Suchergebnisse

The classification of sexual fantasies and behaviors (here referred to as 'sexual interests') has historically been divided into 'paraphilic' and 'normophilic'. However, studies on paraphilic interests are often limited to clinical or forensic samples and normophilic interests are rarely assessed in tandem. Previous research has found mixed results for psychological and other correlates of sexual interests, potentially due to inconsistency in operationalism and measurement of fantasies and behaviors. The aim of the current study was to quantify correlates of sexual interests via the Sexual Fantasies and Behaviors Inventory, containing factors related to general fantasies/behaviors, normophilia, power dynamics, sadomasochism, and courtship paraphilias, using a large ( N = 4280) non-clinical sample. Psychological, developmental, sexual, and demographic correlates were investigated via bivariate correlations, mean difference testing, and multiple regression. Sexual interest domains were largely unrelated to psychopathology and developmental factors. Sociosexuality and more accepting attitudes towards sadomasochism was generally related to more arousal to/engagement in normophilic and paraphilic domains. More autism spectrum disorder traits were related to decreased normophilic interests. Psychopathic traits, sexual sensation seeking, and sexual compulsivity were related to paraphilia dimensions, especially courtship paraphilias and domination/sadism; the former was also associated with negative attitudes about establishing consent. Men, non-monogamous, and non-heterosexual participants indicated greater sexual fantasies and behaviors compared to women (except in the case of submission and masochism), monogamous, and heterosexual participants, respectively.

Peer antisocial behavior robustly predicts adolescents' own behavior, but not all adolescents are equally vulnerable to their peers' influence and genetic factors may confer vulnerability. This study used data of n = 3,081 adolescents from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children to examine whether brain‐derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a polymorphism that affects psychological functioning, moderates the association between affiliation with aggressive peers at age 10 and own aggression at age 15. A significant gene–environment interaction was found, where those who affiliated with aggressive peers in childhood showed increased risk of being aggressive in adolescence if they carried the BDNF met‐met variant compared with val‐val carriers. Our findings underline the importance of both biological and social factors for adolescent development.

AbstractResearch on sex differences in antisocial behaviour may shed light on the causes of childhood antisocial behaviour. Using a longitudinal design, we tested whether there were sex differences in the amount of harsh discipline children received or in the effect of harsh discipline and whether this accounted for sex differences in later conduct problems. Our sample was a representative, longitudinal sample of 13 830 twins born in England and Wales between 1994 and 1996. Results showed that boys experienced more harsh discipline than girls and that the sex difference in harsh discipline accounted for 10 percent to 20 percent of the sex difference in conduct problems. We found no evidence that harsh discipline had a greater effect on boys vs. girls. We also found evidence of a bidirectional relationship between harsh discipline and child conduct problems. These findings were replicated within families, automatically controlling for between‐families confounding factors.