Pathological Personality and Problematic Attitudes Towards Sex

Sexual assault is a serious problem, and the more the scientific community understands about the individuals who participate in such problematic behaviors, the more effectively interventions and preventative programs can be designed and implemented. To date there has been little research focused on the relationship between personality and sexually aggressive attitudes and behaviors. The small amount of research that has been conducted has focused specifically on the construct of psychopathy and how it relates to sexual aggression, with no known studies addressing personality psychopathology more broadly. The present study sought to examine the relationship between a broad range of pathological personality traits (i.e. Negative Affectivity, Disinhibition, Antagonism, Detachment, and Psychoticism) and problematic sexual attitudes. Participants recruited online completed a series of self-report tests to measure pathological personality traits and problematic attitudes about sex. The results of this study showed pathological traits including antagonism, disinhibition, and negative affectivity were associated with problematic sexual attitudes. These results have implications for the improvement of current intervention and prevention programs for sex offenders and expanding the clinical utility of the Alternative Model of Personality Disorders in DSM-5 Section III.