Duration of sexual intercourse related to satisfaction: survey of Japanese married couples

Abstract

Purpose

Inappropriate intromission time causes sexual problems for couples, and therefore it is important for the couple to set treatment targets.

Methods

We investigated appropriate intromission times by conducting a questionnaire survey of the interval from initiation of insertion to just before ejaculation in Japanese married couples. A questionnaire survey of 300 married couples was conducted by mail.

Results

The estimated mean intromission times were 14.5 min (median: 10 min) for male subjects and 13.6 min (median: 10 min) for female subjects. The mean desired intromission time for female subjects was 15.7 min (median: 15 min). Regarding the difference between the actual and desired intromission times, the desired time was longer, the same, and shorter for 43.0%, 38.7%, and 18.3% of all the female subjects.

Conclusions

It seems that female subjects may consider a wide variety of intravaginal insertion times to be desirable. Accordingly, married couples need to improve communication regarding the desired duration of intromission and other related issues.

Introduction

Regarding the duration of sexual intercourse, the Kinsey Institute New report on sex, what you must know to be sexually literate, states that “the suitable time is the length of time during which the sex partners give sexual satisfaction to each other (expectant insertion time)” [1]. We considered that the appropriate duration of intromission may depend on the female partner's desired duration of sexual intercourse from insertion to ejaculation (desired intromission time). The reasons for this are that the duration of intromission depends on the timing of ejaculation after insertion, and the woman's desired intromission time generally corresponds to the time required for both partners to achieve sexual satisfaction, because men are satisfied by ejaculation [2]. It has been reported that there are 9.8 million men with moderate or severe erectile dysfunction (ED) in Japan [3] and that ED affects approximately 30% of married couples [4]. However, premature ejaculation is a sexual problem that affects more than 30% of men. At our department, the number of patients with ejaculatory problems that are refractory to treatment is increasing every year, with the highest rate being for early ejaculation (25.0%). Early ejaculation is not only a problem for men, but is a sexual problem for couples, and therefore it is important for the couple to communicate effectively and set treatment targets. Because men can be satisfied by ejaculation itself, the satisfactory intravaginal ejaculation latency time (T _ie) that allows both partners to achieve satisfaction may depend on the intromission time. Waldinger et al. [5] found national differences in the mean time from the beginning of vaginal penetration to immediately before ejaculation when they measured T _ie (median: 5.4 min) with a stopwatch in 500 married couples from 5 nations. Corty and Guardiani reported that the average sex therapist believes that intercourse lasting from 3 to 13 min is normative and generally not worthy of clinical concern [6].

In the present study, we investigated Japanese married couples having sexual intercourse at least once every 3 months to elucidate the difference between men's and women's awareness of women's coital pain. In addition, with reference to the female partner's desired duration of sexual intercourse, we attempted to determine whether women were satisfied with their present intromission times by comparing these with their desired duration of intromission.

Subjects, materials, and methods

The subjects of a public life survey, who have been registered with a research company, were asked via the internet “if you have periodic sexual intercourse with your partner” and about “frequency of sexual intercourse”, and those who replied by “I have periodic intercourse” and “frequency of sexual intercourse is more than once per 3 months” were confirmed to have an intention to cooperate with the present survey; 480 couples presented informed consent to participate in the present survey. Of these couples, 367 couples responded to the survey form that was forwarded to them by mail (collection rate = 76.5%). In order to exclude bias due to aging, the female subjects were allocated to the following age groups: 20–24, 25–29, 30–34, 35–39, 40–44, 45–49, 50–54, and 55–59 years. Either 37 or 38 couples were randomly selected by age from the 367 couples. A total of 300 married couples who have sexual intercourse more than once per 3 months were selected (the married males at any age). Female subjects were restricted in age from 20 to 59 years, but male subjects were included regardless of age. The largest number of male subjects was aged in the 40 s (83), followed by the 30 s (79) and the 50 s (73), and there were 18 male subjects in their 60 s (Fig. 1). The mean ages of the male and female subjects were 42.3 ± 11.4 and 39.7 ± 11.0 years, respectively. The survey form was retrieved by mail with a copy of a document (health insurance card, etc.) that allowed identification of the subjects and their present address in order to confirm that they were husband and wife.

Figure 1.

Age distribution of the subjects

The questionnaire investigated the occupations of the respondents, frequency of coital pain for female subjects and its recognition by male subjects, and intromission time. Female subjects were also asked about their desired intromission time to achieve satisfaction. The study compared women's present and desired intromission times to determine whether women were satisfied with their present intromission times or, if they were not, whether a longer or shorter duration of intromission would lead to greater sexual satisfaction. Furthermore, the difference in men's and women's awareness of women's coital pain was examined, with the hope of demonstrating that greater communication between men and women leads to greater mutual sexual satisfaction.

Obviously, due to the study's questionnaire‐based nature, no stopwatches were used in determining the exact duration of intromission. Instead, the study had to rely on the reports of its respondents in gathering such data, which were, for that reason, only approximate. However, asking women to report their present and desired intromission times is one way of determining whether they are satisfied with their present intromission times.

This study was approved by our Institutional Review Board.

