An exploration of the characteristics, correlates, and underlying psychological processes of sexual fantasies

The present thesis aimed to explore some of the key features and potential correlates of deviant sexual fantasies and sexual fantasies more generally, as well as the psychological processes involved in their onset, development, maintenance, and selection, and their relationship to behaviour. Chapter 1 introduces the key conceptual and definitional issues relating to the term deviant sexual fantasies. Following a review of definitions, this chapter concludes with a new and clearer definition of deviant sexual fantasies and sexual fantasies overall. Chapter 2 is a psychometric critique of the Wilson Sex Fantasy Questionnaire used in two subsequent chapters of the thesis. It further relates the conceptual and definitional issues of Chapter 1 to methodological challenges related to the study of sexual fantasies. The critique reveals that the questionnaire demonstrates good internal validity and reliability, and its main limitations regard its poor external validity and lack of norms. Recommendations are made to modernise the tool and adapt some of its measures. Chapter 3 presents a systematic review of studies using the Wilson Sex Fantasy Questionnaire with a variety of male populations but with a focus on non-forensic and non-clinical samples, as well as child molesters. The results reveal an overall consistent trend in the frequencies of fantasy themes across samples, with intimate fantasies being endorsed the most, followed by exploratory fantasies, then impersonal fantasies, and finally, sadomasochistic fantasies. Two studies also suggest a relationship between fantasy experience and personality type. For instance, self-actualising personalities endorsed intimate fantasies the most whilst self-destructive personalities endorsed them the least, and self-destructive personalities fantasied the most overall whilst low affective personalities fantasised the least. It is proposed that differences in fantasy experience across personality types relate to their different abilities to emotionally regulate and to the way they relate to other people. Similarly, a negative relationship was identified between Cluster A personalities (paranoid, schizoid, schizotypal) and intimate fantasises, and Cluster B personalities (histrionic, narcissistic, borderline, antisocial) were observed to fantasise the most overall (compared to Cluster A and Cluster C: anxious, dependent, avoidant, obsessive-compulsive). Chapter 4 provided an opportunity to implement some of the recommendations from Chapter 2, using an adapted version of the WSFQ to explore the sexual fantasies of a non-forensic and non-clinical community sample. This empirical study focused on establishing relationships between sexual fantasies, sexual behaviour, pornography consumption, and childhood abuse in males and females. Notably, positive relationships were identified between frequency of sexual fantasising, frequency of masturbation, and frequency of pornography consumption, but future research is recommended to establish causality. In addition, emotional and physical abuse in childhood were positively related to masturbation frequency in males as adults, and sexual abuse victimisation was negatively related to frequency of sexual intercourse in females. Also, physically abused males fantasised more overall and emotionally abused males fantasised more intimate fantasies during masturbation, and more intimate fantasies and sadomasochistic fantasies during sexual intercourse. Sexually abused females fantasised significantly more during masturbation and endorsed significantly higher rates of impersonal fantasies during masturbation and sexual intercourse. Sexually abused males fantasied higher rates of sadomasochistic fantasies during intercourse. Tentative hypotheses are offered that focus on the relationship between abuse type and sexual fantasy experience, as well as gender differences in coping style. Chapter 5 presents a case study of an adolescent male with high functioning autism, paranoid thinking, and violent revenge fantasies. This generated reflection on the relationship between fantasy and behaviour in general and illustrated the fruitfulness of broadening one's perspective by drawing on the literature from other areas of research. Lastly, Chapter 6 concludes this thesis with an exploration of the psychological processes involved in the onset, development, maintenance, and selection of sexual fantasies, as well as their relationship to behaviour, based on the main findings of preceding chapters, a model was developed.