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Calvin Kai-Ching Yu
Hong Kong Shue Yan University
This study examines the prevalence of mens sexual behaviors, erotic
dreams, and nocturnal emissions and the continuity between diurnal and
nocturnal sexuality. On the strength of the ndings generated from a
survey of 306 young male adults, several important implications are
highlighted. Pornography consumption and masturbation with ejacula-
tion are almost universal habits for young men. The form of sexual acts
that sleepers dream about reects the type and incidence of their pornog-
raphy use and sexual behaviors during wakefulness. Erotic dreams and
nocturnal emissions appear to serve as complements to waking-life
sexuality. The choice of sexual objects and interactions in the formation of
dream images is neither random nor rational, but is egoistic in nature. The
most common sexual object that men dream about is not their girlfriend
but is their female classmate or acquaintance; receiving sex pleasure by
means of the penis being manually or orally stimulated is more likely to
happen than giving the parallel sex pleasure to the object in erotic dreams.
Certain typical dreams, the manifest content of which does not present any
erotic elements, are physiologically arousing to the extent that they can
induce the expulsion of semen. In other words, activities commonly
occurring in dreamsespecially for those about the urgent need to empty
ones bladder and rummaging around for a toiletcan carry the same
sexual connotations for men at the biological level.
Keywords: incest, nocturnal emissions, sex symbols, sleep position, urination
Supplemental materials: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0032660.supp
Sexual experiences constitute one of the typical dream themes that are shared
by people from different cultures (Grifth, Miyagi, & Tago, 1958; Nielsen et al.,
2003; Schredl, Ciric, Gtz, & Wittmann, 2004; Yu, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012a).
The theme sexual experiences was dreamed by 76.5%, 86.7%, and 70.1% of
participants in Nielsen and colleagues (2003) Canadian sample, Schredl and
colleagues (2004) German sample, and Yus (2008) Chinese sample, respectively.
Sex difference for this dream theme is evident. For example, in Yus (2008) sample,
the prevalence rate for men was 70.1%, that for women being 66.4%. Likewise, in
I dedicate this article to my Fai Caa-Siu.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Calvin Kai-Ching Yu, Department
of Counselling and Psychology, Hong Kong Shue Yan University, 10 Wai Tsui Crescent, Braemar Hill
Road, North Point, Hong Kong. E-mail: calvinkcyu@ymail.com
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175
Dreaming 2013 American Psychological Association
2013, Vol. 23, No. 3, 175193 1053-0797/13/$12.00 DOI: 10.1037/a0032660
Yus (2010) other sample, more men than women dreamed about erotomaniac
themes.
Descriptive statistics about the frequency and content of sex dreams are scanty
in the literature; only a few studies addressed exactly what people dream in their
erotic dreams. Schredl, Desch, Rming, and Spachmann (2009) reported a very
high incidence of sex dreams in their survey study: Male participants in their sample
estimated that 34% of their dreams involved erotic activities (kissing, petting, or
intercourse), compared with 18% estimated by female participants. In Zadras
(2007) content analytical study, 45% of men and 41% of women reported at least
one sex dream over a period of 2 to 4 weeks; their sex dreams constituted
approximately 8% of all dream reports. Sexual intercourse was the most common
activity in those dream reports, followed by irting, kissing, and sexual fantasies.
Yu and Fu (2011) investigated mens erotic dreams using both survey and content
analytical methods. Similar to Zadra, they found that vaginal intercourse was the
most prevalent sex scene, with the estimated average frequency being nine times
per year for those participants who dreamed about vaginal intercourse at least once
a year. By contrast, anal intercourse was the least prevalent theme, which was
regularly dreamed by only 5% of participants, with the average frequency of six
times per year.
Even fewer statistics about the frequency of nocturnal emissions are available
in the literature, and there are virtually no studies exploring the content of wet
dreams, except the one by Yu and Fu (2011). Zadra (2007) estimated that
approximately 4% of all erotic dreams result in an orgasm. Kinsey, Pomeroy, and
Martins (1948/1998) seminal book documented that 83% of their male participants
reported having nocturnal emissions with or without dreams, with the highest
incidence occurring in the late teens. A very similar prevalence rate was found by
Yu and Fus study, in which almost 80% of men had experienced wet dreams,
around 40% having experienced ejaculation accompanied by dreams devoid of
sexual material or without awareness of dreaming. Nocturnal emissions do not
seem to be a regular experience for men; only 37% of their sample experienced wet
dreams once year or more often. Almost all dream scenes that preceded nocturnal
emissions described by the participants in Yu and Fus study involved penile
excitation. It is interesting, furthermore, that many wet dreamers considered erotic
dreams a trigger of their nocturnal emissions.