Results

Occupation

In the male subjects, more than 60% were “company workers”, with 44% being office workers and 19% being managers. On the other hand, 57% of the female subjects were full‐time housewives and 27% were part‐time or irregular workers (Fig. 2).

Figure 2.

Occupations of the subjects. 1 Self‐employed (business owner, entrepreneur/shopkeeper, artist, self‐employed worker). 2 Specialist (doctor, lawyer, accountant, architect, teacher, etc.). 3 Manager. 4 Office employee (office worker/engineer). 5 Primary industry worker (fisheries/agriculture and forestry, livestock industry, etc.). 6 Blue‐collar worker/laborer. 7 Part‐time employment. 8 Full‐time homemaker. 9 Others

Frequency of coital pain and recognition by male subjects

To assess the frequency of coital pain, each female subject was asked about the “percentage of episodes with coital pain when the total number of episodes of sexual intercourse with her partner was set as 100%”, and each male subject was asked about the “percentage of episodes in which coital pain seemed to be experienced by his partner when the total number of episodes of intercourse with her was set as 100%”. The results showed a difference between men and women, with coital pain being experienced during more than 30% of episodes by female subjects and being perceived in 25% by male subjects (Fig. 3).

Figure 3.

Frequency of coital pain experienced by women (left) and perceived by men (right)

Intromission time

T _ie was defined as the “time from the beginning of intravaginal insertion to immediately before ejaculation (or termination of sex)”. The estimated mean T _ie was 14.5 min (median: 10 min) for male subjects and 13.6 min (median: 10 min) for female subjects. Female subjects were also asked about the desired T _ie, and the mean was 15.7 min (median: 15 min) (Fig. 4).

Figure 4.

Estimated mean intromission times and desired intromission time (female subjects)

These estimated times are unlikely to be accurate, because measurement with a stopwatch was not done. Therefore, the desired intromission time was also assessed by comparison with the actual intromission time. The results were that the desire for “longer”, “the same”, or “shorter” intercourse was expressed by 43.0%, 38.7%, and 18.3% of all female subjects, respectively, as well as by 42.6%, 43.6% and 13.7%, respectively, of the female subjects who had no experience of coital pain; and by 47.1%, 32.4%, and 20.6% of the female subjects with pain during less than 50% of episodes of intercourse; and by 35.7%, 17.9%, and 46.4% of the female subjects with pain during more than 50% of episodes of intercourse (Fig. 5).

Figure 5.

Desired intromission times (female subjects). 50% 50% of episodes

Discussion

According to the definition proposed by the International Society for Sexual Medicine, ‘Premature ejaculation is a male sexual dysfunction characterized by ejaculation which always or nearly occurs prior to or within about 1 min of vaginal penetration; and inability to delay ejaculation on all or nearly all vaginal penetrations; and negative personal consequences, such as distress, bother, frustration and/or the avoidance of sexual intimacy [7]. However, we believe that determining the appropriate intromission time for the partner's satisfaction is also important. Accordingly, we conducted a questionnaire survey of the actual experience of coital pain and the intromission time (the time from the beginning of intravaginal insertion to immediately before ejaculation) in Japanese married couples selected from the general population. It was found that female subjects experienced pain once in every 3 episodes of intercourse, but male subjects recognized their partner's coital pain once in every 4 episodes. Thus, it seems that female subjects do not speak about coital pain to their partners, even if it is a marital problem. The mean intromission time estimated by male subjects was 14.5 min (median: 10 min) and it was 13.6 min (median: 10 min) according to female subjects.

However, these estimates did not reflect the actual intromission times because these times were not measured using a stopwatch. Therefore, we investigated female preference about the intromission time based on the difference between the actual time and the desired time. It was found that 43.0%, 38.7%, and 18.3% of all female subjects wanted a “longer”, “the same”, or “shorter” duration, respectively, as did 42.6%, 43.6%, and 13.7% of the female subjects without coital pain; 47.1%, 32.4%, and 20.6% of the female subjects with pain during less than 50% of episodes of intercourse; and 35.7%, 17.9%, and 46.4% of the female subjects with pain during more than 50% of episodes. Thus, female subjects overall wanted a longer duration of intravaginal insertion, but many female subjects with frequent coital pain (>50%) wanted a shorter duration of intravaginal insertion. Accordingly, coital pain was found to have an impact on the desired intromission time. On the other hand, 13.7% of the female subjects without coital pain also wanted a shorter intromission time, which suggests that there are differences in the expected duration of intravaginal insertion among married couples. This suggests that it is important to have good communication between the sexes with regard to the desired intromission time.

This survey provides the first epidemiological data concerning the sex life of Japanese married couples selected from the general population. By analyzing data about coital pain and the intromission time, it was found that 43.0% of the female subjects wished to increase the duration of intravaginal insertion. It was also found that 46.4% of the female subjects experiencing frequent coital pain (>50% of episodes) and 13.7% of the female subjects without coital pain wanted a shorter intromission time. Thus, it seems that female subjects may consider a wide variety of intravaginal insertion times to be desirable. Accordingly, married couples need to improve communication regarding coital pain, the desired duration of intromission, and other related issues. To our knowledge, this is the first report to collect and compare data on male versus female awareness of female coital pain, and desired versus actual duration of intromission, in an attempt to demonstrate the importance of married couples communicating about their sex life.

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.