Banca de DEFESA: MATHEUS BARBOSA DOS SANTOS

Sexual orientation and personality construction: an evolutionary perspective

LGBTQIA+, personality, HEXACO, homophobia, Evolutionary Psychology 

Personality has been the subject of study in the sciences for several years, and it is known that it is influenced by various factors, including the developmental environment. Individuals from LGBTQIA+ communities face challenges from childhood that can have consequences for these individuals, including the formation of personality. The aim of the research was to investigate whether childhood events are related to the expression of personality traits in individuals from these communities. To this end, 371 participants in our study responded to the HEXACO and Dark Triad Dirty Dozen instruments to measure personality traits, the QUESI (Questionnaire about Childhood Traumas) to study the developmental environment, and finally the sociodemographic questionnaire. The results demonstrate that there is a positive correlation between QUESI score and conscientiousness and emotionality personality traits and a negative correlation for the socioeconomic measure. Detailing the QUESI, we found positive correlations between emotional abuse and some personality traits (conscientiousness, openness, emotionality, machiavellianism, and psychopathy) and negative correlation for agreeableness and the socioeconomic measure. Psychological abuse correlated positively with conscientiousness, emotionality, machiavellianism, and psychopathy, and negatively with the socioeconomic measure. In turn, sexual abuse showed a positive correlation with conscientiousness and psychopathy, as well as a negative correlation with the socioeconomic measure. Regarding neglect, emotional neglect correlated negatively with humility-honesty, machiavellianism, and psychopathy, and positively with agreeableness and the socioeconomic measure. When we compared the groups, we found differences in the trait of machiavellianism, where bisexuals had a higher average than homosexuals, and narcissism, with males having a higher average than females, and bisexuals with a higher average than homosexuals. The conclusion is that there is a correlation, positive or negative, between personality traits, socioeconomic status, and developmental environment, necessitating further investigation in future studies to determine if there is also a cause-and-effect relationship between these variables and sexual orientation and sex.