Sex differences in same-sex direct aggression and sociosexuality: The role of risky impulsivity

From the book : Evolutionary Psychology 8 issue 4 : 779-792.
Sex differences in same-sex direct aggression and sociosexuality are among the most robust in the literature.
The present article evaluated the hypothesis that both can be explained by a sex difference in the willingness to take impulsive risks.
Self-report data were gathered from 3,775 respondents (1,514 female) on same-sex aggression, sociosexuality, and risky impulsivity.
Risky impulsivity was higher for men than for women (d .34) and path analysis showed it to be a common cause of same-sex aggression and sociosexuality for both sexes.
However, it did not completely mediate the sex differences in same-sex aggression and sociosexuality.
The results suggest that same-sex aggression and sociosexual behavior share a common psychological mechanism, but that fully explaining sex differences in aggression requires a more sensitive assay of impulsive risk and a consideration of dyadic processes.