BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Two recent studies from Indiana University claim that not only is the use of vibrators during sexual activity a common practice, it could also have some health benefits.
The male and female studies, conducted among adult Americans, show 45 percent of men saying they’ve used a vibrator, with most of the heterosexual men surveyed saying they had done so during foreplay or intercourse with a female partner. Roughly 17 percent of the male respondents said they had used a vibrator for solo masturbation.
The studies show that 53 percent of women frequently use vibrators.
According to The Medical News, the studies, “led by researchers at the Center for Sexual Health Promotion in IU's School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, are the first to publish data about vibrator use from nationally representative samples of the U.S. population. This lack of data has existed despite a longstanding practice by many physicians and therapists to recommend vibrator use to help treat sexual dysfunctions or to improve sexual enjoyment.”
In addition to demonstrating the common use of vibrators, the studies also found that respondents associated the use of vibrators with more positive sexual function and saw the devices as tools for being more proactive about their sexual health.
"The study about women’s vibrator use affirms what many doctors and therapists have known for decades—that vibrator use is common, it’s linked to positive sexual function such as desire and ease of orgasm, and it’s rarely associated with any side effects," Debby Herbenick, associate director of the Center for Sexual Health Promotion, told news reporters.
Michael Reece, director of the Center for Sexual Health Promotion, told Medical News that the studies are important for the contributions they make to an understanding of the sexual behaviors and sexual health of adults in today’s society.
"The study about male vibrator use is additionally important because it shows that vibrator use is also common among men, something that has not been documented before," Reece said.
The studies, which involved 2,056 women and 1,047 men ages 18-60, were funded by Church & Dwight Co. Inc., maker of Trojan brand sexual health products.
