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Paraphilia is defined as a condition in which sexual excitement relies on fantasizing about and/or participating in unusual sexual behavior. Although recent studies have assessed the concordance between paraphilic interests and paraphilic behaviors, few studies have studied which individual traits and demographics predict engaging in paraphilic behaviors, or the level of concordance between arousal and behavior. The current study replicated and expanded Joyal and Carpentier’s 2022 study. We assessed concordance between paraphilic arousal and behavior. Further, we assessed the impact of Dark Tetrad traits, impulsivity, social desirability and demographic variables on engaging in paraphilic behaviors using self-report questionnaires in a sample from the general population and FetLife. Finally, we were interested in whether these individual differences moderated the concordance between arousal and behavior. Results indicated high concordance between paraphilic arousal and behavior for all paraphilias except pedophilia and hebephilia. Younger, male participants were more likely to engage in various paraphilias than women and older participants. Machiavellianism was linked with lower paraphilic behavior, particularly impulsive or risky ones. Psychopathy predicted engaging in more deviant or illegal paraphilias, whereas sadism only showed an association for engaging in frotteurism and narcissism was not a predictor for engaging in any paraphilia. For several paraphilias, individual traits moderated the effect of arousal on behavior. Implications of these findings and future directions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mimicry Deception Theory (MDT) argues that deception varies along a long- to short-term continuum. Long-term deception involves complex deception, community integration, slow resource extraction, and low detectability, whereas short-term deception is the opposite. To date, no self-report scale exists that assesses a dispositional orientation toward long-term deception. Across four studies, we developed and validated a Mimicry Deception Scale (MDS) to assess individuals' dispositional orientation toward long-term deception. Using theoretically driven items, we found a reliable four-factor structure through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Further, MDS components were strongly correlated and had acceptable internal consistency. For convergent validity, long-term MDS positively correlated with Machiavellianism, conscientiousness, and planning. Finally, the test-retest reliability of the MDS was acceptable, and the complexity facet of the MDS predicted successful lying over time. The findings have implications for how to profile, identify, and recognize patterns of deception, especially with respect to long-term patterns using self-report. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]