Morningness–eveningness and sociosexuality: Evening females are less restricted than morning ones

Abstract

Sociosexual orientation is a construct describing the propensity to engage in casual sex and sexual activity in uncommitted relationships, varying from restricted to unrestricted orientation. The personality profile of people exhibiting unrestricted sociosexuality matches a personality profile related to eveningness. Previous research on sociosexuality and morningness–eveningness is scarce, however, and conducted only with male participants. The present study aimed at testing whether eveningness is related to unrestricted sociosexuality in both genders. Participants were 352 (62.8% female) Poles aged between 17 and 57. They completed the reduced morningness–eveningness Questionnaire and the revised Sociosexual Orientation Inventory, consisting of three facets: behavior, attitude, and desire. The results revealed that females were more restricted than males in all facets of sociosexuality. Moreover, in both genders older age was related to less restricted behavior and attitude. Analyses showed that morningness–eveningness was unrelated to sociosexuality in males, but in females eveningness was linked to less restricted global sociosexuality (ρ=−0.272), and to less restricted sociosexual behavior (ρ=−0.182), attitude (ρ=−0.275) and desire (ρ=−0.151). Eveningness in females could be regarded as a contributory factor to the instability of romantic relationships and high-risk sexual behaviors.