Perceptions, motivations and patterns of masturbation among tertiary students in southwest Nigeria: a cross-sectional study

Abstract Background Masturbation is a common form of sexual expression, but it remains culturally sensitive and under-discussed in many Nigerian tertiary settings. Evidence is limited on how students interpret masturbation, what motivates it, and which contexts shape reported frequency. This study examined perceptions, motivations and patterns of masturbation among tertiary students in southwest Nigeria. Methods A cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted among 410 students selected from five departments of a health technology institution in Sagamu, Ogun State, Nigeria. Data were collected using an adapted self-administered questionnaire and analysed in IBM SPSS version 25. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation and multiple linear regression were used to examine associations among perception, pattern, reason and frequency scores. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. Results Respondents had a mean age of 23.95 years (SD 5.15); 232 (56.6%) were female and 296 (72.2%) were single. Past-year masturbation was reported by 309 respondents (75.4%), although monthly engagement was more common than daily engagement. Perceptions were ambivalent: many respondents endorsed masturbation as normal, private and tension-relieving, while many also associated it with harm, addiction, guilt and moral wrongness. Perception score correlated positively with frequency score (r = 0.497, p < 0.001), whereas pattern and reason scores were strongly correlated with each other (r = 0.682, p < 0.001). In regression analysis, perception was the strongest positive predictor of frequency (beta = 0.450, p < 0.001), followed by reason score (beta = 0.264, p < 0.001). Pattern score was a negative predictor (beta = -0.257, p < 0.001). The model explained 28.8% of variance in frequency. Conclusions Masturbation among students in this health training institution was common, contextually shaped and morally ambivalent. Sexual health education in tertiary settings should create evidence-based, culturally aware and non-judgemental spaces that distinguish ordinary sexual self-exploration from distress, misinformation and compulsive patterns.