Sadism in the context of intergroup aggression.

People more readily harm members of outgroups than ingroups, often enjoying the inflicted agony. Yet it remains unclear how these malevolent tendencies towards outgroups relate to sadism. Sadists often harm others, driven by a desire to feel pleasure from their suffering. In attempt to bridge these two lines of research, this work examined relationships between sadism and aggression against ingroup and outgroup members in three studies (total N = 755) that focused on two groups with a history of conflict (i.e., the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland). Across all studies, British participants' sadistic tendencies were just as strongly linked to their aggression against ingroup members (i.e., British partners) as to their aggression against outgroup members (i.e., Irish partners). Despite this lack of a preference for greater outgroup aggression, they tended to enjoy outgroup aggression more than ingroup aggression, especially at its extreme levels. These findings extend works linking sadism to aggression into the domain of intergroup relations and bind together research on sadism and intergroup schadenfreude.

Trophy, souvenir, or simple theft? Taking items from the victim in sexual homicide.

Although most people have heard the terms 'souvenirs', 'trophies', and 'mementos', discussed in books and movies on the true crimes of sexual murderers, limited research has delved into the phenomenon of theft in sexual homicide (SH). Using a sample of 762 SH cases coming from the Sexual Homicide International Database, the current study examines the crime-commission process of the pre-crime, crime, and post-crime phases of sexual homicide offenders (SHOs) who engaged in theft during a SH. Additionally, this study seeks to determine if a specific type of SHO engages in this behaviour over others. Results from the sequential logistic regression indicate that victims who are 16 years or older, were strangers to the SHO, and were sex workers were more likely to be victims of theft. Additionally, results indicate that the presence of sadism made it more likely the SHO would engage in theft from the victim and/or crime scene. Findings suggest there is a group of SHOs who engage in theft not for monetary purposes but due to the paraphilia of the offender. These findings can inform the police investigation of these crimes.

Sadism and Personality Disorders.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: Sadistic pleasure-the enjoyment of harm-infliction to others-can have devastating interpersonal and societal consequences. The goal of the current review is to illuminate the nomological net of traits related to sadism. We aim to achieve an understanding of the current empirical status on the link between sadism and personality disorders, psychopathy, the Dark Triad, and basic personality traits in clinical and community-based samples. RECENT FINDINGS: The field is dominated by self-report studies on the Dark Triad with convenience samples. The link with DSM personality disorders has hardly been empirically studied. Existing evidence shows that sadism is most strongly related to increased psychopathic personality traits. Sadism can originate both from the interpersonal, affective, and behavioural basis of dark personality traits. There are diverging ideas on the differential status between sadism, psychopathy, and other dark traits. Research is needed on the causal impact of the broader range of personality disorders on sadism, in more diverse samples, including behavioural assessments of sadistic pleasure, as well as on the interplay of such personality traits with situational and affective aspects, and victim attitudes.

Is "sadistic pleasure" a contrived process of signaling one's antagonism?

OBJECTIVE: Sadistic pleasure presumably incorporates processes that support an authentic enjoyment of others' pain. However, antagonism confirmation theory, grounded in social-psychological theorizing on identity maintenance and the notion of ego-syntonicity, suggests that individuals higher in sadism report greater pleasure in response to others' pain because such reports are immoral responses that confirm their self-views. This alternative conception has yet to be tested. METHOD: In two preregistered experiments (total N = 968), participants completed measures of sadism, read about situations involving others' pain, and rated their pleasure. We manipulated the extent to which pleasure from others' pain could be used to signal morality or antagonism. RESULTS: We found that relatively sadistic people indicated greater pleasure across the studies but, like relatively non-sadistic people, they altered their pleasure ratings to signal greater morality or less antagonism. CONCLUSIONS: The findings fail to support antagonism confirmation theory, but they support recent perspectives on sadism that suggest that sadistic people may occasionally care about seeming moral (or not seeming antagonistic) and that sadism may be somewhat ego-dystonic in this respect.

Serial sexual murder by juveniles and the role of sexual sadism: An international study.