Thus far, there have been only three studies geared toward testing the
continuity hypothesis that sexual experiences in waking life are carried over into
dreaming. That is, what people dream about perhaps reect what they think, watch,
and act in their waking life. A content analytical study conducted by King, DeCicco,
and Humphreys (2009) showed that the frequency of sexual daydreaming and the
degree of enjoying sexual fantasies during wakefulness were positively associated
with the incidence of sexual interactions occurring in mens recent dreams. Schredl
et al.s (2009) survey study generated a similar nding that the estimated percentage
of dreams involving sexual activities varied in direct proportion to the average
number of hours per week spent with sexual fantasies in waking life.
Yu (2012c) investigated the effect of pornography consumption on dreams
and nocturnal emissions in a sample of 52 young male adults. Most of his
participants watched pornography at least once a week and spent almost an
hour for each viewing. Resonating with Yu and Fus (2011) observation that
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176 Yu
copulation constitutes the most prevalent sex scene in erotic and wet dreams,
vaginal intercourse was found to be the most popular sexual interaction viewed
by participants. Furthermore, the frequency of watching pornography had a
robust, positive correlation with the frequency of ejaculation by means of
masturbation, which was, in turn, inversely proportional to the incidence of
nocturnal emissions.
According to Yu (2012c), type of pornography use may have an impact on
the erotic content that people dream. He demonstrated that the frequency of
dreaming about having sex with a female teacheran authority gure and a
common sexual object in dreamswas strongly correlated with the incidence of
watching pornographic material involving unsuspecting celebrities and women
in uniform, including female teachers, doctors, and sex instructors. Moreover,
participants with incest dreams spent a signicantly higher proportion of
viewing time on pornographic material that features unconventional objects
(e.g., foot fetishism, small-breasted females) and behaviors (e.g., voyeurism,
incest) than did participants without incest dreams.
Yus (2012c) preliminary ndings, which were obtained mainly by explor-
atory and qualitative methods, remain to be conrmed in a larger sample. In
particular, many sexual objects (e.g., adult video actresses) and interactions
(e.g., mammary intercourse) often dreamed by men have not been quantied in
such a way that allows multifactorial analyses of the connection between diurnal
and nocturnal sexuality. In addition, although the three aforementioned studies
consistently indicated that dreaming of sex is somehow related to sexual life in
the daytime, whether the continuity theory in its stricter sense holds true is
uncertain. The possibility that some sexual acts occurring in dreams (e.g.,
vaginal intercourse) might indeed directly replicate their waking-life counter-
parts (e.g., vaginal intercourse with ones partner or watching vaginal-sex
pornography) requires further investigation. It is also noteworthy that some
ejaculatory dreams devoid of sexually explicit material reported by participants
in Yu and Fus (2011) sample bear a close resemblance to those typical dream
themes (see Yu, 2008, 2010, 2011, 2012a, for a review), including being chased
and persecuted, feeling the urge to urinate, and apprehension about failing an
examination. This leads to the question as to whether there are symbolic wet
dreams that are commonly shared by men.
The study presented here aimed to provide a thorough overview of the
relative prevalence rates of various sexual objects and interactions in sex and
wet dreams, and nonsexual images that herald nocturnal emissions. In light of
Yus initial evidence, more comprehensive lists and measures of sexual objects
and interactions were devised so that statistical analyses could be carried out for
testing the extent to which erotic dream narratives and nocturnal emissions are
modulated by sexual behaviors and the habit of pornography consumption.
Given that sleeping in the prone position may promote dreaming of sexual and
erotomaniac themes (Yu, 2012b), participants sleep position was taken into
consideration. Seven major hypotheses were generated in accordance with Yus
previous ndings and the continuity theory:
1. Certain characters occur more often than others in erotic dreams. Speci-
cally, female strangers, female classmates/acquaintances, and female
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Lust, Pornography, and Erotic Dreams 177
partners/girlfriends are expected to be some prevalent sexual objects in
dreams. Among various close relatives, mother is most likely to become an
incestuous object.
2. The frequency of dreaming about sex with women in general is associated
with, and can be predicted by the incidence of masturbation and watching
pornography, especially some popular categories, such as pornographic
material involving penilevaginal intercourse, female teachers, and nurses
(see Method and Table 5 for details).
