Table 1.
Prevalence rates of BDSM interests in the general population
| Study | Sample size (M/F) | Population | Age range | Method of assessment | Results | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Renaud & Byers16, 17 | n = 292 (148/144) | Undergraduate students (Canada) | 17–45 | Self-developed rating scale, 56 items | More than 90% of the group reported both positive and negative cognitions of sexual submission. Women had more frequent positive cognitions of sexual submission than men. 72% of the men and 59% of the women had fantasies of being tied up, and 65% of the men and 58% of the women had fantasies of tying up a partner; 60% of the men and 31% of the women indicated positive thoughts of whipping or spanking someone, whereas 44% of the men and 35% of the women indicated positive thoughts of being whipped. |
The authors used a self-developed rating scale asking for sexual cognitions, including cognitions on sexual submission, whipping, spanking, and hurting partner. It did not ask for actual experiences with BDSM-themed practices. Only included heterosexual students (mean age = 19.8 y). |
| Richters et al18, 19 | n = 19.307 (9.729/9.578) | General population Australia | 16–59 | Computer-assisted telephone interviews | 2.0% of the men and 1.4% of the women indicated to have engaged in BDSM in the last 12 months. Prevalence was higher in gay/lesbian (4.4%) and bisexual (14.2%) individuals | A single question was asked in the interview: "In the last 12 months have you been involved in B&D or S&M? That’s bondage and discipline, sadomasochism, or dominance and submission" |
| Långström & Seto20 | n = 2,450 (1,279/1,171) | General population Sweden | 18–60 | Self-administered questionnaire as part of larger survey | Sadomasochistic behavior in 2.2% of the total sample | The survey asked about sadomasochistic behavior, and, as such, did not include bondage, discipline, dominance, and submission. Focus of analysis was on other aspects of sexuality |
| Jozifkova & Flegr21 | n= 864 (398/466) | General population with access to Czech largest internet portal | / | Internet trap method | Unequal sexual partnership was chosen by 51% of the men and 42% of the women. Men chose submissive-woman depictions approximately 2.6 times more frequently than dominant-woman. Women chose either submissive- or dominant-man depictions with equal frequency. | A banner was offered attached to the e-mail account of members of general population. After clicking on the banner, the participant had to choose an icon displaying different hierarchical positions between partners. Presumably, 0.41% of the men and 0.27% of the women participated, thus accounting for an immense participation bias. No age limits were defined for participation. |
| Holvoet et al3 | n = 1,027 (459/565) (n= 3 indicated other sex) |
General population Belgium | 18–65 | Internet survey including 54 BDSM-related activity items | 47% had performed at least 1 BDSM-related activity, and additional 22% had fantasies about it. 12.5% indicated performing at least 1 BDSM related activity on a regular basis. 7.6% self-identified as BDSM practitioner. When asked for activities at least experienced once, movement restriction and use of blindfold elicited highest interest (20–24%). Submissive kneeling, whipping, hitting a partner in sexual context (6–11%) | The authors used a self-developed questionnaire to assess interest in a wide range of BDSM-related activities, which included items that on their own may not define a BDSM activity as such (eg, blindfolding, movement restriction, use of ice cubes, etc) |
| Herbenick et al22 | n = 2,021 (975/1,046) | General population USA | 18–91 | Internet survey including some BDSM related questions | Playful whipping (6% in past year; 15% lifetime); spanking (17.2% in past year; 31.9% lifetime); tying up/being tied up (4.5% in last year; 21.1% lifetime); gone to BDSM party (1.1% past year; 3.4% lifetime). 29.3% found tying up partner or being tied up (very or somewhat) appealing. Experiencing pain as part of sex was very or somewhat appealing to 11.4%. Use of blindfolds (very to somewhat) appealing in 34.9%. | This large-scale survey focused on a broad range of sexual behavior but included some BDSM-themed questions. |
| Joyal & Carpentier23 | n = 1,040 (475/565) | General population Canada | 18–64 | 2 survey methods: online survey (n = 543) vs telephone interview (n = 500) | A desire for masochism was indicated by 23.8% (19.2% in men, 27.8% in women), whereas, for sadism, this was present in 7.1% (9.5% in men, 5.1% in women). Actual experience (once in lifetime) was confirmed by 19.2% for masochism (men: 13.9% vs women: 23.7%), whereas this was the case in 5.5% for sadism (men: 7.4%; women: 3.9%). Levels indicated for masochism were significantly higher when assessed by internet survey compared to telephone interview. |
Masochism was questioned by “Have you ever been sexually aroused while suffering, being dominated, or being humiliated?”; sadism was assessed by the question “Have you ever been sexually aroused by making someone suffer or by dominating or psychologically or physically humiliating another person?” |
B&D = bondage and discipline; BDSM = bondage and discipline, dominance and submission, and sadism and masochism; M/F = male/female; S&M = sadism and masochism; / = information not available.