Extraversion, neuroticism, and sexual behavior: interrelationships in a sample of young men

In his theory on sexuality and personality Eysenck proposed a positive correlation between extraversion and intensified sexual behavior and between neuroticism and problems in sexual behavior. An earlier study with married persons did not show any of these correlations. It was hypothesized that this connection exists only for unmarried persons who are not engaged in long-lasting relationships, because in the latter the quality of the relationship determines the sexual interaction. Within a sample of young unmarried men there was a positive correlation between extraversion and items in which the person described earlier sexual activity with more persons and in higher frequency. No correlation was found with neuroticism. There were also slight correlations with other personality and social attitude scales. Because of the correlation with an acting-out personality scale, the findings were interpreted from a social-psychological perspective. In our culture the young male is expected to take the initiative in sexual interaction which the extraverted young male can realize better than one who is introverted.