Adolescent Insult Decreases (Increases) Sexuality in Males (Females)
Gallup et al (2009) find that victimization by peers during childhood and adolescence has opposite effects on the sexuality of males and females:
We studied levels of peer victimization from an evolutionary perspective by investigating self-reported victimization during adolescence in relation to sexual behavior in college students. One-hundred and twelve (47 female) undergraduates completed self-report measures of victimization during middle and high school, onset of sexual activity, and number of sexual partners. Nearly 85% of victimization during adolescence was perpetrated by members of the same sex. Furthermore, results show that this intrasexual victimization (particularly indirect forms) was negatively correlated with reproductive opportunities in males, but positively correlated in females. Males who were frequently victimized had fewer total sexual partners and partners per year on average, while females who were often victims of aggression reported having more sexual partners and an earlier onset of sexual activity. Regression analysis revealed that demeaning, diminishing and embarrassing was the most significant predictor of the rate of sexual activity in both sexes (although this relationship was inverted between them), while teasing was the best predictor of total sexual partners in females.
In the article’s discussion, the authors write:
Adolescent peer victimization appeared to significantly reduce mating opportunities among males, and results indicate that over 91% of this reported victimization was perpetrated most often by other males. We hypothesize that this is due to the effect victimization has on lowering status and reputational attainment in a male dominance system. For instance, being left out of the social group by members of the same sex diminishes social stature and presumably mating opportunities (Shackelford et al., 2005). Accordingly, we found that teasing, demeaning, isolation and exclusion were all negatively correlated with sexual partners per year in males. In addition, overall victimization in middle school, as well as individual measures of teasing, demeaning, and isolation were all negatively associated with total number of sexual partners (p < .1). This is in accord with previous findings by Pellegrini and Long (2003), who showed that male dominance predicts dating popularity. These interpretations are also consistent with evolutionary theory, as social status and resource attainment are often correlated with one another (Buss, 2004), making males at the bottom of the dominance hierarchy less desirable to females (Shackelford et al., 2005). This presumably results in fewer reproductive opportunities.
On the other hand, females who were frequently victimized during adolescence reported more sexual partners and had sex at earlier ages than their peers. With respect to intrasexual victimization, one interpretation of this is that females who are more attractive during early adolescence (i.e. middle school) are routinely subject of indirect victimization by members of the same sex due to envy and resentment (Hill & Buss, 2006). In line with this proposition, research has shown that envy over physical appearance is an important cause for indirect aggression by adolescent females (Owens, Shute, & Slee, 2000). Pellegrini (2007) also proposes that the use of indirect or relational aggression by females to access heterosexual relationships may be mediated by physical attractiveness, with less attractive females targeting their more attractive counterparts for victimization. Recent findings in middle and high school females also show that perceived physical attractiveness was positively correlated with indirect victimization (Leenaars et al., 2008). Furthermore, in studies of verbal aggression through derogation of competitors, women are found to slander their rivals by impugning their physical appearance and hence their reproductive value ([Buss and Dedden, 1990] and [Campbell, 1999]). This interpretation is consistent with the view that intrasexual aggression is evolutionarily adaptive as a means of diminishing the desirability of rivals, as males across cultures preferentially seek physical attractiveness when choosing mates (Shackelford et al., 2005).
Another possibility is that female victims are of lower status and may yield to male sexual pressure. Studies show that females who have experienced sexual coercion often suffer from psychological problems similar to those associated with victimization, such as poor social and psychological adjustment (Zweig, Barber, & Eccles, 1997) and low self-esteem (Testa & Dermen, 1999). In addition, low self-esteem has been linked with an earlier onset of sexual activity in females (Spencer, Zimet, Aalsma, & Orr, 2002), and in our sample overall victimization in high school was negatively correlated with the age at first sex. . .
Our data show that females were just as likely to be teased by males as by females, while all other measures of victimization were predominantly perpetrated by members of the same sex. In addition, regression analysis revealed teasing to be the most significant predictor of the total number of sexual partners in females. . .
Due to differences in parental investment and sexual selection, evidence suggests that men achieve increases in reproductive success mainly through increases in the number of sexual partners ([Betzig, 1986] and [Dawkins, 1986]), while costs entailed from short-term mating in females (Buss, 2004) suggests that maximum reproductive fitness in women is not linearly predicted by total sexual partners. Based on these predictions, adolescent victimization appears to be an effective peer fitness deterrent among males.
I would emphasize that our male evolutionary ancestors lived in durable groups of the same males. Sabotaging other males’ reproductive prospects through victimization would have increased one’s own reproductive chances.
The article continues:
Reproductive success in females on the other hand, is less contingent upon total number of sexual partners, with more emphasis put on mate choice and long-term resource investment, protection, and provisioning of offspring (Buss, 2004). Gestation and lactation put time constraints on female fertility; therefore an increase in sexual partners would do little to enhance a female’s reproductive fitness. Due to the prospect of infidelity and paternal uncertainty, males put a premium on fidelity in potential permanent partners. For this reason, females known to be promiscuous may suffer reputational damage, and this could affect the quality of their future long-term mates (Buss, 2004). Although males may show initial attraction towards promiscuous females in regards to a short-term mating strategy (Buss & Schmitt, 1993), they are less likely to pursue these females for a long-term, invested relationship. As a result, it can be argued that adolescent victimization is also linked to negative fitness consequences in females; not by reducing mating opportunities (as in males), but by promoting an increase in sexual activity which may be accompanied by damaging reputational effects.