TY - JOUR
T1 - Genetic and environmental influences on risky sexual behaviour and its relationship with personality
AU - Zietsch, B. P.
AU - Verweij, K. J. H.
AU - Bailey, J. M.
AU - Wright, M. J.
AU - Martin, N. G.
PY - 2010
Y1 - 2010
N2 - Risky sexual behaviour is a major health issue in society, and it is therefore important to understand factors that may predispose individuals to such behaviour. Research suggests a link between risky sexual behaviour and personality but the basis of this link remains unknown. Hans Eysenck proposed that personality is related to sexual behaviour via biological underpinnings of both. Here we test the viability of this perspective by analysing data from identical and non-identical twins (N = 4,904) who completed a questionnaire assessing sexual attitudes and behaviour as well as personality. Using genetic modelling of the twin data, we found that risky sexual behaviour was significantly positively correlated with Impulsivity (r = .27), Extraversion (r = .24), Psychoticism (r = .20), and Neuroticism (r = .09), and that in each case the correlation was due primarily to overlapping genetic influences. These findings suggest that the genetic influences that shape our personality may also predispose us to risky sexual behaviour. © 2009 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.
AB - Risky sexual behaviour is a major health issue in society, and it is therefore important to understand factors that may predispose individuals to such behaviour. Research suggests a link between risky sexual behaviour and personality but the basis of this link remains unknown. Hans Eysenck proposed that personality is related to sexual behaviour via biological underpinnings of both. Here we test the viability of this perspective by analysing data from identical and non-identical twins (N = 4,904) who completed a questionnaire assessing sexual attitudes and behaviour as well as personality. Using genetic modelling of the twin data, we found that risky sexual behaviour was significantly positively correlated with Impulsivity (r = .27), Extraversion (r = .24), Psychoticism (r = .20), and Neuroticism (r = .09), and that in each case the correlation was due primarily to overlapping genetic influences. These findings suggest that the genetic influences that shape our personality may also predispose us to risky sexual behaviour. © 2009 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.
UR - https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?partnerID=HzOxMe3b&scp=77949277539&origin=inward
UR - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19813084
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10519-009-9300-1
DO - https://doi.org/10.1007/s10519-009-9300-1
M3 - Article
C2 - 19813084
SN - 0001-8244
VL - 40
SP - 12
EP - 21
JO - Behavior genetics
JF - Behavior genetics
IS - 1
ER -