Two-Dimensional Structure of the Sociosexual Orientation Inventory and Its Personality Correlates

Reliability and Validity of the Colombian Version of the Revised Sociosexual Orientation Inventory

Sociosexuality refers to an individual's disposition to have casual sex without establishing affective bonds and has been widely studied worldwide using the Revised Sociosexual Orientation Inventory (SOI-R; Penke & Asendorpf, 2008). Despite its many validations in different cultural contexts, no psychometric analyses of this instrument have been conducted in Spanish-speaking Latin American countries. To address this gap in the literature, we examined the psychometric properties of the SOI-R in Colombia. In a cross-sectional study with a large sample of participants (N = 812; 64% women), we conducted exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses to identify different factor structures and determine which had the best fit for our sample and examined the reliability of the scale. Results showed that a three-factor structure, with sociosexual behaviors, attitudes, and desire as first-order factors, and global sociosexuality as a second-order factor, had the best fit indexes. Each factor presented good reliability indexes. Replicating already established gender differences, we also found that men scored higher on each factor when compared to women. These findings show that the SOI-R is a reliable and valid instrument to assess sociosexuality in countries where sociosexuality research is underrepresented.

The Association Between Relationship Orientation, Relationship Quality and Sexual Satisfaction

Although, uncommitted dating via online apps is widespread, most people find value in long-term, trusting relationships. From a social and evolutionary point of view, it has been theorized that mating strategies, and, in particular, short-term strategies make some relationships more vulnerable than others. In our study, we examined short- and long-term relationship orientation and their association with relationship quality. We analysed data from 395 heterosexual couples using the actor-partner-interdependence model in order to explore effects on individuals and couples. Results demonstrated that short-term orientation was associated with lower levels of relationship quality and an increased likelihood of complaints about the partner and the relationship. Long-term relationship orientation, on the other hand, was associated with higher levels of relationship quality. In addition, higher levels of sexual satisfaction mediate the association between short-term orientation and relationship quality. In-depth analyses revealed gender- and couple effects.

Do Early Life Experiences Predict Variation in the General Factor of Personality (GFP)?

Objective

The controversial General Factor of Personality (GFP) has been proposed as an indicator of social effectiveness and a slower life history strategy. An alternative hypothesis holds that only meta-trait alpha, comprising agreeableness, conscientiousness, and emotional stability, is a slow life history indicator. This study tested whether the GFP and/or alpha emerges from both self- and stranger-ratings, and whether either is predicted by indicators of harsh childhood ecologies.

Methods

U.S. undergraduate participants (N = 366) completed a Big Five instrument, a measure of socially desirable response bias, and brief (thin slice) videotaped interviews. Raters scored the interviews using the same Big Five instrument.

Results

Structural equation modeling of the self-report data yielded a well-fitting GFP, which was positively associated with father closeness. Meta-trait alpha, based on self-report, was associated with both father closeness and neighborhood stress, but showed positive loadings only for agreeableness and emotional stability. Stranger-rating data failed to yield either a well-fitting GFP or metatrait alpha.

Conclusions

Our findings are equivocal regarding the usefulness of the GFP specifically, and higher-order personality factors generally, in evolutionary personality science.

Mental Health Disparities Mediating Increased Risky Sexual Behavior in Sexual Minorities: A Twin Approach

Increased risky sexual behavior in sexual minorities relative to heterosexual individuals may be partly explained by mental health disparities, and both factors may be further jointly influenced by common genetic and environmental factors. However, these relationships have not been previously investigated. The objectives of the present study were to investigate mental health disparities as a mediator of the relationship between sexual orientation and risky sexual behavior, controlling for genetic and environmental effects in this relationship and testing for sex differences. Participants included 5814 twins from a Finnish twin cohort. Specified latent factors included sexual orientation, mental health indicators, and risky sexual behavior. Twin models were fitted to the factor structure of the data whereby a Cholesky decomposition on the factors was compared to a mediation submodel using OpenMx. Sex differences were tested in the final model. Phenotypically, mental health disparities partially mediated the relationship between sexual orientation and increased risky sexual behavior, with comparable effects in males and females. However, while this indirect route from sexual orientation to risky sexual behavior mainly contained transmitted genetic effects in males, there was a significant proportion of transmitted shared environmental effects in females. This is the first study to demonstrate that the mediation relationships between sexual orientation, mental health disparities, and risky sexual behavior are not confounded by genetic and environmental factors. The significant sex differences need to be recognized in future research and intervention design to improve sexual health in sexual minorities.

The Tridimensional Structure of Sociosexuality: Spanish Validation of the Revised Sociosexual Orientation Inventory

Casual sex has become a common experience for many university students. Therefore, it is necessary to have instruments and studies that analyze youth's orientation toward sociosexuality. The SOI-R assesses sociosexual behavior, attitudes toward sociosexuality, and the desire for relationships without commitment with just nine items. The goal of this study was to validate the Spanish version of the SOI-R, to improve the scale, and to contribute evidence of the utility of the Sociosexual Desire subscale. Participants were 839 heterosexual university students of both sexes, aged between 18 and 26, who completed a battery of online questionnaires. The internal structure of the SOI-R revealed the three proposed theoretical dimensions, with medium to low relationships between factors. The instrument has measurement invariance with regards to sex and age. The Spanish version of the SOI-R had adequate levels of reliability. The modification of the first item of the scale is suggested, as well as the relevance of assessing sociosexual desire as an independent construct. The relation between sociosexuality and other sociodemographic and psychosocial variables was also analyzed. The discussion highlights the need for research to determine youth's sociosexual orientation and patterns of casual sex.

A missense polymorphism in the putative pheromone receptor gene VN1R1 is associated with sociosexual behavior

Pheromones regulate social and reproductive behavior in most mammalian species. These effects are mediated by the vomeronasal and main olfactory systems. Effects of putative pheromones on human neuroendocrine activity, brain activity and attractiveness ratings suggest that humans may communicate via similar chemosignaling. Here we studied two samples of younger and older individuals, respectively, with respect to one nonsynonymous polymorphism in the gene encoding the human vomeronasal type-1 receptor 1, VN1R1, and one nonsynonymous polymorphism in the gene encoding the olfactory receptor OR7D4. Participants in both samples had self-reported their sociosexual behavior using the sociosexual orientation inventory, including questions regarding lifetime number of one-night stands, number of partners last year and expected number of partners the coming 5 years. In women, there was a significant association between the VN1R1 polymorphism and sociosexual behavior in both samples, driven specifically by the question regarding one-night stands. Our results support the hypothesis that human social interaction is modulated by communication via chemosignaling.