Orgasm Consistency: How Does It Affect Satisfaction?
Women’s orgasms consistency appears to have a curvilinear relationship with sexual and relational satisfaction, while men’s consistency has a linear association, a recent study reports.
In other words, women’s orgasm consistency is associated with greater sexual and relational satisfaction, but only to a certain threshold. After that, the situation changes.
The authors defined orgasm consistency as “the percentage of times an individual experiences orgasm during partnered sexual activities.”
The study, published in December 2020 in the Journal of Sexual Medicine, analyzed data from two groups of sexually active adults (2066 women and 1,238 men) All of the participants had been in a committed relationship for at least two years.
Questionnaires were used to assess orgasm consistency, sexual satisfaction, and relationship satisfaction.
Approximately 64% of the women and almost 90% of the men said they reached orgasm during at least 61% of their sexual encounters, as the following chart illustrates:
| 0%-20% of the time |
21%-40% of the time |
41%-60% of the time |
61%-80% of the time |
81-100% of the time |
|
| Women
(n=2066) |
326 | 179 | 244 | 437 | 880 |
| Men
(n=1,238) |
22 | 33 | 71 | 155 | 957 |
When analyzing results for sexual and relational satisfaction, the researchers found a linear association for men. Increases in orgasm consistency were related to similar increases in satisfaction.
“Simply put, the more consistent orgasms were, the more men reported higher levels of satisfaction in their relational and sexual experience,” the authors wrote.
The women’s results were not linear. The researchers explained, “For women, with each unit increase in orgasm consistency, the increase in sexual satisfaction and relationship satisfaction became progressively smaller. Past the 61-80% threshold for orgasm consistency, there was little gain in sexual satisfaction and no gain in relational satisfaction.”
Healthcare providers may consider these results when counseling women with orgasm concerns. While orgasms can contribute to women’s sexual and relational satisfaction, women can still feel satisfied if they don’t orgasm all the time.
“Giving women the freedom to acknowledge and accept their own unique sexual characteristics may help alleviate anxiety, which could potentially benefit their sexual functioning and enjoyment,” the authors concluded.
Resources
- The Journal of Sexual Medicine - “When Is Enough Enough? Orgasm’s Curvilinear Association With Relational and Sexual Satisfaction”
Leavitt, Chelom E., PhD, et al.
(Full-text. Published: https://www.jsm.jsexmed.org/article/S1743-6095(20)30938-3/fulltext)
