measures of sexual pleasure among young adult women and men in established opposite-sex relationships. They are regularity of orgasm, enjoyment of receiving oral sex and enjoyment of performing oral sex. Among the young women, measures of self-esteem, autonomy, and empathy are positively associated with the three types of sexual pleasure, the Journal of Adolescent Health reports.
Young men are more likely to report the highest level of all three types of sexual enjoyment. For example, nearly nine out of 10 young men report having an orgasm most or all of the time they have sex with their partner, while less than half of young women experience orgasm so frequently when they have sex with their partner, according to Johns Hopkins statement.