Personality Traits and Coping Styles as Mediators in Risky Sexual Behavior: A Comparison of Male and Female Undergraduate Students

Abstract

The aim in this study was to examine the extent to which differences in risky sexual behavior (RSB) between males and females is mediated by their personality traits and coping styles. Participants were 180 first-year undergraduate students who were evaluated with the Tridimensional Personality Questionnaire (Cloninger, 1987); the Multidimensional Coping Inventory (Carver, Scheier, & Weintraub, 1989); and a Risky Sexual Behavior Questionnaire. Findings showed that while the majority of the males had engaged in RSB at least once during the previous year (80%), the majority of the females had not engaged in such behavior (62%). In addition, the males scored significantly higher than did the females on the novelty-seeking personality dimension (i.e., the tendency to respond with intense excitement to novel stimuli), as well as on the problem-focused and the avoidance coping styles. Path analysis revealed 2 mediators in the relationship between RSB and gender: novelty seeking and the avoidance coping style.

Psychophysiological Response Patterns and Risky Sexual Behavior in Heterosexual and Homosexual Men

“…Others (e.g., Jaccard & Wilson, 1991), while in agreement with the second point, emphasize the need to conceptualize personality more specifically in sexual terms. Examples of general, nonsexual traits that have been studied and found relevant to the prediction of risky sexual behavior (e.g., number of sexual partners, consistency in using condoms) are sensation seeking, impulsivity, and harm avoidance (Bancroft et al, 2003(Bancroft et al, , 2004Gil, 2005;Hoyle et al, 2000;Lejueza, Bornovalovaa, Daughtersa, & Curtin, 2005), Examples of sexuality-related traits that have been found to be associated with risky sexual behavior are erotophilia (e.g., Fisher & Fisher, 1999) and the propensity for sexual inhibition (Bancroft et al, 2003(Bancroft et al, , 2004, as measured by the Sociosexual Orientation Survey (SOS) and the Sexual Inhibition/Sexual Excitation scales (SIS/SES), respectively. Interestingly, both measures have been found to be predictive of sexual responses in the laboratory (e.g., Janssen, Vorst, Finn, & Bancroft, 2002b;Janssen & Bancroft, 2007;Fisher, Byrne, White, & Kelley, 1988), which further supports the relevance of considering not just the role of (general and sexual) personality factors in risky sexual behavior, but also their possible psychophysiological correlates.…”

Temperament, Context and Sexual Risk among College Students

“…Temperament also did not predict actual sexual risk behaviors as well. While other studies have found that various constructs of temperament are predictive or associated with risk behaviors [ 21 , 23 , 25 , 26 ], none have examined all three constructs together that make up arousal, affect, and attention in one study; nor, has it been looked at with the interaction of context. Thus, in this sample temperament as a whole is not a factor in risky sexual intentions or behaviors.…”

“…Sensation seeking [ 21 – 23 ] and negative mood [ 23 , 24 ] are related to higher sexual risk intentions (i.e., choosing risky partners, intentions not to use condoms). Novelty-seeking, harm-avoidance, reward-dependence, and avoidant coping styles are related to actual behaviors of unprotected sex [ 25 ]. Gulletteand Lyons studied sexual sensation seeking and compulsivity in relation to HIV risk behaviors and found that although men scored higher than women on sexual sensation seeking, there were no gender differences in regards to sexual risk behaviors [ 6 ].…”

Ways of coping and personality traits among Kurdish adolescents

“…Some studies indicated that gender plays a role in the method of coping used by adolescents. Researchers (Lengua and Stormshak, 2000;Gil, 2005) confirm that females prefer using social support, emotion-focused, and avoidant coping strategies relative to males. Males, on the other hand, seem to prefer using other activities to cope.…”