Abstract
Introduction: The relationship between masturbation activities and their effect on partnered sex is understudied.
Aim: The aim of this study was to assess the alignment of activities between masturbation and partnered sex, and to determine whether different levels of alignment affect orgasmic parameters during partnered sex.
Methods: 2,215 women completed an online survey about activities during masturbation and reasons for orgasmic difficulty during masturbation, and these were compared with activities and reasons for orgasmic difficulty during partnered sex.
Main Outcome Measure: Degree of alignment between masturbation activities and partnered sex activities was used to predict sexual arousal difficulty, orgasmic probability, orgasmic pleasure, orgasmic latency, and orgasmic difficulty during partnered sex.
Results: Women showed only moderate alignment regarding masturbation and partnered sex activities, as well as reasons for masturbation orgasmic difficulty and reasons for partnered sex orgasmic difficulty. However, those that showed greater alignment of activities showed better orgasmic response during partnered sex and were more likely to prefer partnered sex over masturbation.
Clinical Implications: Women tend to use less conventional techniques for arousal during masturbation compared with partnered sex. Increasing alignment between masturbation and partnered sexual activities may lead to better arousal and orgasmic response, and lower orgasmic difficulty.
Strength & Limitations: The study was well-powered and drew from a multinational population, providing perspective on a long-standing unanswered question. Major limitations were the younger age and self-selection of the sample.
Conclusion: Women that align masturbation stimulation activities with partnered sex activities are more likely to experience orgasm and enhanced orgasmic pleasure, with sexual relationship satisfaction playing an important role in this process.
Key Words:Masturbation, Partnered Sex, Orgasm, Women, Orgasmic Difficulty, Orgasmic Pleasure
Check also Women reporting the greatest difficulty reaching orgasm have the longest latencies & are likely to find masturbation more satisfying:
Orgasmic Latency and Related Parameters in Women During Partnered and Masturbatory Sex. David L. Rowland et al. J Sex Med 2018;XX:XXX–XXX. https://www.bipartisanalliance.com/2018/09/womens-and-mens-orgasmic-latencies.html
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DISCUSSION
This analysis afforded an in-depth look at the relationship
between masturbatory and partnered sex activities in a multinational sample of women. In addition, it has, for the first time
to our knowledge, provided an empirically based answer to the
question as to whether and how masturbation affects the experience of partnered sex.
Relationships Between Activities, and Reasons for Orgasmic Difficulty, During Masturbation and Partnered Sex
Activities
Most women included clitoral stimulation in masturbatory
activity, and of these women, nearly all included some form of
clitoral stimulation during partnered sex. Although only about
half the women included vaginal stimulation during masturbation, again, of these, nearly all included it during partnered sex.
Thus, for these 2 types of activities (vaginal and clitoral stimulation) during masturbation, there was significant generalization
to partnered sex. However, for other types of stimulation,
transferability from masturbation to partnered sex was much
lower: only about half the women who engaged in anal stimulation or used a particular body position during masturbation
also did so during partnered sex. In addition, the use of aids/
enhancements or sexual fantasies during masturbation often did
not translate to similar activities during partnered sex. Thus, we
found that although more conventional types of sexual activities6
show substantial transferability across sexual activities, those activities that are less common during masturbation, such as anal
stimulation, use of enhancements/aids, and sexual fantasies, did
not readily generalize to partnered sex. In this respect, not only
are the purposes/goals of masturbation and partnered sex quite
different,7,8,10 but the types of sexual stimulation used to achieve
arousal and orgasm (other than vaginal and clitoral) are quite
different as well. Indeed, we surmise that some women use less
conventional activities during masturbation precisely because
such activities may increase sexual arousal and orgasmic capacity,
yet these strong arousal techniques are often not included within
the repertoire of activities with the partner.
