Sexual Deviance

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This article explores the inconsistencies of different studies linking sexual deviancy to personality traits and looks to address this through research. The authors describe sexual deviance as “any arousal or sexual preference directed towards objects or activities outside of societal norms” (Lodi-Smith, Shepard & Wagner, 2014). Extreme cases of sexual deviance are referred to as paraphilia by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5, American Psychiatric Association, 2013). As an example, masochism and sadism are considered to be one of the extreme cases of sexual deviance. Older research appears to support three main theories in regards to the link between personality traits and sexual deviancy. The first theory is that deviant sexuality is linked to …show more content…

The study was administered via online survey and was advertised on popular social media sites such as Tumblr and Fcebook. In addition, fetish specific advertisement were posted on such sites such as Fetlife and under the hashtags #BDSM and #sexuality. The results varied dependent on the sexual behavior that was assessed. For example, “sexually deviant courtship behaviors such as exhibitionism and voyeurism were related to high levels of narcissism while transvestism related to greater openness to experience” ((Lodi-Smith, Shepard & Wagner, 2014). In addition, when assessing sadomasochism, there were gender differences; sadomasochism reflected a greater openness in men and Machiavellianism in women. As a result these findings were inclusive in their ability to truly link deviant sexual behaviors with personality traits. For example the findings represented both a degree of antisocial personality functioning and a degree of personal openness, which was dependent on the specific behavior being examined (Lodi-Smith, Shepard & Wagner,

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