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It is believed that men, due to higher levels of testosterone in them, have more desire for sex than women do. However, a latest research at the University of Michigan reveals that women with higher levels of testosterone indulge in self-pleasure more often than others.

Also, women with higher level of the hormone are less likely to want to have sex with a partner, the study reveals.

The possible reasons for the newly discovered phenomenon are many, including anxiety, say researchers.

"People have argued that sex research focuses too much on dysfunction and pharmaceutical treatment as opposed to questions like pleasure or relationships or stress. There is a whole scope of factors that go unstudied," Lead author Sara M Van Anders from the University of Michigan told LiveScience.com.

For the study, 105 men and 91 women were asked to fill out a questionnaire pertaining to their sex lives.

Also, the saliva samples of the men and the women were tested for testosterone and the stress hormone cortisol. Testosterone is a steroid hormone that is released by the ovaries in women and testes in men as well as in the adrenal gland in both sexes, reported Mail Online.

The study revealed that the frequency of desire for sex or masturbation in men had nothing to do with their testosterone levels.  

In women, the level of testosterone, however, determined if they wanted to have sex with a partner. The results support a previous study that linked women in long-term relationships to them having lower testosterone.

According to Van Andres, it is perhaps the lower level of the hormone that makes them find partner to be close with, rather than just have sex with.

"When you're saying you desire sexuality with another person, what are you desiring and are people desiring different things sometimes? Are some people more desiring to be with their partner, to give their partner pleasure, to have a routine, or for their own pleasure?" She told LiveScience.com.

Anders found that men are more likely to masturbate than women, and also have more desire to have sex. It is still unclear if desire triggers masturbation or vice versa.

The research has been published online in the journal Archives of Sexual Behaviour.