Type D personality, sexual functioning, sexual satisfaction, and risky sexual behaviors among Polish university students: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND

The relationship of Type D personality with sexual functioning, satisfaction, and risky sexual behaviors in young adults remains unclear.

METHODS

This exploratory cross-sectional study used voluntary convenience sampling through Facebook student groups. It included 316 Polish university students reporting sexual initiation (63.0% women; age 26.2 ± 5.8 years). Type D personality was assessed with the DS14. Women completed the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI), men completed the Index of Premature Ejaculation (IPE), and all participants completed the Sexual Risk Survey (SRS). Group comparisons used Mann-Whitney U and chi-square tests with sex-specific false discovery rate correction. Hierarchical regression examined FSFI, IPE, lifetime sexual satisfaction, and SRS after adjustment for available covariates.

RESULTS

Type D personality was identified in 49.4% of participants. In unadjusted analyses, women with Type D personality had lower FSFI total scores (p < 0.001) and higher odds of meeting the FSFI cut-off (OR = 2.26, p = 0.011). After adjustment, Type D personality remained associated with lower FSFI scores in women (β = -0.24, p = 0.001), lower lifetime sexual satisfaction in women (β = -0.18, p = 0.008) and men (β = -0.39, p < 0.001), and lower SRS total scores in the combined sample (β = -0.12, p = 0.028). It was not associated with IPE scores (β = 0.07, p = 0.486).

CONCLUSIONS

Type D personality was associated with poorer female sexual functioning, lower lifetime sexual satisfaction, and lower sexual risk scores, but not with IPE-assessed outcomes. The cross-sectional, self-selected sample precludes causal inference and limits generalizability.