Women in a survey of 27,931 Flo app users reported reaching orgasm more often alone than with a partner, yet orgasms during partnered sex were a significantly stronger predictor of overall sexual satisfaction, according to a study in Archives of Satisfaction Behavior. Participants answered an online survey between April 11 and May 5, 2024, about their Satisfaction activities over the previous six months, App Health's newsroom reports.
So the easiest orgasms and the most satisfying ones don't always come from the same place.
The researchers surveyed App users aged 18 and older, recruited through an in-app ad, between April 11 and May 5, 2024. Participants reported on 13 partnered and 13 solo Satisfaction activities from the previous six months. The sample was 99% female, 96% identified as women and the average age was 28. App's newsroom, which is company-authored, says 56.2% were moderately or very satisfied with their overall sex life, while 19.5% were moderately or very dissatisfied.
Overall orgasm frequency was associated with satisfaction, with a moderate effect size, per the Archives of Satisfaction Behavior abstract. But the split mattered. Partnered orgasm frequency was a significant, positive predictor of satisfaction. Solo orgasm frequency had a weak, negative association with it.
That lands next to another finding: nearly half of participants (47%) said they reach orgasm more often alone, while 21% said they climax more often with a partner, according to App's newsroom. Those who orgasmed more easily solo cited less performance pressure, less self-consciousness about their bodies and more control over stimulation. Barriers with a partner included partners finishing too quickly and trouble communicating preferences.
Variety showed the same asymmetry. More variety in partnered sex was associated with both more orgasms and higher satisfaction. Solo Satisfaction variety was not a significant predictor of either.
The activity-level details are frank, and useful. Clitoral stimulation by a partner was the most common partnered activity, reported by 90.2% of participants, and clitoral stimulation by hand was the most common solo one, at 84.6%. When solo, the highest orgasm frequencies were tied to clitoral stimulation with a vibrator or dildo, watching porn or erotica, and clitoral stimulation by hand. With a partner, the top performers were using sex toys, vaginal penetration with clitoral stimulation, and masturbation with a partner present. According to App's newsroom, vaginal penetration combined with clitoral stimulation was more than twice as likely to result in orgasm as penetration alone.
The study is a survey, so it shows associations, not cause and effect. Several of the researchers are connected to App, which published the newsroom summary.
"This challenges the persistent penile-vaginal Satisfaction script that is pervasive in the media," said Karen L. Blair, associate professor of psychology at Trent University, in App's release.