3. Similarly, the frequency of dreaming about sex with men, in general, can be
predicted by the incidence of masturbation and watching pornographic
material that spotlights male actors, such as hairy men and adult video
actors with a large penis.
4. The frequency of dreaming about sex with female teachersauthority
gurescan be predicted by the incidence of masturbation and pornogra-
phy featuring mature women and incestuous behaviors.
5. The types of sexual activities performed by participants in dreams match
their choices of pornography and past experiences of sexual interactions
with their partners. For example, dreams about rubbing the penis on a
womans breasts can be predicted by the incidence rates of watching
pornography featuring busty women and mammary intercourse, and the
past experience of mammary intercourse with ones partner.
6. Likewise, dreams of manual excitation, vaginal sex, oral sex, and mammary
intercourse with a partner can be predicted by their waking-life counter-
parts.
7. By the same token, participants who have experienced vaginal inter-
course in their wet dreams watch vaginal-sex pornography more often
than do participants without such wet dreams. The similar also applies to
other sexual interactions, including manual, oral, anal, and mammary
sex.
METHOD
Sample
The present sample contained 306 Hong Kong Chinese men who were
either upper secondary school graduates or university students. The mean age
was 19.94 years (SD 1.462, range 18 to 28 years). Most of them (91.7%)
reported their sexual preference as heterosexual, with 2.0% identifying as
homosexual and 3.6% as bisexual. Eight (2.6%) participants claimed uncer-
tainty about their sexual orientation.
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178 Yu
Instrument
The questionnaire consists of two main sections. The rst section provides
a list of 25 human and nonhuman sexual objectsfor example, male strangers,
adult video (AV) actresses, male teachers, close relatives, and animalsand a
list of 12 sexual interactions, such as kissing lips, vaginal intercourse, fellatio,
and mammary intercourse; participants indicated their lifetime frequency of
dreams with each sexual behavior with each sexual object on a 11-point scale
(0 never to 10 almost every night). Participants were reminded to give
frequencies according to their actual experience, irrespective of whether a
dream scene appeared to be absurd (e.g., having vaginal intercourse with a man,
receiving vaginal sex from an alien, manual stimulation of a buildings genitals).
Additionally, participants indicated their frequencies of ejaculation pre-
ceded by dreams involving sex scenes, ejaculation accompanied by nonsexual
dreams, and nocturnal emissions without awareness of dreaming, using the same
11-point scale. They were required to specify the sexual objects, sexual
interactions, and nonsexual images that directly triggered the discharge of
semen, using the lists provided. The list of nonsexual images consists of 13
typical dream themes, such as being pursued, ying, and urinating. Although
nocturnal emissions may be a purely physiological phenomenon, as indicated by
Yu and Fus (2011) evidence, many men deem dream images to be the cause of
their nocturnal emissions.
The second section measures the maximum number of ejaculations within
a day and assesses the frequencies of sexual fantasy, sexual behaviors, and
pornography consumption over the past 6 months using an 8-point scale (0
never to 7 several times each day). In addition, a list of 57 types of
pornography content (e.g., busty women, elderly homosexuals, and sadismmas-
ochism) was created with reference to the categorizations commonly used by
pornographic media; participants indicated the percentage of occasions that
they had watched each theme. Principal components factor analysis with
varimax rotation of the 57 pornographic themes generated a 14-factor model
explaining 72.4% of variance. However, two factors were made up of only two
themes, which also loaded highly on other factors. Also considering reliability
statistics, 11 scales for measuring the frequencies of watching 11 major groups
of pornographic themes were created (see Table 5). The Cronbachs alpha
coefcient for all these scales was satisfactory: Pornography 1 (role playing)
.918, Pornography 2 (rough sex) .809, Pornography 3 (mature women) .802,
Pornography 4 (typical content) .831, Pornography 5 (homosexuality) .781,
Pornography 6 (regressive and primitive sex) .779, Pornography 7 (transsexu-
ality) .886, Pornography 8 (phallism) .694, Pornography 9 (amateur)
.729, Pornography 10 (incest) .753, and Pornography 11 (masculine women)
.704.
Besides quantifying their erotic dreams, nocturnal emissions, and sexual
behaviors, participants were required to indicate their frequency of sleeping in
each of the three positions (supine, lateral, and prone) on a 5-point scale
ranging from 0 not lying in this position almost every time I sleep, to 4 lying
in this position almost every time I sleep.
