A study published in The Journal of Sexual Medicine provides new insights into the relationship between masturbation and sexual outcomes in women. The research suggests that increasing alignment between masturbation and partnered sexual activities could result in improved orgasmic response and lower orgasmic difficulty.
“Many women, perhaps as high as 30-40%, experience some-to-great difficulty reaching orgasm during heterosexual partnered sex, particularly if the primary form of stimulation occurs through penile-vaginal intercourse,” said study author David L. Rowland, a psychology professor at Valparaiso University.
“The issue is relevant because sometimes masturbation by women is “prescribed” as a way of improving orgasmic probability during partnered sex. But masturbation has also been hypothesized to interfere with orgasmic response during partnered sex.”
“The rationale for the first hypothesis is that women who learn and know their pleasure points are more likely to find ways to orgasm than those that don’t; the rationale for the second hypothesis is that women who use stimulatory techniques for masturbation (e.g., vibrator, or strong direct clitoral stimulation) may find it more difficult to reach orgasm during partnered sex because the stimulation from intercourse does not simulate the stimulation during masturbation,” Rowland said.
The researchers surveyed 2,215 women living in the United States and Hungary, and found that the women reported having sex with their partner twice a week on average and masturbating once every two weeks on average.
The vast majority of women reported using clitoral stimulation during masturbation, while only about half reported using vaginal stimulation during masturbation. Nearly all women who reporting using clitoral or vaginal stimulation during masturbation also included it during partnered sex.
But only 53% of women who used a particular body position and 48% who engaged in anal stimulation during masturbation also regularly used the respective activities during partnered sex. Just 38% of women who engaged in sexual fantasy and 36% of women who used aids such as vibrators during masturbation included such activities when having sex with their partner.
Masturbation frequency was unrelated to orgasmic experience during partnered sex. But the researchers found that the greater the overlap between masturbatory activities and partnered sex activities, the more likely women were to overcome orgasmic difficulty, to experience orgasm, and to experience greater orgasmic pleasure.
“In and of itself, women who masturbate experience no particular advantage or disadvantage insofar as reaching orgasm during partnered sex. However, women who show greater similarity between the behaviors/techniques they use for stimulation during masturbation and the type of stimulation that occurs during partnered sex report lower orgasmic difficulty than women who report disparate stimulation techniques during these types of activities,” Rowland told PsyPost.
In addition, women with lower alignment between their masturbatory activities and partnered sex activities were more likely to report preferring masturbation over sex with their partner.
“The results iterate the importance of the woman’s communication with her partner regarding the types of stimulation that will most likely enhance her probability of reaching orgasm, often simulating techniques that may be used to reach orgasm during masturbation,” Rowland said.
The researchers also found that overall relationship characteristics were associated with orgasmic outcomes.
“Not surprisingly, relationship satisfaction is a key variable in understanding the above results. In general, women who are more satisfied with their relationship with their partner tend to have lower orgasmic difficulty,” Rowland explained.
“This relationship is likely bi-directional. Women who have greater sexual satisfaction during partnered sex enjoy the intimacy with their partner, thus enhancing their relationship. At the same time, women who have a better relationship with their partner are likely better at communicating their sexual needs to them, thus increasing their potential for arousal and orgasm.”
The study, “Relationship Between Masturbation and Partnered Sex in Women: Does the Former Facilitate, Inhibit, or Not Affect the Latter?“, was authored by David L. Rowland, Krisztina Hevesi, Gabrielle R. Conway, and Tiffany N. Kolba.
