Operationalizing premature or rapid ejaculation

The ejaculatory behavior of 260 men was explored using eight different criteria for assessing premature or rapid ejaculation (RE). Estimates of the prevalence of RE were found to be sensitive to variations in RE operationalization, with very few to more than half of the men in the current sample classified as having RE depending upon which of several RE operationalizations were used. Twenty‐three percent of the men identified themselves as having an RE problem. The various RE criteria were only moderately intercorrelated, indicating that they measure separate aspects of RE. Discriminant function analysis identified three components to men's self‐identification as having a current RE problem: a behavioral component, an affective component, and an efficacy component. Only frequency of intercourse, and not age, sexual experience, rushed early intercourse experiences, or negative early intercourse experiences, was associated with having a self‐identified RE problem. Assessment and etiological issues related to RE are discussed.