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Lust, Pornography, and Erotic Dreams 179
Table 1. Incidence Rates of Dreaming Sexual Objects and Behaviors (N 306)
Recurrence
rate (%)
Recurrent
frequency
per year
a
Prevalence rate (%)
Total Total Total
Kissing lips
(excluding
kissing as a
form of
etiquette or
greeting)
Foreplay
(including
fondling,
irting,
etc.)
Manually
stimulating
the sexual
objects
genitals
Men 2.6 12.4 9.9 2.9 4.9 2.0
Women 35.6 16.2 78.5 29.7 33 7.5
Older man 1.0 7.3 3.4 0.3 0.7 0.7
Older woman 4.2 8.2 18.0 2.6 5.6 2.0
Male stranger 0.7 15.5 3.4 1.6 1.6 0.3
Female stranger 15.0 7.1 42.0 10.5 14.7 2.3
Male celebrity or
AV actor 0.7 2.5 2.0 0.7 0.7 1.0
Female celebrity or
AV actress 7.5 13.2 31.1 10.8 11.4 2.6
Prominent or fa-
mous person (ex-
cept celebrity or
AV actor/actress) 2.6 4.9 9.5 2.3 2.3 0.7
Male partner (boy-
friend) 0.7 21.0 1.7 1.3 1.0 1.3
Male classmate or
male acquain-
tance 1.0 18.7 4.4 1.0 1.6 2.3
Female partner
(girlfriend) 12.1 15.5 40.9 18.3 19.6 5.9
Female classmate or
female acquain-
tance 16.7 11.2 51.2 19.9 21.2 4.2
Male teacher 0.3 9.0 2.1 0.7 0.3 1.0
Female teacher 2.9 10.0 15.4 4.6 3.9 0.7
Alien/monster/
ghost/deity 0.7 2.5 3.1 0.7 0.0 0.3
Creature with both
human and ani-
mal characteristics 0.0 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.0
Animal 0.3 1.0 1.4 0.0 0.0 0.0
Object/plant/rock/
architecture 0.0 1.0 0.3 0.0 0.0
Father 0.3 4.0 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Mother 0.3 1.0 5.1 0.7 0.3 0.0
Elder brother 0.0 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.3
Younger brother 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Elder sister 0.0 3.1 0.7 1.0 0.3
Younger sister 0.0 2.7 0.7 0.7 0.3
Note. AV adult video.
a
Average frequency reported by those participants who recurrently dreamed about the sexual object at
least once a year.
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180 Yu
Prevalence rate (%)
The sexual
object
manually
stimulating
my genitals
Vaginal
intercourse
(or insert-
ing the pe-
nis into a
part of the
body other
than mouth
and anus)
Receiving
vaginal in-
tercourse
(or a part
of the body
other than
mouth and
anus being
inserted by
a penis)
Giving
oral
sex to
the
sexual
object
The sexual
object
orally
stimulating
my genitals
Giving
anal
sex to
the
sexual
object
The sexual
object pen-
etrating my
anus
Rubbing
my penis
on the
sexual
objects
breasts
My breasts
being
rubbed by
the sexual
objects
genitals
2.9 2.3 0.7 2.0 2.9 2.0 0.3 0.3 0.0
14.1 51.6 0.7 6.5 14.7 4.9 0.3 6.2 0.7
0.7 0.7 0.0 0.7 1.0 0.3 0.3 0.0 0.0
2.6 9.8 0.0 0.7 1.3 0.7 0.0 0.7 0.0
0.3 0.7 0.0 0.3 1.0 0.7 0.3 0.0 0.0
7.2 21.6 1.6 1.6 5.2 2.3 0.0 2.6 0.3
0.3 1.0 0.0 0.3 0.3 0.0 0.3 0.0 0.0
5.2 17.0 0.3 1.6 5.6 1.6 0.0 3.9 0.3
1.0 5.6 0.0 0.3 2.0 0.7 0.0 0.3 0.0
0.7 0.0 0.0 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.7 0.0 0.0
2.0 0.0 0.0 0.7 1.0 0.7 0.0 0.0 0.0
7.8 24.5 1.0 3.3 10.8 1.6 0.0 2.0 0.0
5.2 26.1 0.7 2.0 7.8 2.0 0.3 3.9 0.3
0.3 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.7 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
2.9 6.9 1.0 0.3 4.6 0.3 0.0 1.0 0.0
1.0 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.7 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.3
0.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
0.0 0.7 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.0
0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.3
0.3 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.3 0.3 0.3 0.0 0.0
0.3 2.6 0.0 0.3 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.3 0.0
0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
0.7 2.0 0.0 0.3 0.3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
0.0 1.6 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
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Lust, Pornography, and Erotic Dreams 181
Procedure
An information pack containing an instruction sheet, a consent form, and a
questionnaire was distributed to prospective participants during a brieng session in
which they were notied of the purpose and the pornographic and sexual content of
this study. After participants had given their informed consent, they were arranged to
complete the questionnaire in a discreet and safe place. Participants were instructed to
put the completed questionnaire back into the envelope, and the collected envelopes
were shufed in the presence of participants. The entire process did not require
participants to provide any information that could disclose their identity.