This is a descriptive study of 21 cases of serial sexual murder by children and adolescents spanning nearly the past century and a half. No earlier cases worldwide were identified. Each of these youth committed two or more sexual homicides prior to age 18. Their psychopathological, psychosocial, crime scene behaviors, and offender-victim relationship characteristics are presented. Additionally, the role of sexual sadism and its measurement using the SADSEX-SH rating scale is addressed. Nearly all of the sample had conduct disorder, a paraphilic disorder, and sadistic fantasies, and two-thirds had sexual sadism disorder. Family dysfunction, serious school problems, and average or above IQ levels were typical. Their modus operandi generally reflected predatory behavior and direct contact methods of killing were most common. Two case reports are provided to illustrate the breadth and complexity of these offenders. Juvenile Serial Sexual Homicide is an extremely rare but persistent phenomenon. Prognostic implications and future research directions are discussed.

Childhood Trauma Predicts Sadistic Traits and Violent Behavior in Incarcerated Youth.

Childhood trauma exposure is prevalent among incarcerated youth and associated with antisocial traits and behavior. It has been proposed as a risk factor for the development of sadistic traits, which has been shown to predict future violence in youth. Using regression analyses, we examined the association between self-report and expert-rated measures of childhood trauma, sadistic traits (i.e., verbal, physical, vicarious sadism), and violence (i.e., homicide and non-homicide violent acts) in 54 incarcerated juveniles. Expert-rated (but not self-report) severity of physical abuse was associated with physical and vicarious sadistic traits. Other trauma types (e.g., emotional or sexual abuse) were not significantly associated with sadistic traits. Physical abuse coupled with vicarious sadistic traits conferred the highest risk of non-homicide violence. The findings support and clarify links between childhood trauma, sadistic traits, and violent behavior in youth, and are distinct from those found in other antisocial profiles.

Cannibalism-overview and medicolegal issues.

Cannibalism, the consumption of another by an individual of the same species, is a widespread practice amongst many animal groups. Human cannibalism or anthropophagy, however, is less common but has been found in many diverse groups ranging from hominids to Crusaders and soldiers in World War II. Although the existence of human cannibalism has been vigorously debated in recent times, it seems clear that well-described cases have occurred. The motivation for consuming human tissues may be (1) nutritional, (2) ritual and (3) pathological. A case of alleged cannibalism involving one of the victims of the so-called Snowtown serial killings in South Australia, Australia, is reported with an analysis of the history and features of cannibalism. Forensic problems may occur in accurately identifying remains that have been cannibalized; however, if ritualistic, serial and/or sadistic homicides are encountered, cannibalism should be considered, particularly if body parts are missing.

Sexual Sadism Disorder and Coercive Paraphilic Disorder: A Scoping Review.

BACKGROUND: Valid and reliable diagnostic criteria are essential in forensic psychiatry and sexual medicine due to the severe implications of potential misdiagnoses. One challenge in this field is the poor operationalization of sexual sadism disorder (SSD) and coercive paraphilic disorder (CP+) definitions. AIM: The aim of this scoping literature review is to provide a comprehensive overview of the key conceptual differences between SSD and CP+, as well as consider pragmatic and clinically useful approaches to their diagnostic formulation. METHODS: Arksey and O'Malley's methodological framework was followed. A literature search of Medline, PsychInfo, Web of Science, and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature electronic databases was conducted. Publications in English describing the construct and/or operational definition of SSD or CP+ were included. Full-text studies were reviewed by 2 authors and data was charted and synthesized qualitatively. RESULTS: The initial search provided 1,271 records, after which 120 full-text papers were considered for eligibility and 48 studies were ultimately included. The most common sources of definitions for SSD and CP+ were the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (n = 53) and the International Classification of Disease (n = 12). There was more variation of terms used for CP+ than SSD. Both CP+ and SSD are critiqued by reviewed literature for having low validity, reliability, and consistency, as well as being conflated with sexual crime. SSD is better described due to having diagnostic criteria and validated diagnostic tools. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Currently, clinicians rely mostly on the DSM to diagnose SSD or CP+. As applications of SSD and CP+ definitions vary, interpretations may not be generalizable between clinicians. Furthermore, specific diagnoses may be practically unhelpful and unreliable. It may therefore be beneficial for treatment to be determined by risk of harm. In addition to these concerns, the stigma associated with SSD and CP+ may also impact treatment. STRENGTHS & LIMITATIONS: Strengths of this study include duplicate review and charting to increase methodological rigor, transparent reporting to minimize publication bias, and encompassing a comprehensive scope. Limitations include the weaknesses of low strength of reviewed literature and risk of publication bias. CONCLUSION: Despite their significant implications, the definitions of SSD and CP+ are inconsistent and lack reliability. Future research is necessary to develop stronger diagnostic criteria and tools. Liu A, Zhang E, Leroux EJ et al. Sexual Sadism Disorder and Coercive Paraphilic Disorder: A Scoping Review. J Sex Med 2022;000:1-11.

