title: The relationship between personality and sexual motivation: an investigation based on Cloninger's model in nonclinical Italian subjects.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between personality and sexual motivation according to Cloninger's psychobiological model of the personality.
  
  
  METHODS
  Three hundred and ten volunteers recruited among the students of the University of Messina, Italy, participated in the study. All subjects underwent a psychometric examination with the following instruments: Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) and Sex and the Average Woman (or Man; SAWM).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The best negative predictor of Sexual Excitement and Satisfaction was the temperamental dimension Harm Avoidance; as it regards character dimensions, Cooperativeness was the best negative predictor of Sexual Excitement, while Self-Directedness was the best positive predictor of Sexual Satisfaction.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Overall, inhibitory aspects of the personality have deeper effects on sexual motivation than excitatory ones. The results of this research suggest the importance of studying the relationship between personality and sexual behavior. An integrative psychobiological approach to the study of sexual excitement and satisfaction may give a fundamental contribution to the assessment and psychological treatment of predisposing personality factors (like avoidant tendencies) involved in the development and persistence of sexual dysfunction.
authors.forename: Umberto
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Micò
authors.forename: Giuseppe
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Scimeca
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bruno
authors.forename: Gianluca
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pandolfo
authors.forename: Vincenzo M
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Romeo
authors.forename: Domenico
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Mallamace
authors.forename: Rocco
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zoccali
authors.forename: Maria R A
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Muscatello
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D010551:Personality; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011594:Psychometrics; D012494:Sampling Studies; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D013334:Students; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014495:Universities