| Description |
Based on life history theory and the adaptive calibration model, this study examined whether elevated stress responsivity (measured with salivary oxytocin and salivary cortisol in response to a laboratory stressor) was associated with sexual behaviors that are generally conceptualized as indices of a fast life history strategy (early sexual debut, more favorable attitudes toward unrestricted sex, and greater numbers of sexual partners), among a sample of 69 heterosexual, bisexual, and lesbian women. We also examined whether sexual arousability (measured via women's self-reported sexual arousal during laboratory exposure to auditory sexual stimuli) moderated the relationship between stress responsivity and sexual behavior. Contrary to prediction, neither cortisol nor oxytocin stress responsivity was associated with any of the sexual behaviors. We found an unexpected interaction between arousability and oxytocin stress responsivity in predicting the number of sexual partners: Specifically, among women with low levels of oxytocin stress responsivity, those who were more arousable to sexual stimuli reported more sexual partners, whereas this was not the case for women with high oxytocin stress responsivity. Ancillary analyses revealed moderating effects of sexual-minority status, indicating a need for future research testing the predictions of life history theory with more diverse populations. |