How safe is BDSM? A literature review on fatal outcome in BDSM play.

A noteworthy number of people are interested in BDSM (bondage and discipline, dominance and submission, sadism, and masochism). Fatal outcomes while participating in BDSM activities occur. The aim of this literature review is to give a better insight into potential dangerous BDSM play by summarizing published data on BDSM fatalities. A literature search was conducted. It was searched for non-natural death related to BDSM activity. Seventeen cases were found. The age of the deceased ranged between 23 and 49 years (mean age 34.9 years). Strangulation in the course of erotic asphyxiation was the most common cause of death (88.2%). In 13 cases, a toxicology report for the deceased was mentioned, of which in eight cases (61.5%) toxicology analysis was positive. In four of these cases, the BDSM partner was also tested positive with the same substance. Drugs or alcohol was involved in 64.3% of fatal BDSM play. In nine cases, the level of experience in BDMS activity of the deceased and the partner was described, and in all of them, the deceased and the partner were not new to BDSM play. Fatal outcomes of BDSM plays are rarer than autoerotic fatalities and natural deaths related to sexual activities. Safeguards and education on medical aspects exist in the BDSM communities. If they are followed by the practitioners, the risks of BDMS play can be reduced. Cases of non-natural death connected to BDSM are rare incidents and can be prevented.

Hormonal response to perceived emotional distress in incarcerated men with sexual sadism.

Sexual sadists derive pleasure from humiliation, domination and infliction of pain on victims. They display increased penile arousal and activation of brain regions involved in sexual arousal and emotional states when viewing stimuli depicting individuals in physical distress. Neuroactive hormones modulate these regions, but it is unknown if sexual sadists also have endocrine responses to depictions of individuals in distress. The present study examined endocrine responses, elicited by viewing a video depicting an individual in extreme emotional distress, in incarcerated adult male sexual offenders (n = 23) with varying levels of sadistic traits. Sadism, was measured by the Severe Sexual Sadism Scale (SeSaS). Testosterone (T), adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), and oxytocin (OT) were assayed before and after participants watched a video depicting an individual in emotional distress. T responses to the video were significantly and positively associated with SeSaS scores. There were no significant associations between sexual sadism and OT or ACTH. Our findings provide physiological evidence of atypical processing of distress cues in sadism consistent with the role of testosterone in sexual arousal and aggressive behaviors. These findings have implications for the evaluation and treatment of sexual sadists.

The dark side of Brazil: Effects of dark traits on general COVID-19 worry and responses against the pandemic.

Brazil is one of the epicenters of the COVID-19 pandemic (i.e., 563,470 deaths until August 9th, 2021). Since the Brazilian government is partly struggling and partly unwilling to control the pandemic, staying healthy falls almost exclusively to the population. Therefore, it is crucial to understand the predictive role of personality traits to explain the willingness to combat the COVID-19 virus. In the present study (N = 496), we investigated the Dark Pentad traits: Machiavellianism, narcissism, psychopathy, sadism, and spitefulness. Our findings revealed that the first four traits were consistently negatively associated with various measures that indicate whether the pandemic is taken seriously, such as the perceived severity of COVID-19 and intentions to act against COVID-19. Structural equation modeling further showed that general COVID-19 worry mediated the link between the Dark Pentad and adaptive and maladaptive responses. Our results indicate that all dark traits are associated with unsocial behaviors, but their relative importance varies depending on the outcome variable.