Statistical Strategies
The signicance level was adjusted to the .01 or .001 level when multiple
tests were run. Correlation tests were performed for screening out extraneous
variables and identifying the strongest correlates for further linear regression
analyses. Similarly, only parameters that showed a signicant between-groups
difference were entered into logistic regression analyses.
RESULTS
Frequencies of Erotic Dreams and Nocturnal Emissions
Almost 80% of the sample had dreamed about sex with a woman,
irrespective of the type of sexual interaction. For the 35.6% of participants who
regularly experienced this dream theme at least once a year, the average
frequency was 16.2 per year (see Table 1). The most prevalent sexual objects in
dreams were female classmates/acquaintances (51.2%), followed by female
strangers (42.0%) and female partners/girlfriends (40.9%). More than one
fourth (28.5%) of the participants who had dreamed about female strangers
normally felt a familiar feeling toward the unidentied woman in their sex
dreams. Mother was the most common incestuous object; its occurrence rate
(5.1%), however, was lower than those of the other female senior characters
older women (18.0%) and female teachers (15.4%). Sexual objects other than
those listed in the questionnaire reported by participants included comic and
game characters, a female secretary, a younger female cousin, and an older
female cousin. Among all nonhuman objects, the prevalence rate for the
category of alien/monster/ghost/deity (3.1%) was the highest. Three participants
had used inanimate objects for sexual purposes in their dreams. The inanimate
objects that they specied were a cars exhaust pipe, a Formula One racing
course, and a female statue.
Vaginal intercourse was, by far, the most common sexual behavior dreamed
by participants across all female sexual objects (see Table 1); it was markedly
more prevalent than the second and third most common sexual behaviors
foreplay and nonplatonic kissing. On the other hand, participants rarely gave
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182 Yu
and received anal sex in dreams. Obtaining sex pleasure by means of the penis
being manually or orally stimulated was more frequent than giving the similar
sex pleasure to the object across virtually all dream characters. In addition to
the sexual behaviors listed in the questionnaire, voyeurism and sexual masoch-
ism were, respectively, reported by one participant.
Almost 10% of participants had homosexual encounters in their dreams,
with foreplay being the most common form of the homosexual contact (4.9%).
Specically, 17 of the 278 (6.1%) heterosexual participants had dreamed about
having sex with a man, and four of the six (66.7%) homosexual participants had
experienced heterosexual interactions in their dreams. Only two (0.7%) par-
ticipants reported regularly dreaming about sex with their male partner, but the
average frequency was very highthat is, 21 times each year.
Sex with ones father in dreams was positively related to all other male sexual
objects, with its correlations with erotic dreams about older men (r
s
.358, p
.001) and male teachers (r
s
.468, p .001) being the strongest. Incestuous dreams
involving ones mother showed a signicant association with dreaming of sex with
animals, r
s
.244, p .001, and alien/monster/ghost/deity, r
s
.230, p .001.
Approximately two-thirds of the participants had experienced wet dreams
(see Appendix 1 of the online supplemental materials). The mean raw score was
1.83, which was roughly equal to Category 2 on the scale (three times or more
in a lifetime, but not regularly). Ejaculation was most often preceded by the
dream scenario in which the sleeper was inserting his penis into a vagina (see
Table 2; 37.3%) or was having vaginal intercourse (38.2%). Besides the scenes
depicted in the questionnaire, participants reported other dream impressions that
triggered their ejaculation: ejaculating on the sexual objects joints (elbows), mastur-
bating oneself, voyeurism, sexual masochism, fondling breasts while having vaginal
intercourse, and footjob.
