Not twisted, just kinky: Replication and structural invariance of attachment, personality, and well-being among BDSM practitioners

Bondage, Discipline, Sadism, and Masochism (BDSM) is a range of diverse sexual practices. Stigma regarding BDSM is associated with dysfunctional personalities, insecure attachment styles, or damaged well-being. Previous studies have shown contrary evidence to these views. However, the replicability of these findings has not been properly studied. The present research provides a close replication study to test differences in personality, attachment, rejection sensitivity, and well-being between BDSM practitioners and non-practitioners. To overcome limitations in previous studies, this study provides a highly powered sample of a new population (Spanish, N = 1,907), including effect sizes, the presence and impact of LGTBIQA+ individuals, and assessing BDSM roles using an alternative classification. In addition, we explored differences in associations between attachment styles, personality, and well-being in BDSM practitioners. As predicted, BDSM practitioners showed higher levels of secure attachment, conscientiousness, openness, and well-being while also lower levels of insecure attachments, rejection sensitivity, neuroticism, and agreeableness, countering the stigma. Gender, sexual orientations, and experience with BDSM showed explanatory potential. Associations between attachment, personality, and well-being were invariant across BDSM practitioners and non-practitioners but also across BDSM roles. This is, BDSM practitioners share the same psychological structure as non-practitioners but also show more functional profiles. Thus, de-stigmatizing BDSM populations is reinforced and recommended. Limitations and implications for applied and research audiences are discussed.