Sex Psychology

Landmark Catholic book on the psychology of sexuality.

The Sexual Revolution that has brought such misery to the lives of millions actually began with the triumph of Freudian psychology—but even then, Freud’s most formidable opponent, Georgetown and Catholic University psychologist Rudolf Allers, was composing this enormously successful guide. Both practical and innovative, it is the earliest handbook on Christian sexuality. Completely rejecting Freud’s over-emphasis on sex, Dr. Allers begins by answering three questions:

 

Just what part does sex play in the human personality?

What importance does it have in forming your children’s or grandchildren’s character?

How does sex manifest itself during the stages of character development?

Dr. Allers then proceeds to lay out a sound psychology of sex—with crucial advice for instructing the young—wherein sex takes its place within a hierarchy of values crowned by moral and religious truths.Some of Dr. Allers’ useful (often arresting) advice:

 

Step-by-step guidelines for how and when to instruct your children on sexual matters

What should parents do if their children don’t ask them about sex?

How close observation can reveal when “sex questions” are on their minds

Why information about sex should always be given privately

Why classroom sex instruction often creates antipathy in students

How some kids will “cue” you when they have questions about sex, even when they don’t ask them openly

The awakening of sex consciousness in puberty: how it can be harnessed to contribute to moral growth

How premature sexual experience creates a serious obstacle to the development of maturity and personality—with results that frequently cannot be undone

The tremendous harm to teenagers caused by the superstition that “unless sexual satisfaction is obtained, life is unhappy”

Right and wrong ways to instruct adolescents on the means of of preserving their purity

Why modesty is the principal means of safeguarding youths

Two principles that together comprise the essence of modest conduct

Sex deviations in adolescence and adulthood: their causes, and relations to other mental disturbances

The “unsocial attitude” at the root of all perversions

Bisexual tendencies in adolescence: nearly always the result of a particular kind of uncertainty

How self-abuse harms the personality, rather than the body or mind. Ways to conquer it

Homosexuality: causes and remedies. Why it is definitely not an unavoidable innate perversion

Making small sacrifices: its crucial role in teaching about sex

Why even habits require an inner consent—and are never acquired in a wholly involuntary manner

The two fundamental principles of love without which sexual appetite cannot become love

Sex differences between men and women. Developmental differences between boys and girls

How sexual behavior (and misbehavior) is a sensitive indicator of one’s whole personality

Pitfalls of the “hygienic” approach: Why fear of disease does not alone suffice to enforce correct behavior

Preparation for matrimony

Sexual difficulties in matrimony: causes and remedies

“Needless to say,” Dr. Allers explains, “the views and opinions expressed in this volume presuppose an education penetrated with Catholic spirit, thoroughly consonant with Catholic thought.”“Recommended most urgently.”

“An authoritative volume — recommended to every cultured teacher or parent. ... His philosophy is sound, his science is that of an expert.” — Catholic World (c. 1938)

Hardcover