Table 2. Sexual Dream Scenes That Prompted Ejaculation (N 306)
Sexual dream scene Percentage
Kissing lips (excluding kissing as a form of etiquette or greeting) 15.7
Foreplay (including fondling, irting, etc.) 25.8
Manually stimulating the sexual objects genitals 5.6
My genitals being manually stimulated 20.6
While inserting my penis into a vagina (or while inserting my penis into a part of the
body other than mouth and anus) 37.3
Vaginal intercourse (or thrusting my penis back and forth inside of a part of the
body other than mouth and anus) 38.2
While my vagina being inserted by a penis (or while a part of my body other than
mouth and anus being inserted by a penis) 3.9
Receiving vaginal intercourse (or a penis thrusting back and forth inside of a part of
my body other than mouth and anus) 4.6
Orally stimulating the sexual objects genitals 3.6
My genitals being orally stimulated 17.6
While inserting my penis into an anus 5.2
Giving anal sex to the sexual object 6.5
While my anus being inserted by a penis 2.3
The sexual object giving me anal sex 1.6
Rubbing my genitals on the sexual objects breasts 11.4
My breasts being rubbed by the sexual objects genitals 2.9
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Lust, Pornography, and Erotic Dreams 183
The sexual object that most commonly occurred in wet dreams was female
classmate/female acquaintance (see Table 3; 36.9%), followed by female
stranger (29.1%) and female partner/girlfriend (28.8%). For those participants
who had experienced ejaculation prompted by dreaming of a female stranger,
30.4% had a familiar feeling toward the unidentied woman with whom they
had sex in their wet dreams. Incestuous or nonhuman objectsfor example,
mother (3.9%), elder sister (2.6%), and alien/monster/ghost/deity (2.6%)were
found to appear in some participants ejaculatory dreams. Sexual objects other
than those in the list included a car, a Formula One race course, comic
characters, a female secretary, an elder female cousin, and a neighbor.
In the current sample, 21.7% of participants expressed having experienced
ejaculation elicited by dreams devoid of sexual material, and 37.5% of
participants had experienced nocturnal emissions without awareness of dream-
ing (see Appendix 1 of the online supplemental materials). Feeling the urge to
urinate or urinating (10.8%) was the most common nonsexual theme that led to
ejaculation (see Table 4). Five other themes, such as ying (1.6%) and being
chased or pursued (1.3%), were mentioned by more than one participant. In
addition to those in the list, participants reported having experienced nocturnal
emissions elicited by dreams of being spied on, ghting, climbing up a staircase,
and being pressed by a heavy object.
Table 3. Sexual Objects in Wet Dreams (N 306)
Sexual object Percentage
Men 2.6
Women 58.5
Older man 1.3
Older woman 10.1
Male stranger 1.0
Female stranger 29.1
Male celebrity or AV actor 1.6
Female celebrity or AV actress 20.6
Prominent or famous person (except celebrity or AV actor/actress) 5.6
Male partner (boyfriend) 1.6
Male classmate or male acquaintance 2.6
Female partner (girlfriend) 28.8
Female classmate or female acquaintance 36.9
Male teacher 1.6
Female teacher 8.8
Alien/monster/ghost/deity 2.6
Creature with both human and animal characteristics 0.7
Animal 1.0
Object/plant/rock/architecture 1.0
Father 0.7
Mother 3.9
Elder brother 0.7
Younger brother 0.7
Elder sister 2.6
Younger sister 1.0
Note. AV adult video.
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184 Yu
Frequencies of Viewing Pornographic Themes
Ninety-ve percent of participants had viewed pornography over the past 6
months, with the mean frequency of 9.9 per month (see Appendix 2 of the
online supplemental materials). The average duration per each viewing was
48 33 min. Class III (nakedness or involving sexual behaviors, but sexual
organs being covered by mosaic censoring) and IV (mosaic-free pornography)
movies were more popular than Class II (sexy but without exposure of private
body parts) movies. The average percentages of times that participants chose
Class II, III, and IV movies were 35.5, 49.0, and 49.1, respectively. Vaginal
intercourse was the sexual interaction most frequently viewed by participants
that is, 60.2% of times that they utilized pornography (see Table 5). The other
popular scenes included oral sex, teens, busty women, uniform (female teach-
ers), stimulation of the penis by means of breasts (usually rubbing the penis
between a womans breasts), and manual excitation (handjob).
A substantial proportion of participants had watched videos about having
adulterous sex with a friends wife (54.8%), raping (51.7%), spanking (42.3%),
incestuous behaviors (37.2%), and AV actors with a large penis (33.3%), albeit
only occasionally. In addition to those in the list, participants reported having
viewed pornographic material featuring ofce sex, female dominance (fem-
dom), bikini girls, nuns, sex therapy, masseurs molesting female customers,
uniform (reghters), uniform (athletes), ejaculating semen onto someones
face (facial cumshot), sex between male teachers and male students, sex in a
bathroom/swimming pool/hot spring, deowering a virgin, hermaphrodites, and
long-distance cumshot or shooting a thick and/or large load of semen.
