A mediation model of the role of sociosexuality in the associations between narcissism, psychopathy, and sexual aggression

Abstract: 

Objective: This study examines the link between pathological personality traits (i.e., narcissism and psychopathy) and perpetration of sexual aggression among college men. Additionally, it explores how sexuality impacts the operation of these personality traits in the context of sexual aggression. Our model proposed that sociosexuality (i.e., willingness to engage in frequent, casual sexual encounters) would explain the associations of narcissism and psychopathy with perpetration of sexual aggression. Method: A sample of college men (n = 296) self-reported levels of Narcissistic Personality Disorder traits, psychopathy, sociosexuality, and history of both rape and sexual assault perpetration. Results: Participants who scored in the upper third of the distribution of all three personality variables were twice as likely to report perpetration relative to the sample as a whole (i.e., 46% vs. 22%). Both narcissism and psychopathy distinguished perpetrators from nonperpetrators, but with sociosexuality included in the model neither personality trait continued to explain significant variance in perpetration. Conclusions: Pathological personality traits aid in our understanding of perpetration among college men, and sexuality plays an important role in explaining the association between pathological personality traits and perpetration. Therefore, prevention programs designed to target men with this personality profile might be particularly efficacious.