Exploring the psychological characteristics and risk-related cognitions of individuals who own sex dolls

Harper, C ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3172-0129, Lievesley, R ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4957-258X and Wanless, K, 2022. Exploring the psychological characteristics and risk-related cognitions of individuals who own sex dolls. Journal of Sex Research. ISSN 0022-4499 (Forthcoming)

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Abstract

The ownership of sex dolls has become an increasingly controversial social issue over the last five-to-ten years, with many in society (and academia) calling for the criminalization of such dolls. At the root of these calls is the implicit (and often explicit) assumption that sex doll ownership contributes to increases in negative social attitudes towards women, and sexual offense risk among doll owners. However, there are yet to be any empirical examinations of these claims. In this work we compare the psychological characteristics and comparative sexual aggression proclivities of sex doll owners (n = 158) and a non-owner comparison group (n = 135). We found no substantive differences in most psychological traits. Doll owners scored lower than comparators in relation to sexual aggression proclivity. They were, however, more likely to see women as unknowable, the world as dangerous, and have lower sexual self-esteem. They also had more obsessive and emotionally stable personality styles. We conclude that there is no evidence that sex doll owners pose a greater sexual risk than a non-owning comparison group, before highlighting the need for more evidence-informed social debates about the use of sex dolls in modern society.

Item Type:	Journal article
Alternative Title:	Sex doll ownership [running head]
Publication Title:	Journal of Sex Research
Creators:	Harper, C., Lievesley, R. and Wanless, K.
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis (Routledge)
Date:	15 February 2022
ISSN:	0022-4499
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.1080/00224499.2022.2031848 DOI 1510480 Other
Rights:	This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article to be published by Taylor & Francis in The Journal of Sex Research in 2022, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/00224499.2022.2031848
Divisions:	Schools > School of Social Sciences
Record created by:	Linda Sullivan
Date Added:	24 Jan 2022 14:23
Last Modified:	15 Feb 2023 03:00
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/45406

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