Being circumcised as an infant can result in major psychological effects in later life, an international team of academics have concluded.
Circumcised men are more likely to be emotionally unstable and exhibit borderline sexual behaviour, the joint study coordinated by Aarhus University and Aarhus University Hospital that assessed the long-term psychological effects of circumcision, concluded.
It also found that circumcised men are more likely to have stronger sexual drives, lower stress thresholds, and more difficulties attaching themselves to their partner.
"We would like to challenge the assumption that there are no late consequences of early circumcision beyond the purely physical ones due to the absence of foreskin", Michael Winterdahl of Aarhus University said in a statement.
"We know from previous studies that the combination of attachment to the partner and emotional stability is important in order to maintain a healthy relationship and thus family structure. A lack thereof can lead to frustrations and a perhaps more borderline sexual behaviour", Winterdahl added.
According to the researcher, the study links the state of stress that early circumcision triggers in the infant with altered behaviour that first manifests itself in adult life.
"Our findings are of particular interest to prospective parents who want to make an informed choice about circumcision on behalf of their child, but also appeal to anyone who wants to shed light on a very taboo subject that often gets drowned in an emotional discussion", Michael Winterdahl emphasised.
However, he stressed that the study as such doesn't point to pathological changes among circumcised men, emphasising that people as individuals vary "very much".
The study questioned 619 American men, of whom 408 were circumcised within the first month of their lives. The remainder were uncircumcised.
The circumcision of boys is generally practised by Muslims, Jews, and even some Christian branches, but is not necessarily limited to ritual or religious reasons. For instance, over half of all American men are circumcised, but their numbers are falling: in 1981 the rate was 64.9 percent of newborns, in 2007 it stood at 55.4 percent.
In recent years, circumcision has triggered debates, most notably in Europe amid a push for bodily autonomy and integrity. In 2018, a bill to ban non-medical circumcision of minors was introduced in Iceland, but was scrapped following an international outcry and accusations of anti-Semitism.
In 2020, a broad spectrum of Danish parties, backed by a slew of medical professionals, pushed for a blanket ban on ritual circumcision for boys, referring to female genital mutilation, which has been banned for decades, as an analogy.
The impending ban, however, spooked Denmark's Jewish community, which saw it as a violation of their cultural autonomy, a threat to the Jewish way of life and, notably, "the biggest crisis since World War II". Following the outrage, Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen condemned the bill and assured that Jews must "continue to be part of Denmark". The bill was eventually rubbished despite the support of 86 percent of Danes. However, the debate on the ethicality and medical benefits of circumcision lingers on, as witnessed from the study and its rationale.