Sexual functioning and personality pathology

Objective: Aim of the present study is to explore, in a community sample of women, the relationship between sexual excitation/inhibition and the pathological personality dimensions proposed by the alternative model of personality disorders in DSM-5 (APA, 2013). Methods: The sample is composed of 175 pre-menopausal women from the community (mean age: 22.22 yes; SD¼ ± 3.42 yes; age range: 18-46). Most participants were university students (86.3%), single (93.1%) and exclusively heterosexual (89.9%). Participants were asked to complete the Personality Inventory for DSM5 e Brief Form (PID-5-BF) in order to explore pathological personality traits, and the Sexual Inhibition and Sexual Excitation Scales (SIS/SES) to assess typical sexual response patterns. Results: Three hierarchical regression analyses were carried out to test the associations between PID-5 personality dimensions (predictors) and the three sexual excitation/inhibition scales (dependent variables). Negative affect (b¼ -.191; p<.05), Detachment (b¼.218; p<.05), Antagonism (b¼ -.239; p<.01), Disinhibition (b¼ -.218; p<.01) were selected as predictors of sexual excitation. Disinhibition was also predictive of Inhibition 2 (b¼.239; p<.01). Conclusion: Our results expand previous findings on the relationship between pathological personality features and sexual functioning and support the importance of both assessing sexuality in patients with personality disorders and exploring personality features in individuals with sexual problems