Archives of Sexual Behavior最新文献

From the evolutionary perspective, maintaining a committed relationship is beneficial for reproductive success but involves risks such as losing a partner or infidelity. People typically prefer partners with similar mate value (MV) to avoid rejection. However, when a mate value discrepancy (MVD) arises, the partner with lower MV might employ mate retention strategies to maintain the relationship. This study investigated whether men with lower MV compared to their female partners used cunnilingus more often and whether this effect was mediated by their motivation to satisfy the partner. Additionally, it tested the moderating role of men’s perceived vulnerability to disease (PVD), predicting that men less concerned about disease would show a stronger link between MVD and cunnilingus frequency, given the health risks associated with oral sex. Data from 540 men in committed heterosexual relationships confirmed that a higher MVD—where the man's MV was lower than his partner's—led to more frequent cunnilingus, and this relationship was mediated by a greater motivation to sexually satisfy the partner. However, the moderating role of PVD was not confirmed. We explore the evolutionary perspective that men may perform oral sex on their partners as a mate retention strategy. This behavior potentially serves as a benefit-provisioning mechanism, compensating for discrepancies in mate value.

Prior correlational studies have shown that belief in the biological theory of sexual orientation (BTSO) is associated with more positive attitudes toward homosexuality. However, individuals often interpret scientific evidence in ways that align with their pre-existing beliefs and motivations. This research experimentally investigated whether gender and religiosity moderate heterosexual individuals’ responses to scientific evidence either supporting or refuting BTSO. In two studies, heterosexual men (Study 1, N = 118) and both men and women (Study 2, N = 280) reported their religiosity and were exposed to evidence suggesting either biological differences or similarities between heterosexual and gay individuals. Results showed that, in the biological differences condition, heterosexual women and less religious men were more likely to perceive homosexuality as a natural biological variation and expressed more positive attitudes toward it. In contrast, more religious men interpreted the same evidence as indicating a biological anomaly in gay individuals and displayed more negative attitudes toward homosexuality.

Despite the high prevalence of sexual objectification, the understanding of gender differences in its victimization and perpetration remains limited. We bridged victim and perpetrator perspectives, expecting that objectification victimization positively predicts perpetration, and investigated the mediating role of social dominance orientation (SDO), and gender and perceived social mobility as moderators. Participants (valid N = 530) completed measures of sexual objectification victimization, perceived social mobility, SDO, and sexual objectification perpetration. We found that sexual objectification victimization predicted its perpetration, and that this relationship was stronger among men than women. SDO partially mediated the moderation effect of gender, whereby mediation through SDO was significant among men, but not significant among women. Moreover, a three-way interaction between sexual objectification victimization, gender, and perceived social mobility predicted SDO and carried subsequent implications for sexual objectification perpetration. Despite the mediation effect through SDO not achieving significance among women, it was significantly moderated by perceived social mobility. Specifically, the indirect effect among women with high perceived social mobility was significantly different than that among women with low perceived social mobility, but not significantly different than that among men, whose results were not influenced by perceived social mobility. This study provides a more nuanced understanding of gender in sexual objectification—specifically that gender differences may be related to social power and differences in socialization. The findings offer implications for the development of theories and clinical programs for coping with objectification victimization and preventing perpetration.

Amidst the predominantly risk-focused narrative of adolescent sexual health, sexual pleasure is often overlooked. This study examined the association between adolescents’ experienced sexual pleasure and profiles of sexual double standard (SDS) norms, which prescribe divergent expectations of sexuality based on gender. The sample consisted of 209 Dutch adolescents aged 16–20 years (57% female) who have had sexual intercourse. A survey assessed adolescents’ endorsement of SDS norms and perceived SDS norms of parents, peers, and the media, as well as adolescents’ experienced sexual pleasure. Latent profile analysis identified four distinct profiles. Profile 1 involved adolescents who held traditional personal views (e.g., seeing men as sexually dominant, women as sexually passive), but perceived less traditional external norms. Profile 2 included adolescents with egalitarian personal views (e.g., expecting similar sexual behaviors of men and women) and perceptions of less traditional external norms. Adolescents in Profile 3 had traditional personal views and perceived more traditional external messages. Adolescents in Profile 4 had egalitarian personal views coexisting with perceptions of less traditional peer and parent norms, but more traditional media norms. These profiles differed significantly in reported sexual pleasure by adolescents, with the highest levels of sexual pleasure observed in Profiles 2 and 3 and the lowest in Profile 1. Adolescent gender did not significantly moderate these relationships, indicating similar relations between SDS norms and sexual pleasure across genders. The findings underscore the complex interplay between personal norms and perceived social norms about sexuality, emphasizing the need for tailored educational strategies that effectively support adolescents in navigating differing social norms about sexuality during their sexual development.

Despite recurring calls for diversity and inclusion in adolescent sexuality research, our understanding of adolescents' sexual experiences beyond heteronormative vaginal intercourse remains limited. The current study examined orgasm (during masturbation and with a partner) and sexual behaviors (providing and receiving manual and oral stimulation) in middle adolescents. We conducted logistic regression and path analyses separately for cisgender (n = 2738) and transgender/non-binary (TNB) youth (n = 62) to explore gender and dyad type (intersection between gender and partner gender) differences among 2800 Canadian adolescents (51.4% cisgender girls, M_age = 16.41, SD_age = 0.55). With cisgender boys as reference, cisgender girls had lower odds of experiencing orgasm during masturbation, reported more difficulties with orgasm during partnered sex, received more manual sex, and less oral sex. TNB individuals assigned male at birth received more manual stimulation, and TNB assigned female at birth received less oral sex. For dyad type, compared to cisgender boys partnered with a girl, cisgender girls partnered with a boy and cisgender girls with a gender diverse partner (i.e., non-binary, trans, genderfluid or agender) had lower odds of having ever experienced orgasm during masturbation, reported more difficulties experiencing orgasm during partnered sex, and received oral stimulation less often. Cisgender girls who were partnered with a girl did not differ from cisgender boys who were partnered with a girl. Findings may inform programs that promote sexual wellbeing among youth.