Sexual deviance, antisociality, mating effort, and the use of sexually coercive behaviors

Three high-order risk factors have been associated with a sexually coercive history in males: sexual deviance, antisociality, and mating effort. Ninety-nine young men were administered questionnaires to assess antisociality, and mating effort and 30 of them underwent a phallometric assessment of sexual deviance. Variables indexing antisociality, in particular psychopathy, were related to mating effort and self-reported sexual coercion. Variables indexing mating effort were also related to sexual coercion but those measuring sexual deviance were not. The strongest risk indicators for sexual coercion were psychopathy (as assessed by an early history of behavior problems), sensation-seeking, self-perceived mating success, and an extensive history of uncommitted sexual relationships.