Are dominance and submission inevitable in human relationships? Believing that sadomasochism is becoming an obtrusive phenomenon in developed countries, this book surveys 48 self-declared sadomasochists (43 male, 5 female) and 35 controls (26 male, 9 female) in an effort to elicit information on early family relationships and morale.

Are dominance and submission inevitable in human relationships? Believing that sadomasochism is becoming an ever more obtrusive phenomenon in developed countries, the author surveyed 48 self-declared sadomasochists (43 male, 5 female) and 35 controls (26 male, 9 female) in an effort to elicit information on early family relationships, morale, and sexual behavior and fantasy; she also looks at the philosophy of masochism and its damaging effects.

I: Introduction. 1. Freud's writings on masochism examined in detail. 2. Survey of psychological literature (1925 onwards). 3. Review of empirical studies on sadomasochism. 4. An integrated psychodynamic model of masochism. II: An empirical investigation of sadomasochism. 5. The Adult Attachment Interview. 6. The `emotional' Stroop task. 7. The Beck Depression Inventory. 8. Questionnaires concerning chronicity, practice and motivation of sadomasochism. 9. Discussion. III: Conclusion. 10. The philosophy of sadomasochism and its effects. Appendices. References. Index.