Sexual Wellness Research: What Studies Actually Show (2026)

Last verified: 2026.08.13· This page is maintained as a living reference and updated as new peer-reviewed research is published.

Most "sex toy statistics" pages online cite market research reports that don't disclose methodology, or numbers that contradict each other by 10x depending on which site you check. This page does the opposite: every figure below comes from a named, peer-reviewed study or a nationally representative survey with public methodology. If we can't find the original source, it doesn't go on this page.

Quick Reference: Citable Figures

Journalists and researchers: full citations with links are in the sections below. Feel free to cite this page or link directly to the original study.

Attachment Style & Relationships

Distribution of adult attachment styles. The only nationally representative U.S. study to classify adults by attachment style found 59% secure, 25% avoidant, and 11% anxious (the remainder unclassified).
Source: Mickelson, K. D., Kessler, R. C., & Shaver, P. R. (1997). "Adult attachment in a nationally representative sample." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73(5), 1092–1106.

Relationship duration by attachment style. Securely attached adults reported romantic relationships lasting nearly twice as long on average (10.02 years) compared to anxiously attached adults (4.86 years).
Source: Hazan, C., & Shaver, P. (1987). "Romantic love conceptualized as an attachment process." Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52(3), 511–524.

Autonomy explains part of the attachment-satisfaction link. A 2025 dyadic, longitudinal study found that feeling autonomous within a relationship helps explain why insecure attachment is linked to lower relationship satisfaction, both day-to-day and over time.
Source: Genesse et al. (2025). "Being Me While Loving You: The Role of Autonomy in the Association Between Insecure Attachment and Relationship Satisfaction." Journal of Marital and Family Therapy.

Attachment anxiety and dating apps. Individuals high in attachment anxiety reported using online dating apps more frequently, and reported more negative experiences (lower satisfaction, more guilt) following sexual encounters with partners met both online and offline, compared to less anxious daters.
Source: 2022 study published in Archives of Sexual Behavior, PMC9916622.

Solo Wellness, Solitude & Autonomy

Chosen vs. unchosen solitude. Across three experience-sampling studies (total N=283, 8,769 survey responses), participants reported the lowest quality experiences during unchosen solitary activities. Time spent on unchosen solitude predicted lower meaning in life and lower life satisfaction; chosen solitary activities did not carry the same cost.
Source: Tse, D. C. K., Lay, J. C., & Nakamura, J. (2022). "Autonomy Matters: Experiential and Individual Differences in Chosen and Unchosen Solitary Activities." Social Psychological and Personality Science.

Choice softens the link between alone time and loneliness. A 21-day diary study found that when daily solitude felt more autonomous (freely chosen), the usual links between time alone and both loneliness and lower day satisfaction were reduced or eliminated. The study found no universal ideal ratio of social time to solitude.
Source: Reported via ScienceBlog.com, summarizing a 21-day diary study of solitude and well-being.

Need satisfaction in solitude. Psychological need satisfaction (autonomy, competence, relatedness) in social contexts was a consistent contributor to daily well-being, but individuals who experienced less need satisfaction in social settings reported greater benefit from solitude when it provided those same needs.
Source: Adams, K., & Weinstein, N. (2024). "Need satisfaction in daily well-being: Both social and solitude contexts contribute to well-being." British Journal of Social Psychology.

Masturbation & Sexual Function

Orgasm frequency during masturbation. In a demographically representative sample, 77.7% of participants reported "always" or "almost always" reaching orgasm during masturbation.
Source: Hille, J. J., Graham, C. A., & Sanders, S. A. (2025). "Sex toy use among a demographically representative sample." The Kinsey Institute, Indiana University.

Masturbation frequency distribution. Most participants (56.1%) reported masturbating once a month to once a year in the same representative sample, underscoring that there's no single "normal" frequency in the population.
Source: Hille, Graham & Sanders (2025), Kinsey Institute, as above.

No evidence of permanent desensitization from typical use. Reviewed sexual health literature does not support claims that regular masturbation causes lasting nerve damage or desensitization; reported numbness after use is typically temporary and resolves within minutes to hours. Reports of "death grip syndrome," a pattern where fixed, high-intensity technique reduces sensitivity to gentler touch, point to technique and pattern as the relevant variable rather than frequency itself.

Partnered Sex & Casual Relationships

Friends-with-benefits outcomes after one year. In a longitudinal study of 192 people in friends-with-benefits relationships, outcomes after one year were: 31% ended entirely, 28% became platonic friends, 25% stayed friends-with-benefits, and 15% transitioned into a romantic relationship. Among those who specifically hoped for a friendship outcome, 59% achieved it; among those hoping for romance, only 15% did.
Source: Machia, L. V., Proulx, C. M., Ioerger, M., & Lehmiller, J. J. (2020). "A longitudinal study of friends with benefits relationships." Personal Relationships.

Relationship maintenance behaviors predict successful transitions. People who successfully transitioned from a friends-with-benefits arrangement into a romantic relationship reported more frequent relationship maintenance behaviors (open communication, expressed affection, direct conflict management) than those in purely casual arrangements.
Source: Cal Poly digital commons research on FWB relationship motivations and quality (Faculty Advisor: Dr. Jasna Jovanovic).

Methodology & Sourcing Standards

What we deliberately excluded: Global "market size" and "industry growth" figures. While researching this page, we found sex toy market size estimates for the same year (2026) ranging from $3.2 billion to $49.1 billion across different commercial market research sites, a more than 15x discrepancy with no disclosed, comparable methodology. Rather than presenting a number we can't verify, we've excluded market-size claims from this report entirely. If you need that data, request the full methodology directly from the research firm before citing their figure.

Using This Page

Journalists and researchers are welcome to cite figures from this page with attribution to the original study, we'd rather you go straight to the source. If you're looking for commentary or an interview on any of the research above, contact us directly.

Related reading from our editorial team: desensitization myths, anxious attachment in dating, and friends with benefits research.