Psychoendocrinology of Human Sexual Behavior.

This up-to-date and important new work describes the relationship between psychological and hormonal factors found in human sexual behavior across the lifespan. The author’s discussion of human sexual behavior is organized according to developmental stage, starting with the fetus and concluding with senescence. Persky proposes that human sexual behavior is determined by a variety of factors, e.g. social, psychological, and endocrine, and ascertains the relative contribution of each of these factors to a range of sexual behaviors, attitudes, and feelings. Furthermore, he provides documentation that these determinants are interrelated in reciprocal fashion. In addition, by organizing his material within the Life Development model, Persky is able to present normal and abnormal psychoendocrine relationships which lead to sexual disorders.

HAROLD PERSKY is presently Emeritus Professor, Department of Psychiatry at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School, where he has also served as Director of the Psychoendocrinology Laboratory.