Paul Harris and Anushka Asthana, writing in The Guardian, asked for Psychologist Roy Shuttleworth’s opinion surrounding the female couger.
And if the phenomenon is a reality in the US, then psychologists say it is sure to be thriving here as well. “It is interesting from a sexual point of view because there is evidence that men are at their sexual peak in their late teens and early 20s while women reach it closer to 40,” said Roy Shuttleworth, a clinical psychologist based in London. “A young man may be full of testosterone but have a limited clue as what he should do with it. If an older woman showed him a few tricks they could experience the same level of intensity.”
Shuttleworth argued that another reason young men and women sometimes sought older partners was that they were leaving home and wanted a paternal or maternal figure. That could result in problems, however, when they reached their mid or late 20s and decided they wanted a playmate instead, he added: “The danger in any relationship is that we change in our needs.” As for “cougars”, Shuttleworth argued that older men dating younger women would never be treated in such a demeaning manner.