A meta-analysis of psychopathy and the sociosexual orientation inventory

Abstract

People possessing high trait psychopathy may be more prone to exhibiting an unrestricted sociosexual orientation. Trait psychopathy is a trait characterized by low empathy, low anxiety, high thrill-seeking, and high impulsivity. Sociosexual orientation – operationalized here with the most widely administered measures of sociosexuality, the Sociosexual Orientation Inventory and its revisions – is defined as the openness to engaging in uncommitted sexual encounters. The current meta-analysis examined the connection between trait psychopathy and sociosexual orientation. A systematic and exhaustive search based on the inclusion criteria identified 48 independent samples across 37 studies consisting of 15,471 participants. Four potential meta-moderators were tested: sex, age, trait psychopathy measurement scale, and college student status. Applying a random-effects model, the summary effect determined a positive correlation between trait psychopathy and unrestricted sociosexual orientation r = 0.31, Z test = 16.68, p < .001, 95 % CI [0.27, 0.34]. Tests of publication bias indicated that bias in publication was not evidenced in this line of research. This meta-analytic review offers theoretical and applied insights and implications to help understand the connection between trait psychopathy and mating relationships.