Yesterday’s papers all carried stories about how intelligent women apparently have better sex. So does IQ means that women are less likely to suffer from female sexual dysfunction? Well, not entirely. The study, done by scientists from Kings College London, actually focused on emotional intelligence, defined as “the ability to identify emotions of one’s self and others”.
Examining results from a survey of over 2,000 women, the researchers did find that there was a link between emotional intelligence and the frequency of orgasms. They focused on twins aged between 18 and 83, taking into account that twins were likely to be more alike than women who were unrelated. The survey included questions on the frequency respondents achieved orgasm through intercourse and masturbation, with a follow-up questionnaire exploring emotional intelligence through the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire, a measure of global emotional intelligence. They also examined whether other factors might play a role, such as body mass index, age, educational level or a history of physical or mental abuse, but found that emotional intelligence was not altered by these factors.
The researchers discovered that better emotional intelligence would affect a women’s ability to explain her desires to her partner and also her ability to function sexually. Those women in the lowest quarter of emotional intelligence were twice more likely to have orgasms infrequently compared to those in the top quarter. They therefore concluded in the peer-reviewed Journal of Sexual Medicine that emotional intelligence was a risk factor that should be taken into account when treating and researching treatments for female sexual dysfunction.