Measuring the Subjective Orgasm Experience in Masturbation

What is it about?

Orgasm is a component of the sexual response that is an important indicator of sexual health and satisfaction. Traditionally, most attention has been paid to the physiological dimension of orgasm; however, recent research has begun to focus on its subjective dimension. The subjective orgasm experience refers to the assessment and perception of the psychological qualities of orgasm. This experience has been assessed in the context of sexual relationships with the Orgasm Rating Scale (ORS). This instrument includes a list of 25 descriptive adjectives of the orgasm experience rated on a response scale from 0 "does not describe it at all" to 5 "describes it perfectly". These adjectives are grouped into four dimensions: Affective, referring to the feelings experienced during orgasm (e.g., Satisfying); Sensory, which alludes to the perception of the physiological sensations of orgasm (e.g., Throbbing); Intimacy, which collects items reflecting the intimate aspect of the orgasm experience (e.g., Tender); and Reward, which includes items referring to the rewarding consequences or effects of orgasm (e.g., Relaxing). There is limited information about the subjective orgasm experience in solitary masturbation, possibly because of the scarcity of valid instruments that can assess it in this context. For this reason, this study validate the Orgasm Rating Scale in the context of solitary masturbation, examining its psychometric properties and analyzing its association with related variables such as sexual attitudes and sexual functioning. This study confirmed the multidimensional structure that the ORS has in the context of sexual relationships, i.e., the four dimensions outlined above. The orgasmic intensity in masturbation was positively related to positive attitude towards sexuality in general or erotophilia, positive attitude towards sexual fantasies, solitary sexual desire, sexual arousal, orgasmic facility and orgasm satisfaction, and negatively related to the negative attitude towards masturbation. In addition, those with lower sexual functioning in their sexual relationships showed significantly lower orgasmic intensity in the context of solitary masturbation. Therefore, these results show that the Orgasm Rating Scale is a good instrument to assess the subjective orgasm experience in the context of solitary masturbation. Moreover, its measures are related to important indicators for sexual health such as sexual attitudes or sexual functioning.

Featured Image

Photo by Jonas Frey on Unsplash

Photo by Jonas Frey on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Considering the relevance of masturbation practice in the context of sex therapy, it would be interesting to consider this instrument as part of the orgasm assessment, and in particular, in the context of solitary masturbation.

Perspectives