Frankfurt (dpa) – Why is it that some people have never had sex, even well into adulthood? This is the question that an international research team hoped to answer in the largest study of its kind to date. The authors, publishing their study in the journal PNAS, found that virginity into later life is due to a complex mix of psychological, social and genetic factors. "Romantic and sexual relationships are often an important social support. Their absence is associated with loneliness, anxiety, depressive feelings and reduced well-being for many," said co-author Laura Wesseldijk from Germany's Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics (MPIEA) in Frankfurt. The research team, which included scientists from the Netherlands and Australia, analysed data from more than 400,000 people in the UK aged 39 to 73. Around 1% of them reported never having had sex. What do people without sexual experience have in common? This group was, on average, better educated but also lonelier, more anxious and less happy than those with sexual experience, the MPIEA reported. The researchers also found that lifelong virginity was more common in areas with greater income inequality. For men, physical characteristics also played a role: Men who had never had sex were more likely to be physically less strong. They also tended to live in regions with fewer women. About 15% of the differences in lifelong virginity could be explained by genetic factors. Co-author Abdel Abdellaoui from the University of Amsterdam explained: "Most striking is the overlap with genetic factors related to intelligence, education and neurological developmental disorders such as autism." The study also revealed that people who had never had sex were less likely to consume alcohol or drugs and were more likely to have worn glasses in their youth. "We see here a group of people who tend to be more socially withdrawn and therefore more often have difficulty finding a partner," commented co-author Brendan Zietsch from the University of Queensland in Australia. The following information is not intended for publication dpa sat yyhe n1 bok coh
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