Fatal anogenital exenteration of the intestine.

A case of a sadistically motivated homicide with extraordinary injuries is reported. A 32-year-old woman was naked with signs of severe blunt trauma and oral, vaginal and anal penetration. At the crime scene, the intestine lay next to the woman without connection to the body. During the trial before the criminal court, the perpetrator admitted fisting and inserting several objects into the vagina, anus and oral cavity. Moreover, after anal and vaginal insertion of the hands, large parts of the intestine were torn and pulled out through the anus and the vagina. The results of the forensic pathological examination and additional investigation are discussed and compared with the pertinent literature. This extraordinary case of a sadistically motivated homicide ended with a final judgment that is extremely rare in German jurisdiction.

Your pain, my gain: The relationship between self-report and behavioral measures of everyday sadism and COVID-19 vaccination intention.

Vaccination plays a crucial role in containing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, a significant fraction of the global population is reluctant to take a coronavirus vaccine. A burgeoning literature has considered mainly adaptive personality traits as antecedents of vaccine hesitancy (i.e., Big Five and HEXACO), while maladaptive personality traits (i.e., "Dark Tetrad" of personality) are often a comparatively neglected area. In this research, we examined the relationship between everyday sadism and intention to get vaccinated against COVID-19. We theorized that driven by antisocial tendencies and social indifference, individuals with higher sadism may be less willing to obtain a vaccine. Employing a bug-killing paradigm to capture everyday sadism, we tested this prediction in a Chinese sample of non-student adults (N = 188). Support for this proposition was found in the lab task, which demonstrates that sadism was associated with more vaccine refusal spanning the self-report and behavioral domains. In addition, we showed that the sadistic behavioral choices can be predicted with self-report measure of sadistic personality. These findings highlight the important role of maladaptive personality traits in predicting vaccination attitudes and intentions.

An Examination of Empathy and Interpersonal Dominance in BDSM Practitioners.

BACKGROUND: Recent research has indicated that participation in BDSM (bondage-discipline, dominance-submission, and/or sadism-masochism) is not associated with psychological distress or psychopathology but that sexual roles may be associated with personality characteristics, specifically interpersonal dominance and empathy. AIM: The present study examined potential differences between those who identify as dominant, switch, and submissive on interpersonal dominance and empathy. METHODS: Individuals who identified as members of the BDSM community were recruited online via a social networking site. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Self-reported demographic variables, the Personality Assessment Inventory, Dominance subscale, and the Interpersonal Reactivity Index Empathic Concern subscale. RESULTS: Participants were well distributed across sexual roles (n = 279; 25.4% dominant, 38% submissive, 36.6% switch), identified as primarily female (59.5%), primarily heterosexual (53.4%), and the most common age group was 25-34 years (27.2%). BDSM role was associated with scores on the Dominance subscale; dominant BDSM practitioners scored significantly higher on the Dominance scale than switches, who in turn scored significantly higher than submissives (dominant mean [M] = 61.44, standard deviation [SD] = 8.26; switch M = 53.99, SD = 11.18, P < .01; submissive M = 49.41, SD = 11.46, P < .01). There were no differences on the measure of empathy between dominant, submissive, and switch BDSM practitioners. On average, individuals who identified as submissives and switches scored in the average range on the Dominance scale compared with the normative sample, and individuals who identified as dominants scored higher but not in the markedly elevated range. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: The study provides information on the relationship between interpersonal dominance as a personality trait and dominance as a sexual role and has implications for reducing stigma related to these practices. STRENGTHS AND LIMITATIONS: The study contributes to the growing literature suggesting that while BDSM roles may correspond with specific personality characteristics, they are not indicative of personalities significantly different than the general population's. The study also included individuals who identified as switch, a group often excluded from quantitative research in the BDSM community. The sample was, however, recruited exclusively online, and findings may not be applicable to all BDSM practitioners. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that there are no differences in empathy between BDSM practitioner roles, and although there are differences in interpersonal dominance, these characteristics are not likely to be prominent in individuals' everyday interactions. Jansen KL, Fried AL, Chamberlain J. An Examination of Empathy and Interpersonal Dominance in BDSM Practitioners. J Sex Med 2021;18:549-555.

