Personality and sexually deviant behavior

• We examine the relationship between subclinical paraphilia and personality traits.
• Exhibitionism and voyeurism relate to high levels of narcissism.
• Transvestism relates to greater openness to experience.
• Sadomasochism reflects greater openness in men and Machiavellianism in women.

The present research expands on the relationship between subclinical paraphilia and Big Five and Dark Triad personality traits in an online sample of 585 adults. In this sample, sexually deviant courtship behaviors such as exhibitionism and voyeurism were related to high levels of narcissism while transvestism related to greater openness to experience. Further, there were gender differences in the relationship between sadomasochism and personality with sadomasochism reflecting greater openness in men and Machiavellianism in women. These findings suggest that deviant sexual behaviors represent both a degree of antisocial personality functioning and a degree of personal openness that depends on the specific behavior being examined and that more research is needed in this area.