New research suggests that the psychological consequences of masturbation are not strictly tied to its frequency. Rather, individuals’ perceptions of their masturbation habits and the alignment between their actual and desired frequencies play crucial roles. The new findings have been published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior.
Previous research has hinted at a complex relationship between masturbation and mental health. While some studies have suggested that masturbation can have positive effects on mood and stress reduction, others have raised concerns about excessive or problematic masturbation and its potential links to emotional distress. These conflicting findings led scientists to embark on a more comprehensive investigation.
“As I was doing the literature review for Sensate Focus Sex Therapy and sexual dysfunction, the term ‘masturbation’ was mentioned several times in different contexts,” said study author Sijia (Leslie) Huang, a master’s candidate in clinical psychology at Columbia University Teachers College.
“Some studies suggest that masturbation can play a role in helping with some sexual dysfunctions, whereas other studies argue that masturbation can develop into compulsive sexual behavior with the contribution of pornography.
“Also, in many cultures and religions, sex outside of reproductive purposes, such as masturbation, is strongly discouraged. Due to these controversies, I am curious about how ‘problematic masturbation’ can be defined and how it relates to individuals’ mental health.”
The researchers conducted their study using a sample of 12,271 Finnish twins and their siblings aged between 18 and 49 years. The data for this study were collected from two separate data collections in 2005 and 2006. The participants were part of the Genetics of Sex and Aggression project, which aimed to investigate various aspects of human sexuality, including sexual behavior and its variations, as well as psychopathology such as anxiety and depression.
Participants were asked about their masturbation frequency – how often they engaged in this activity. They were also asked about their desired masturbation frequency, providing insight into their personal preferences. Participants’ sexual distress was measured using a scale that assessed their feelings of anxiety, guilt, stress, inadequacy, regrets, embarrassment, and dissatisfaction related to their sexuality.
One of the most surprising findings is that how often one masturbates may not be the sole determinant of their mental well-being. The study revealed that men, on average, masturbated more frequently than women. Men, on average, masturbated approximately 3.18 times per week, while women reported an average frequency of 1.62 times per week. This difference in frequency was statistically significant.
However, men did not report higher levels of sexual distress than women. Instead, what seemed to matter more was how individuals felt about their masturbation habits.
Both men and women who masturbated more or less than desired tended to report higher levels of sexual distress. This suggests that it’s not the mere act of masturbation but rather the perception of control over one’s sexual behaviors that influences mental well-being.
Men had a slightly negative gap between actual and desired masturbation frequency (-0.47), meaning they masturbated slightly less than desired on average. Women had a near-zero gap between actual and desired masturbation frequency (-0.01), indicating they were closer to their desired frequency.
The study revealed that defining “problematic masturbation” can be challenging and depends on various criteria. Different assessments, such as frequency higher than desired, frequency higher than average, or experiencing sexual distress resulted in different proportions of individuals categorized as having problematic masturbation.
For example, a significant portion of both men (30.2%) and women (11.9%) reported masturbating more frequently than desired. In contrast, 8.3% of men reported masturbating more than desired and also experiencing sexual distress, while 2.7% of women reported the same. Only 2% of men and 0.6% of women who masturbated more frequently than average perceived their masturbation as problematic.
“People generally experience some levels of distress if their desired masturbation frequency does not match with their actual masturbation frequency,” Huang told PsyPost. “However, the conceptualization of ‘problematic masturbation’ is tricky and there is no one-size-fit-all answer.”
Huang also noted that “a small number of people actually masturbate less frequently than average, but still believe that their masturbation habit is problematic and are experiencing higher levels of distress.”
In particular, 6.3% of men and 2.1% of women who masturbated less frequently than the average still regarded their masturbation as problematic.
“This may be explained by the fact that those people just masturbate more often than they wish they would be, and may feel the inability in controlling their behavior and are therefore very disturbed by it,” Huang explained. “I think this suggests that how people perceive their behavior is essential, perhaps more important than the exact frequency that they engage in the behavior.”
The study also explored the impact of childhood trauma and family background on self-perceived problematic masturbation. It found that individuals who had experienced childhood sexual abuse were more likely to perceive their masturbation habits as problematic. Conversely, growing up in a sex-positive family environment appeared to reduce feelings of distress related to masturbation.
While this study provides valuable insights, it’s essential to acknowledge its limitations. The research relied on participants’ self-reported data, which might introduce bias or errors. Additionally, the data collection took place over a decade ago, and societal attitudes toward sexuality may have evolved since then. Future research should consider these limitations and aim to explore causational relationships and idiosyncratic masturbation behaviors in more detail.
“With the increasing use of pornography, future research should focus on how pornography relates to problematic masturbation and sexual distress,” Huang said.
The study, “Actual and Desired Masturbation Frequency, Sexual Distress, and Their Correlates“, was authored by Sijia Huang, Thomas J. Nyman, Patrick Jern, and Pekka Santtila.