Frequencies of Sexual Behaviors Over the Past 6 Months
The distribution of the frequencies of masturbation leading to ejaculation was
negatively skewed (skewness 0.551), 76.5% of participants achieving ejacula-
tion through masturbation at least two or three times a month (mode two to six
Table 4. Nonsexual Dream Themes That Elicited Ejaculation (N 306)
Theme Frequency Percentage
Feeling the urge to urinate or urinating 33 10.8
Being unable to nd, or embarrassed about using, a toilet 7 2.3
Falling 6 2.0
Flying, soaring, or oating through the air 5 1.6
Being chased or pursued 4 1.3
Being on the verge of falling 2 0.7
Being persecuted 1 0.3
Fear of failing an examination 1 0.3
Shooting or remote attacks 1 0.3
Being in an extremely urgent or anxious state 1 0.3
Arriving too late 0 0.0
Failing or performing very badly in front of others 0 0.0
Your teeth falling out, losing your teeth, or your teeth rotting 0 0.0
Other 11 3.6
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Lust, Pornography, and Erotic Dreams 185
Table 5. Rank Ordering of Pornographic Themes That Participants Selected to Watch (N 306)
Item no. Pornographic theme Average % Rank Scale
32 Vaginal intercourse 60.2 1 4 Typical content
33 Oral sex 48.5 2 4 Typical content
54 Uniform (female students) 36.4 3 1 Role playing
17 Teens (18 years old) 36.0 4 10 Incest
27 Busty women 35.3 5 4 Typical content
53 Uniform (female teachers) 33.3 6 1 Role playing
57 Uniform (nurses/female doctors) 31.6 7 1 Role playing
36 Mammary intercourse 30.4 8 4 Typical content
31 Handjob 30.0 9 4 Typical content
23 Skinny women 29.9 10 11 Masculine women
4 Designated AV actresses 28.9 11 4 Typical content
6 Pictures or videos taken from the per-
sonal or rst-person perspective
24.7 12 9 Amateur
58 Uniform (female ight attendants) 23.8 13 1 Role playing
51 Public/outdoor sex 23.6 14 2 Rough sex
56 Uniform (female servants) 22.3 15 1 Role playing
44 Having sex with a friends wife 21.2 16 10 Incest
52 Pornographic comics 20.2 17 1 Role playing
59 Uniform (police) 19.3 18 11 Masculine women
34 Anal sex 18.5 19 2 Rough sex
7 Self-amateur 18.0 20 9 Amateur
60 Uniform (racing queens) 16.8 21 1 Role playing
28 Small-breasted women 15.1 22 11 Masculine women
19 Lolita (females dressed like a sexually
precocious young girl)
14.1 23 10 Incest
41 Rape 14.0 24 2 Rough sex
8 Voyeurism 13.5 25 9 Amateur
45 Incest 12.6 26 10 Incest
10 A middle-aged man (40 to 50 years old)
having sex with a young woman
12.4 27 10 Incest
37 Footjob 11.8 28 11 Masculine women
42 Spanking 11.7 29 11 Masculine women
30 Masturbation 11.3 30 8 Phallism
55 Uniform (kindergarten nannies) 10.9 31 1 Role playing
24 Skinny men 10.8 32 8 Phallism
29 AV actors with a large penis 10.0 33 8 Phallism
39 Bond sex (without SM) 7.1 34 2 Rough sex
43 Violence and abuse 7.1 35 2 Rough sex
25 Hairy women 6.6 36 10 Incest
40 Sadism-masochism (SM) 6.2 37 2 Rough sex
50 Transvestite 6.2 38 11 Masculine women
9 A middle-aged woman (40 to 50 years
old) having sex with a young man
5.3 39 3 Mature women
38 Shaving body hair 4.4 40 6 Regressive and primitive sex
18 Child pornography 4.3 41 6 Regressive and primitive sex
26 Hairy men 4.2 42 5 Homosexuality
5 Designated AV actors 3.8 43 5 Homosexuality
12 An older man ( 60 years old) having
sex with a young woman
3.8 44 10 Incest
13 A middle-aged woman and a middle-aged
man having sex
3.6 45 3 Mature women
22 Chubby men 3.2 46 5 Homosexuality
20 Shotacon (actors deliberately pretending
to be childish, e.g., playing an infant
role)
2.9 47 6 Regressive and primitive sex
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186 Yu
times a week, average monthly frequency 9.58, see Appendix 2 of the online
supplemental materials). Almost exactly the same pattern of score distribution was
noted for the frequencies of pornography consumption and sexual desire. In
contrast to sexual desire, pornography use, and ejaculation by masturbation, all
other sexual behaviors with or without ejaculation were far less frequent and
regular, and fewer than 3% of participants had past sexual experiences with a
stranger (e.g., prostitutes). Kissing and foreplay were the most common sexual acts
with a partner, vaginal intercourse being the major sexual interaction involving a
stranger (see Appendix 3 of the online supplemental materials). Average total
frequencies of sexual behaviors with and without ejaculation were computed by
summing up the 6-month frequencies of masturbation and sexual interaction. The
average total frequency for sexual behaviors without ejaculation over the past six
month was 11.74, with that for sexual behaviors resulting in ejaculation being 66.22.