Reasons
A substantial number of women indicated difficulty reaching
orgasm during partnered sex due to “partner” issues, primarily a
lack of a good or sexually satisfying relationship. Beyond such
reasons for orgasmic difficulty during partnered sex, we found
moderate association between women’s reasons for orgasmic
difficulty during masturbation and those for orgasmic difficulty
during partnered sex. Specifically, women attributed their
orgasmic difficulty during both masturbation and partnered sex
to issues such as lack of adequate arousal/time, general or sexualspecific anxiety, medical/medication, and pain/discomfort. That
is, these factors were often invoked to explain general orgasmic
difficulty (whether masturbation or partnered sex) compared
with such factors as insufficient experience or general inhibition/
lack of interest. These latter attributions were used more
frequently to explain orgasmic difficulty during masturbation,
but less frequently during partnered sex. Perhaps most relevant
are the findings that lack of arousal/time and general and sexspecific anxiety were viewed as factors that interfere with
orgasmic response, no matter what the situation—findings that
align with other research identifying factors affecting orgasmic
response in women.36e40
Masturbation Predictors of Partnered Sexual Arousal and Orgasmic Parameters
As indicated in the regression model, individual reasons for,
and stimulation activities during, masturbation had no predictive
value in and of themselves on sexual arousal, orgasmic probability, or orgasmic response (latency, pleasure, and difficulty)
during partnered sex, the exception being that lack of satisfaction
during partnered sex was a reason for masturbation. Not surprisingly, these women typically reported lower orgasmic pleasure during partnered sex. Such findings are generally consistent
with research suggesting that those women who masturbate
enjoy no particular advantage in orgasmic capacity during partnered sex.24,33 Masturbation frequency, on the other hand, did
attenuate sexual arousal difficulties during partnered sex, suggesting that greater experience with masturbation—as is sometimes encouraged for women who struggle to reach orgasm
during partnered sex21—expands women’s sexual repertoire and
helps them identify sexual pleasure points and maximize stimulation efficacy during partnered sex.23 Our methodology, however, does not rule out other possible interpretations, for
example, that women who have less arousal difficulty during
partnered sex are also, for whatever reason, more likely to enjoy
masturbation and, thus, engage in it more frequently.
Regression analysis also affirmed the role of several other
covariates on sexual response during partnered sex, including age
and sexual relationship satisfaction, as had been reported elsewhere,9,41e43 with increasing values generally associated with
greater arousal and better orgasmic experiences (ie, greater
orgasmic probability, greater orgasmic pleasure, and less orgasmic
difficulty).
Alignment of Activities During Masturbation and Partnered Sex
Although masturbation per se does not enhance orgasmic
experience during partnered sex, orgasmic experience during
partnered sex is facilitated by aligning activities across masturbation and partnered sex, with such alignment likely imparting
benefits independent of whether orgasm is experienced as primarily a clitoral or primarily a vaginal phenomenon, a factor that
was not examined in this study. Consistent with our general
findings, de Bruijn29 concluded that sex play during partnered
sex that corresponded with masturbation techniques improved
orgasmic capacity during partnered sex. More recently, Kontula
and Meittinen25 concluded that masturbation activity that
typically included vaginal penetration was associated with better
responsivity during partnered sex. Our findings strongly support
this notion: the greater the alignment between masturbation and
partnered sex activities, the lower the arousal and orgasmic difficulty, the greater the duration of the sex (ensuring adequate
arousal), and the greater the probability of reaching orgasm.
Thus, masturbation can have significant positive effects on the
experience of partnered sex, as long as the types of activities share
at least some common stimulatory pathways. When alignment of
activities exceeded 75%, additional benefits were realized. Not
only, then, does alignment of activities impart positive effects on
the experience of partnered sex, but lack of alignment may be
detrimental to orgasmic likelihood and pleasure during partnered
sex, to the point where nonalignment of activities was more
characteristic of women who preferred masturbation over partnered sex. Although such assumptions by therapists have long
formed the rationale for guided masturbation exercises as a
means to improve sexual pleasure and satisfaction within relationships,44 the current findings are, to our knowledge, the first
to provide clear empirical evidence supporting such strategies in a
large multinational sample of women. Indeed, such findings
recapitulate the importance of addressing women’s sexual issues
within a relational context that stresses the value of sexual
communication, techniques that optimize arousal for women,
and overall relationship quality as important parameters for
sexual satisfaction.33,36,37,45
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