The Biopsychosocial Factors of Different Sexual Behaviours: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

The current systematic review and meta-analysis aim to highlight the importance of biopsychosocial factors impacting engagement in sexual behaviours and gaps in the existing literature base surrounding the topic. To be eligible for inclusion, the study had to use a sample of participants who were old enough to give informed consent, write in English, generate original data, and focus on sexual behaviours. In addition, other systematic reviews and meta-analyses would be excluded from the study. Studies focusing on forensic settings and criminal sexual behaviours were also excluded. The EBSCOhost database was searched to find the studies used in the analysis. The quality of each study was assessed using the JBI Critical appraisal checklist for studies reporting prevalence data. Synthesis was completed through a series of analyses, including random-effects meta-analysis, sub-group analysis, meta-regression, and publication bias assessment. The current synthesis included nine papers and 35 studies within the meta-analysis, with a total of 282,951 participants, all of which investigated the effect that biological, psychological, or social factors had on sexual behaviour. The combined effect model was significant and had a 95% CI. Sub-group analysis showed that psychological factors held the most weight in terms of predicting engagement in sexual behaviours, and biological factors held the least amount of weight in predicting engagement. There are some limitations to the synthesis, such as the heterogeneity of the studies used; some of the studies investigated factors having a negative effect on engaging in sexual behaviours, meaning that the current combined effect estimate may be false. However, despite this, the results highlight the importance of managing the psychological factors correlated with higher engagement in risky sexual behaviours.