Hooked: New Science on How Casual Sex is Affecting Our Children

This should be added to every sex ed class. It gives a great read on more than just the body but what the brain goes through. I bet if more kids read this BEFORE they had sex, they may double think or at least give pause. Parents/guardians/grandparents, buy this book and leave it laying around for the young people in your lives -- it could make a real difference!

In our present media and popular culture, much is being said and believed about human sexuality (especially for and by those under 25) that psychologically and emotionally is not real and not true. Amid all of the popular agendas and hype, HOOKED can give you some objective facts about our human body and psychology concerning sex without marriage. Most people know little about the roles of oxytocin and vasopressin. Scientists are now beginning to see and understand the effects of sexual involvement that can last a lifetime. Sex can and should be a positive experience. It should be the intimate interaction between two persons who care for each other. (p.18)The messenger chemical Dopamine makes a person feel good when he or she does something exciting or rewarding.But the beneficial effect of dopamine for the married couple is that it "addicts" them to sex with each other.Another neurochemical that is critically important to healthy sex and bonding is Oxytocin. While it is present in both genders, it is primarily active in females. (p. 35)When a couple is involved in even a short-term relationship and breaks up and then each moves on to a new sexual partner, they are breaking an oxytocin bond that has formed. This severing of the bond explains the incredibly painful emotions people often feel when they break up. Vasopressin seems to have two primary functions related to relationships--bonding of the man to his mate and attachment toy his offspring. Due to the remarkable structural similarity between oxytocin and vasopressin, it should come as no surprise that these two neurochemicals share similar activity. Often referred to as the "monogamy molecule," vasopressin seems to I be the primary cause of men attaching to women with whom they have close and intimate physical contact. The longer people are together, the stronger their bond can become. When that bond is broken, more damage is done than simply the loss of the relationship. The neurochemical imprint of that sexual experience remains, often for many years, impeding the very bonding process that leads to future healthy relationships. (p. 77)HOOKED is well worth purchasing and reading, especially for the price that I received at Amazon.

This book has terrific content and for those who want to learn about this topic or wonder how to teach their children, peers or anyone about sex before marriage. A magnificent learning/teaching tool!In short, the book describes what Sex really is, what counts as Sex according to the brain and then explains all the psychological and emotional repercussions on the brain as a consequence to any kind of sexual activity.Every statement is supported with facts and stats and this is another huge argument as to why we should wait to be involved in sexual activity until we're in a truly lifelong relationship (usually only found in marriage).This book does not talk about God, or faith. Every argument is purely scientific and based on statistics and recent studies. A little preview.Reasons to remain Abstinent:1.- Possible Sexually Transmitted Disease (as of 2008 more than 70 million americans were living with some kind of sexually transmitted infection and each year, a whopping 19 million new cases are contracted)2.- Possible Pregnancy3.- The REAL Psychological and Emotional Risks one takes while having "casual sex" (there's no condom or contraceptive for protecting the influences of sex on the brain) backed up with results from recent studies.This book is the real deal and it is a great tool for parents, teachers and religious people who'd like to have more arguments as to why we should be abstinent outside of marriage. It scientifically shows how and why we are made to share this part of our lives with only one person. We were created that way.HIGHLY RECCOMENDED!

I've been looking for a book on this subject for a while. I always KNEW there must be a correlation between sex and the mind...because I've known for a while that when women have sex, oxytocin is released and this helps to create a bond (same thing happens when women breastfeed). I would think to myself, but what happens to promiscuous women? They are constantly creating bonds, then abruptly breaking them, so this MUST have a damaging effect on the brain, right? So I found this book and it is absolutely amazing. It is a VERY easy read and super short so there is NO excuse for you not to read it. When my daughter is an adolescent, I will make her read it too. As a society, all we are concerned with is STD's and pregnancy...but the REAL danger is the effects of sex on the brain...because casual sex becomes addictive almost and the risks of STD's, pregnancy, etc become even higher. I initially checked this out from my local library..but halfway through I decided to purchase a copy because it has so much great information. This book is great for people who are anti-religion as...it never brings it up! It also discusses the maturing of the adolescent mind. I've always known that the cerebral cortex (responsible for decision making) does not fully develop until your mid 20s which is why teens need so much guidance. Please please read this book, especially if you are a parent or someone who wants to know more about how sex has affected your mind.