Most correlations comparing the frequencies of the eight sexual behaviors
shown in Appendix 2 of the online supplemental materials were signicant, the
coefcients for the correlation between pornography consumption and masturba-
tion ended with ejaculation (r
s
.701, p .001), and between sex with a partner
with ejaculation and sex with a partner without ejaculation (r
s
.580, p .001)
being the largest. Likewise, the maximum number of ejaculations by masturbation
within a day was strongly correlated with the frequency of pornography use, r
s
.487, p .001. Overall, participants masturbated for 64.6% of occasions when they
viewed pornography, with 21.7% of participants masturbating every time.
The Effects of Pornography Use, Sexual Behaviors, and Sleep Position on
Erotic Dreams
The frequency of dreaming about sex with a woman was positively correlated
with incidence rates of most sexual behaviorsincluding the frequency of pornog-
raphy use, r
s
.253, p .001, maximum number of ejaculations by means of sexual
Table 5 (continued)
Item no. Pornographic theme Average % Rank Scale
15 Middle-aged homosexuals 2.2 48 5 Homosexuality
21 Chubby women 2.2 49 3 Mature women
35 A woman penetrating a mans anus with
a strap-on dildo
2.0 50 11 Masculine women
46 Bestiality (sexual intercourse with ani-
mals)
1.8 51 6 Regressive and primitive sex
11 An older woman ( 60 years old) having
sex with a young man
1.5 52 3 Mature women
16 Elderly homosexuals 1.0 53 5 Homosexuality
14 An older woman and an older man hav-
ing sex
0.8 54 3 Mature women
47 Using small animals as a sex toy (e.g.,
snakes, eels, or insects; different from
bestiality)
0.8 55 6 Regressive and primitive sex
48 Female-to-male transsexuals 0.6 56 7 Transsexuality
49 Male-to-female transsexuals 0.6 57 7 Transsexuality
Note. AV adult video.
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Lust, Pornography, and Erotic Dreams 187
interactions within a day, r
s
.237, p .001, percentage of masturbation while
watching pornography, r
s
.233, p .001, and total number of sexual behaviors
leading to ejaculation over the past six months, r
s
.222, p .001, and percentages
of choosing to watch certain types of pornography, such as Pornography 1 (role
playing), r
s
.356, p .001, Pornography 4 (typical content), r
s
.318, p .001,
and Pornography 10 (incest), r
s
.293, p .001. The linear regression model
comprising Pornography 1 (role playing; .279) and the frequency of pornog-
raphy use ( .171) could explain 13.3% of variance, F(2, 288) 22.005, p .001,
adjusted R
2
.127. Stepwise linear regression analyses eliminated any other
correlates added to the two-factor model.
Participants who had erotic dreams about men scored signicantly higher in
Pornography 2 (rough sex), z 3.445, p .001, Pornography 5 (homosexuality),
z 5.929, p .001, and Pornography 8 (phallism), z 4.850, p .001. The logistic
regression models for predicting dreams of men comprised the percentage of
watching Pornography 8 (phallism; e
B
1.163) and the frequency of masturbation
without ejaculation (e
B
1.427),
2
21.926, p .001.
The forward stepwise logistic regression analysis of all signicant correlates
indicated that dreaming of sex with female teachers could be predicted by
Pornography 3 (mature women) (e
B
1.090), Pornography 10 (incest; e
B
1.044),
and the frequency of masturbation ended with ejaculation (e
B
1.385),
2