Neural Correlates of Moral Judgment in Criminal Offenders with Sadistic Traits.

Sexual sadism is a paraphilia that focuses on domination, humiliation, and infliction of pain on a victim to stimulate sexual arousal. Although extensively described in psychology and forensic sciences, less is known about whether the harmful acts committed by sexual sadists are accompanied by deficits in moral judgment. A limited amount of behavioral research suggests moral insensitivity in sexual sadists; however, the neural networks underlying moral judgment in sadists have not been studied. In this pilot study, 21 incarcerated male sexual offenders with (n = 11) and without (n = 10) sexual sadism were scanned with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while they viewed pictures that did or did not depict situations considered by most individuals to represent moral transgressions, and rated their degree of moral transgression severity. Results indicated primarily overlapping neural systems underlying moral judgment in sadists and non-sadists. However, non-sadists but not sadists showed a positive correlation between moral transgression severity ratings and activity in the anterior temporal cortex (ATC). This lack of ATC engagement in sadists might be a biomarker of altered moral judgment.

The Psychology of Kink: A Cross-Sectional Survey Study Investigating the Roles of Sensation Seeking and Coping Style in BDSM-Related Interests.

Despite the gaining popularity in mainstream media of the phenomenon that is BDSM, empirical research on the motives and underlying psychological mechanisms driving BDSM practitioners is scarce. The current study focused on the potential driving roles of sensation seeking and coping styles in BDSM-related interests and behavior. A cross-sectional survey questionnaire was completed by 256 Dutch-speaking BDSM practitioners (110 men, 135 women, 7 gender fluid, 2 genderless, 1 other not specified), 1 missing (this participant did not answer the question regarding gender, but did answer all other survey items) and a matched control group lacking any BDSM interest recruited from the general Belgian population (N = 300; 135 men, 158 women, 4 gender fluid, 3 genderless). The questionnaire consisted of several items surveying different BDSM identities and interest levels of BDSM-related activities, an adapted version of the Dutch Sensation Seeking Scale, and items querying seven coping styles. Compared to controls, BDSM practitioners reported significantly higher levels of sensation seeking for all dimensions (experience seeking, thrill seeking, and distraction seeking), as well as the use of more active coping skills such as problem solving and taking action. Gender differentiated which specific coping skills were being used with women seeking out more emotional support and comfort and reaching out more for help and advice in both the BDSM and control group, and men taking more action and seeking distraction in leisure. About 40% of the practitioners reported using BDSM itself as a coping strategy. Further research is needed to explore the link between coping and sexuality in general, and to other psychological processes that drive BDSM interests in order to destigmatize and normalize consensual BDSM-related activities within the general population.

Between Pleasure and Pain: A Pilot Study on the Biological Mechanisms Associated With BDSM Interactions in Dominants and Submissives.

