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The relationship of instrumentality and expressiveness to sexual behavior in males and females

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Abstract

In a study of the relationship between gender-relevant personality attributes and sexuality, 259 unmarried males and females completed the short form of the Bem Sex Role Inventory and a detailed survey of their sexual experiences. Multiple regression analyses showed that, for both men and women, instrumental personality attributes were associated with greater sexual experience, including the frequency of sexual intercourse and oral sex, the number of sexual partners, the age at which respondents first had sex, and more relaxed feelings about having sex. Further, interactions of instrumentality and expressiveness revealed that women who scored high in instrumentality but low in expressiveness were consistently more sexually active and experienced than other groups.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Wake Forest University, 27109, Winston-Salem, NC

    Mark R. Leary

  2. Southeast Missouri State University, USA

    William E. Snell Jr.

Authors
  1. Mark R. Leary
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  2. William E. Snell Jr.
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Additional information

The authors would like to thank Janet Shibley Hyde and Janet T. Spence for their helpful comments on an earlier version of this manuscript.

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Leary, M.R., Snell, W.E. The relationship of instrumentality and expressiveness to sexual behavior in males and females. Sex Roles 18, 509–522 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00287957

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00287957

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