ORIGINAL RESEARCH—PSYCHOLOGY The Relationship between Anger and Heterosexual Behavior. An Investigation in a Nonclinical Sample of Urban Italian Undergraduates Maria R.A. Muscatello, MD, PhD,* Antonio Bruno, MD, PhD,* Giuseppe Scimeca, PsyD,* Gianluca Pandolfo, MD, PhD,* Riccardo Paduano, PsyD, † Umberto Mico’, MD,* Paolo Micali Bellinghieri, MD,* Floriana Di Nardo, MD,* Giovanni Iannuzzo, MD,* Vincenza Cofini, PhD, † Ferdinando di Orio, MD, † and Rocco Zoccali, MD* *Department of Neurosciences, Psychiatric and Anesthesiological Sciences, University Hospital of Messina, Messina, Italy; † Department of Internal Medicine and Public Health, University of L’Aquila, L’Aquila, Italy DOI: 10.1111/j.1743-6109.2009.01640.x ABSTRACT Introduction. The relationship between anger and sexual behavior has never been thoroughly addressed, although it may deserve special attention because of its theoretical and practical consequences. Aim. We were interested in determining the extent in which trait anger was associated with dysfunctional sexual behavior, taking into account possible gender differences. Method. In this correlational study, 410 volunteers (199 men and 211 women) recruited from the students of the University of Messina, Italy, participated in the study. Median age of participants was 24 years. Men and women did not differ significantly in age (U = 18996, P = 0.606). Main Outcome Measures. The individuals’ sexual behavior was assessed using the Sex and the Average Woman (or Man) questionnaire. Results. We found no association between trait anger and either measure of sexual motivation: sexual excitement, r (396) = 0.11, P = 0.016, and sexual fulfillment, r (396) =-0.06, P = 0.134. Also, gender had no effect on either of these two variables. Trait anger had a positive significant correlation with neurotic sex, r (396) = 0.29, P < 0.002, impersonal sex, r (396) = 0.20, P < 0.002, and aggressive sex, r (396) = 0.28, P < 0.002. As we predicted, the associations between trait anger and these last three variables were stronger for men than for women (although only aggressive sex had a significant result). In multivariate analyses, impersonal sex ceased to be a significant correlate of trait anger. Conclusions. Trait anger has a negative effect on sexual behavior. It seems to exert its worst effects on the nature of sexual interpersonal behavior rather than on sexual motivation. We found no effect of gender on sexual motivation. However, the positive correlation between anger and relational sexual behavior was stronger for men than for women. Muscatello MRA, Bruno A, Scimeca G, Pandolfo G, Paduano R, Mico’ U, Micali Bellinghieri P, Di Nardo F, Iannuzzo G, Cofini V, di Orio F, and Zoccali R. The relationship between anger and heterosexual behavior. An investigation in a nonclinical sample of urban Italian undergraduates. J Sex Med 2010;7:3899–3908. Key Words. Anger; Sexual Behavior; Sexual Motivation; Gender Differences Introduction A nger has been defined as a negative emo- tional state associated with the perception of being wronged by another person [1]. As one of the most relevant human emotional experiences, anger is commonly reported by the general popu- lation [2]. It is usually conceived as an emotion with a strong interpersonal valence [3,4] as it involves other-blame in reaction to a perceived injustice or insult coming from someone else [5,6]. 3899 © 2010 International Society for Sexual Medicine J Sex Med 2010;7:3899–3908