BACKGROUND: BDSM is an abbreviation used to reference the concepts of bondage and discipline, dominance and submission, sadism, and masochism, enacted by power exchanges between consensual partners. AIM: To shed light upon the rewarding biological mechanisms associated with BDSM interactions. METHODS: A group of 35 BDSM couples (dominant and submissive counterparts) were recruited and tested during a BDSM interaction, with an additional control group of 27 non-BDSM interested people tested in a normal social interaction. OUTCOMES: We compared the evolution of the stress and reward hormone levels of cortisol, beta-endorphins, and endocannabinoids (2AG and anandamide) in a group of BDSM practitioners before and after an active BDSM interaction with the levels in control individuals. RESULTS: We showed that submissives showed increases in cortisol and endocannabinoid levels due to the BDSM interaction, with dominants only showing increased endocannabinoid levels when the BDSM interaction was associated with power play. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: This study effectively provides a link between behavior that many think of as aberrant on one hand, and biological pleasure experience on the other, in the hope that it may relieve some of the stigma these practitioners still endure. STRENGTHS & LIMITATIONS: It is one of the first and largest studies of its kind, but is still limited in sample size and only represents a specific population of Flemish BDSM practitioners. CONCLUSION: Even though this is one of the first studies of its kind, we can conclude that there is a clear indication for increased pleasure in submissives when looking at biological effects of a BDSM interaction, which was related to the increases in experienced stress. Wuyts E, De Neef N, Coppens V, et al. Between Pleasure and Pain: A Pilot Study on the Biological Mechanisms Associated With BDSM Interactions in Dominants and Submissives. J Sex Med 2020;17:784-792.

Enthusiastic Acts of Evil: The Assessment of Sadistic Personality in Polish and Italian Populations.

Subclinical sadism has received substantial attention in recent research as a trait that predicts a variety of malevolent behaviors. The objective of this study was to assess the 'psychometric robustness and portability' of the Assessment of Sadistic Personality (ASP). We examined the convergent and discriminant validity, and invariance of translated versions of the ASP within community samples of Polish and Italian individuals. The study included 568 individuals (340 women and 228 men) residing in Italy (Mage = 23.57, SDage = 2.55) and 556 individuals (411 women, 144 men, 1 other) residing in Poland (Mage = 23.48, SDage = 4.60). For cultural invariance purposes, data from a Canadian sample comprising 638 students were used. To establish convergent and discriminant validity, participants completed measures of sadism, the Dark Triad, the Big Five, interpersonal reactivity, and maladaptive traits described in the DSM-5. Across both samples, convergent and discriminant validity were supported. Configural and partial metric invariance were satisfied, and following implementation of alignment optimization, latent mean differences were evaluated between countries. Results of the study supported the psychometric qualities of the ASP across different cultures and languages, and the utility of the ASP as a valid measure extending beyond university samples.

Sexual Sadism Among Sex Offenders in Switzerland.

The Sexual Sadism Scale (SeSaS) was developed to assist in the diagnosis of sexual sadism, and it revealed adequate psychometric properties in prior research. This study cross validated the SeSaS in Switzerland using a sample of 179 male sex offenders. Specifically, the SeSaS conformed to a Mokken model of double monotonicity (scalability coefficient [H] = .46, coefficient of reproducibility [CR] = .89), indicating that it measures a unidimensional construct of sexual sadism with hierarchically ordered items. The reliability of the scale was acceptable to high (ρ = .80, λ2 = .75, κ = .88). In addition, the SeSaS was strongly associated with sexual sadism diagnoses based on mental health manuals (rpb = .60, odds ratio [OR] = 13.02, area under the curve [AUC] = 1) but not with recidivism. The results suggest that the use of the SeSaS may improve the validity and reliability of sexual sadism diagnoses, therefore playing a role in the assessment and management of sex offenders.

The Role of Consent in the Context of BDSM.

Consent represents a central focus in the controversial realm of BDSM-an overlapping acronym referring to the practices of Bondage and Discipline, Dominance and Submission, and Sadism and Masochism. Many authors have argued that the hallmark feature that distinguishes BDSM activity from abuse and psychopathology is the presence of mutual informed consent of all those involved. This review examines the relevant literature on consent in BDSM, including discussions on safety precautions, consent violations, North American laws pertaining to BDSM practice, and the role of the BDSM community with respect to education and etiquette surrounding consent. Practical information relevant to professionals who work toward the prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse is provided. The explicit approach to consent practiced by those in the BDSM community is proposed as a model for discussions around consent in clinical and educational contexts. Criteria for distinguishing abuse from BDSM and identifying abuse within BDSM relationships are outlined. It is our hope to demystify the consent process and add to the growing body of literature that destigmatizes consensual BDSM practices.