A systematic review on differences in sexual satisfaction of women as a function of sexual identity

Abstract

ABSTRACT Sexual satisfaction is essential to relational well-being, physical health, and overall quality of life, yet it is under-researched in sexual minority women. This systematic review presents a synthesis of the available data exploring differences in women’s sexual satisfaction as a function of sexual identity. In addition, the review presents an evaluation of measures used in sexual satisfaction assessment and a summary of key mechanisms used to explain the differences between women of different sexual identities. Four areas of sexual satisfaction research were identified across 43 studies (N = 84,584): general sexual satisfaction, orgasm occurrence, sexual frequency, and sexual duration. While the findings on general sexual satisfaction were mixed, the findings on orgasm occurrence, sexual frequency and duration reported more consistent results. Lesbian women reported the highest orgasm frequency, followed by bisexual women, with heterosexual women having the lowest orgasm frequency. Lesbian women also outperformed heterosexual women on sexual duration, while heterosexual women outperformed lesbian and bisexual women on sexual frequency. A range of measures were used to assess sexual satisfaction, with several of these measures consistently yielding non-significant results. Finally, several mechanisms explaining the differences in sexual satisfaction are discussed in the context of future directions for this field of research.