PO-01-116 Personality and temperamental traits of heterosexual and homo-/bisexual men

Abstract

Findings from previous studies have revealed that populations of men, regarding their sexual orientation, differ in personality traits structure. The aim of this study was to identify personality and temperament traits differences between heterosexual men and MSM (who find themselves homosexual or bisexual) among Polish males. Men recruited in few Polish cities among volunteers (n=684; aged 30.80, SD=10.24) were asked to fill in questionnaire battery that consisted of NEO-FFI (Big Five personality traits), BIS/BAS (behavioral avoidance/inhibition scales as temperament description) and the socio-demographic survey. The Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests were used to compare particular groups. Sexual orientation of men had no impact on any of the behavioural activation subscales (drive, fun seeking and reward responsiveness). The heterosexual men obtained significantly lower scores than homosexual on behavioural inhibition scale. There were no such differences between heterosexual and bisexual, as well as homosexual and bisexual men. In regard to Big Five personality traits, heterosexual group was found to be less neurotic than homosexual; less open to experience and more conscientious in comparison to homo- and bisexual men. The only difference between homosexual and bisexual group was identified in the level of neuroticism - homosexual men obtained higher scores.