Sociopsychological characteristics of patients obtaining vasectomies from urologists.

This article is part of a longitudinal evaluation of effects of vasectomy on behavior and personality. 48 subjects who obtained vasectomies from a urologist in the San Diego area during a 9 month interval in 1961 were the subjects of this study. Model age was 28 years; they had been married for a modal 4 years, and had a modal number of 3 children. They had tried other contraceptives and were dissatisfied with them for various reasons. The respondents filled out a special questionnaire and a Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). The questionnaire was on the reasons for wanting the operation, use of other contraceptives, attitudes, etc. The results indicated that for the majority the stated reasons for not wanting additional children were socioeconomic. 1/3 of the men were college graduates who regarded themselves as in good or excellent health, and who were overwhelmingly Protestant. 14 of the 48 respondents stated that the operation was advised by a physician. The men were not overanxious and did not show an extreme tendency for pathology of any sort. The conclusion drawn from this sample is that the subjects were motivated primarily by rational considerations and were relatively free of unconscious neurotic concern about the consequences of the operation.