Masturbatory Behavior and Feelings: An Exploratory Study of Indian Immigrant Men in Australia

ABSTRACT

Objectives: Sexual problems associated with masturbation (especially intense negative feelings) are commonly reported among Indian subcontinental men. Yet there is a paucity of scientific information about masturbatory behavior and feelings. Much of the available information is either from clinic-based studies or from studies involving young Indians. Methods: The present study, using a community sample of Indian men in Australia, aimed to explore their masturbatory behavior and feelings. Results: Overall, 268 men took part in an online survey, and 221 of these men completed the section on masturbation. Some demographic characteristics of the study sample were comparable to those of the Indian community in Australia. A large proportion (n = 174, 79%) reported that they currently masturbate, while the rest said they never masturbated (n = 9, 4%) or did masturbate in the past but not at present (n = 38, 17%). Among those who currently masturbate, the mean age of onset of masturbation was 14.9 years. Married men tended to masturbate less frequently than unmarried men. The most common mode, source of stimuli, and reason for masturbation were using hands (n = 162, 95%), watching erotic material on the Internet (n = 136, 81%), and to gain pleasure (n = 137, 79%), respectively. A high proportion (n = 114, 66%) of Indian men who currently masturbate said that they experienced positive feelings when masturbating. Conclusions: Masturbatory feelings of Indian men were found to differ by length of residence in Australia but not by degree of acculturation or age. The present exploratory study has provided baseline information about masturbation among Indian men and indicates the need for further research.     

Masturbation as a Means of Achieving Sexual Health

Abstract

Research on masturbation has indicated that, contrary to traditional beliefs, masturbation has been found to be a common sexual behavior and linked to indicators of sexual health. While there are no general indicators of ill health associated with masturbation, it can be powerfully negative or positive for many individuals. As an example, it is widely used in sex therapy as a means of improving the sexual health of the individual and/or relationship. Promoting masturbation as a means of a public health strategy for sexual health is highly controversial; however, there are arguments and evidence that suggest that this may be an important part of any public health approach to improving sexual health. There is a need for more research on the impact of masturbation on self-esteem, body image, sexual functioning and sexual satisfaction and methods for using masturbation to promote sexual health. There is also a need for more of a theoretical approach to the formation of hypotheses to be tested.     

Using Masturbation in Sex Therapy

Abstract

Masturbation may be useful in treating hypoactive sexual desire disorder. To examine this possibility, the current study examined the relationships between masturbation, sexual desire, sexual fantasy, and dyadic sexual activity. The relationships between masturbation and other constructs were also examined: overall sexual dysfunction, relationship satisfaction, life stress, and sexual attitudes. Mediational analyses suggest several causal pathways between masturbatory desire, masturbatory frequency, sexual fantasy, sexual desire, and sexual activity. Developing a model of masturbation may help illustrate its role in sexual functioning and highlight its potential role in sex therapy.     

Masturbation in a Generational Perspective

Abstract

Each generation has adopted views on masturbation via transforming cultural definitions of sexuality and normality. This article presents how masturbation habits have changed during the last decades in different generations and how these habits are linked to the partnership status. The analysis is based on three national follow-up sex surveys in Finland (in 1971, in 1992, and in 1999), and sex surveys in Sweden (in 1996), in Estonia (in 2000), and in St. Petersburg, Russia (in 1996).

Across these countries, each new generation had been more active in masturbation than the previous one. However, in Estonia masturbation had increased in each generation about 20 years later and in St. Petersburg about 30 years later than in Finland and Sweden. The increase in masturbation was almost unrelated to the relationship status and to the years spent in the relationship. The masturbation habits that each generation had internalized in adolescence seemed to remain unchanged through the course of their lives. The implications of these findings are that masturbation did not decrease with age and that masturbation was not a compensation for a missing sex partner but an independent way to gain sexual pleasure. The results indicate that masturbation is linked to the perceptions within a given culture of its nature and consequences during the teenage years of participants.