Please FINISH the entire book, these doctors have shown the findings of current Scientific research to benefit ALL humans on a daily basis. I find it compatible with teachings from my understandings from my education as a Pastor Counselor of over 50 years. Thank you for this work!

This book is a must if you have children and as a Parent and you want your children to have a happy marriage .

Extremely educational in simple terms. I used this book to inform boys at a camp....

This book combines two priorities, on the one hand it is an interesting summary of psychological, neurochemical and imaging medicine for lay readers. It is well referenced and easy to read.On the other hand it seeks to justify and defend traditional family values, the judicious choice of a life partner and particularly focusses on the emotional havoc done by multiple short term sexual relations. In this it is plentifully furnished with short testimonials, has a gentle, persuasive and sympathetic tone.There are plenty of illuminating sociological statistics which highlight just how caustic an amoral lifestyle is:*80% of unwed teen fathers don't marry the mother of their baby.*20% of 12-18 yr oral contraceptive users get pregnant within 6 months.*cohabiting couples show much more violence than married couples, are more likely to divorce if they do marry after cohabiting than those don't cohabit first, most cohabiting relationships break up or end up in marriage after 2 year.*Unfaithfulness is reported 4 x more often by cohabitees than married couples.*in one sample (NCPT 2007), 70% of female and 55% of male high school students wish they had waited rather than rushed into sex.So far so good, but the problem is that very often the science is used to justify the ethics in a way that seems stretched and speculative. The retrospective claim about the development of the brain is used to justify waiting till personal judgement is better settled in the 20s - good sense, but is this conclusion really vindicated by MRI and PET studies per se? The overemphasis on the importance of oxytocin and vasopressin in bonding is claimed to justify not rushing for a 'quick fix' - is this really demonstrated by case control studies with behvioural correlation? - I don't see the evidence here if so. Dopamine is described rather simplistically as the risk/reward hormone, and promiscuity to a kind of addiction to a 'dopamine rush'. All this looks tendentious, and may mislead parents into simplistic and mechanistic discussions.This book is illuminating, sympathetic and well intentioned, but it also suffers a serious flaw. There are vital moral grounds for the sanctity of marriage. These need to be championed vigorously, and our societies have vandalised them at tremendous cost to our children. However trying to sneak these precepts in under the guise of over-extrapolated science is unnecessary and needlessly gives detractors legitimate fuel for criticism.

Like any book, take from it what rings true for you. Hooked discusses the pitfalls about boys/girls & men/women acting on sexual attraction towards each other prior to marriage. Becoming sexually active and living with a partner prior to marriage seem to be the norm with people today, but the book explains (through scientific information and statistical analysis) how these can negatively affect the quality of our partner relationships and the comprehension of healthy companionship for our children as they get older.I would primarily recommend this book to teenagers and parents. It would also be excellent for educators.It's an interesting read if anything and it certainly makes you think about your sexual experiences and your relationships.

I would like to share my experience with 'Superbookdeals' who is the supplier of this book. Unfortunately, I never received this book and would have love to read it. My rating is for 'Superbookdeals' who, in my opinion does not even deserve a quarter of a star, after how poorly and badly they have treated me.I ordered this book in February, it never arrived. 'Superbookdeals' asked me if I could wait another 9 days or so. Books were still not delivered. 'Superbookdeals' wanted me to hang on for a few more days, but I have lost confident and wanted them to just refund me the money. They mentioned that the refund will be in my account within 3 days. Of course, that was another lie. Having e-mailed with them for quite some time, and put a lot of time in this, I was advised to contact Amazon directly. Amazon has been of a great help.I would advise everyone to directly buy from Amazon, rather than 'Superbookdeals' who is a supplier via Amazon. The choice is up to you.