Development of masturbation in college women.

To elucidate a number of hypotheses about the development of sexual responsivity in women, a random sample of 100 undergraduate women was interviewed about their masturbation histories, techniques in masturbation, and the relationship of masturbation to intercourse. Masturbation had been practiced by 74%. It began most commonly as an accidental discovery. Learning the sexual nature of masturbation from peers and written sources seemed to result in methods more imitative of heterosexual activities and to increase the enjoyment and goal-directedness of the behavior. The view that experiencing sexual pleasure depends on social transmission of scripts was thus supported. Several techniques were related to orgasm ability in masturbation and intercourse. Women who were orgasmic in masturbation and who masturbated with that goal were more likely to continue the behavior than those with other goals. Frequency of masturbation and frequency of intercourse were not related, failing to support the notion of a unitary "sex drive". Nor was "clitoral fixation" documented by any relationship between reliance on clitoral stimulation in both masturbation and intercourse. Masturbating to orgasm was not related to orgasm ability in intercourse.