Partner satisfaction, as opposed to condom use, predicts symptoms of depression amongst women: A failure to replicate Gallup et al. (2002)

• It is hypothesized that ejaculates contain antidepressants.
• The antidepressants hypothesis was based on only one research project.
• Replication failed to support the antidepressant hypothesis.
• Partner satisfaction is a predictor of symptoms of depression.

Gallup et al. (2002) argued that women who never use condoms or less frequently receive more ejaculates which contain antidepressants such as prostaglandins, testosterone or oestrogen which enters the woman’s bloodstream several hours after intercourse. Although their study received considerable media attention, there was no attempt to replicate their findings. There is additionally a lack of theoretical assumptions which may explain the evolution of antidepressants in human male ejaculates. The original study of Gallup et al. (2002) with 261 Slovak women was replicated and found extremely inconsistent results in a comparison with their original research. In contrast to condom use, partner satisfaction was found to be a unique predictor of women’s symptoms of depression. Since no scientific theory may be built on a single research project, this study calls for replications of the original research.