Dimensions of subjective female orgasmic responsiveness.

Results of psychological research show that although female orgasm appears to be a single process physiologically, subjective reports by women indicate that individual differences in their experience are multidimensional. The basis for the discrepant findings was analyzed in 2 studies of reported orgasmic experiences in women. One sample of 115 sexually experienced women (aged 18–52 yrs) yielded data that replicated the finding that coital and masturbatory orgasmic responsiveness can be statistically distinguished and independently assessed, thus indicating that sample selection associated with prior research could not explain the result. A separate sample of 101 sexually experienced women (aged 18–58 yrs) were given an instrument that assessed coital responsiveness but differentiated masturbatory responsiveness into dimensions associated with masturbation when alone and with a partner without intercourse. A confirmatory factor analysis substantiated the existence of the 3 dimensions of female orgasm. However, female orgasmic responsiveness was highly correlated across the 3 dimensions so that it was possible to isolate a large 2nd-order factor of general orgasmic responsiveness that is consistent with most of the physiological evidence on the unitary nature of orgasm. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)