Deviance or Normalcy? The Relationship Among Paraphilic Thoughts and Behaviors, Hypersexuality, and Psychopathology in a Sample of University Students.

Introduction: The actual definitions of paraphilic thoughts or behaviors and hypersexuality are still a matter of debate in the scientific community, and few studies have evaluated their psychopathological correlates in non-clinical samples of both men and women.

Aim: This study aimed at shedding light on the gender differences in terms of frequency of paraphilic fantasies and behaviors, and the relationship among paraphilias, hypersexuality, and general psychopathology.

Methods: A sample of 775 university students (243 men, 532 women) was recruited from 6 Italian universities using questionnaires posted in social networks.