Men tend to think about sex more often and have a greater need for it than women. This is what social psychologists at Saarland University report after a study in the journal "Psychological Bulletin". For the study, they had evaluated more than 200 studies since 1996 with a total of more than 620,000 participants aged 14 and over.

Researchers defined sexual motivation according to how often someone experiences sexual feelings, thoughts, and behaviors. "People with a strong sexual motivation think about sex more often, feel sexual desire more often and masturbate more," says co-author Malte Friese from Saarland University.

Many women also want to have sex

Analyzing the data, the researchers found that men are more sexually motivated than women. "The difference is a little less than half the gender difference in height," says Friese. However, the results say nothing about individual individuals, he emphasizes: "Even if men are on average more sexually motivated than women, there are many women who have more desire for sex than many men."

The scientists estimate that 24 to 29 percent of women are more sexually motivated than the average man.

According to the researchers, earlier studies on the subject have shown that men generally have a stronger sexual motivation than women. But there were still unanswered questions about the size of the difference.

Social and genetic factors

How the differences between women and men can be explained was not the subject of the study. According to the authors, this leaves room for interpretation. They assume that sexual motivation is determined by both social and genetic factors.

"If, for example, children already observe that men and women express their sexuality differently and that others appreciate or reject this, they learn to behave accordingly later," explains Friese.