There is a long-standing debate regarding developmental differences in primary and secondary psychopathy, and what these differences say in terms of their evolutionary origins. Although both are thought to be fast life history strategies that are adaptive in harsh and unpredictable environments, primary psychopathy is thought to have a genetic basis, while secondary psychopathy is thought to be caused by environmental factors. The aim of the thesis was to contribute further to the debate by investigating hitherto unexamined factors in the development of primary and secondary psychopathy using a Life History, Parental Investment Theory perspective. Specifically, whether quality of parental bonding, quality of attachment in close relationships, and fetal programming (pertaining to prenatal testosterone exposure) differed between men and women high in primary or secondary psychopathy. The contribution of prenatal testosterone to callous unemotional traits and externalising behaviours in children was also examined. Furthermore, as putative adaptive personality types, the attractiveness of primary or secondary psychopathy in partners to heterosexual men and women high or low in primary or secondary for short and long-term mating was investigated. The thesis consists of four studies that utilised a series of questionnaires, the 2D:4D digit ratio and vignettes measured in non-clinical samples: Chapter 2 explored differences between men and women high in primary or secondary psychopathy in recollections of how cold and controlling their parents were during childhood alongside attachment style in adulthood. Primary psychopathy in men was associated with avoidant attachment and uncaring mothers, while in women it was related to uncaring fathers and anxious and avoidant attachment. Secondary psychopathy in men related to uncaring mothers and fathers, while in women it was not related to parental bonding quality or either attachment type. Chapter 3 examined the quality of maternal bonding and exposure to prenatal testosterone (2D:4D ratio) as influences in the development of primary or secondary psychopathy between men and women. The findings re-confirmed differences between sex and psychopathy variants. Chapter 4 investigated the effects of exposure to higher levels of prenatal testosterone (2D:4D ratio) on callous unemotional traits (CU) and externalising behaviour in children aged 5-6 years old. CU traits were found to moderate the relationship between prenatal testosterone and externalising behaviour. Chapter 5 explores the attractiveness and mating preferences of men and women high or low in primary or secondary psychopathy for short and long term relationships. Men high in primary or secondary psychopathy did not discriminate in mate choice in either relationship context, however women high in primary or secondary psychopathy preferred their opposite sex equivalents in short and long-term relationships. Men and women low in primary or secondary psychopathy preferred partners equivalent to them in psychopathy regardless of relationship length. In summary, the results of this thesis demonstrate differences in psychopathy variants between men and women, as well as in children, further highlighting contrasts in genetic and environmental contributions to primary and secondary psychopathy. Moreover, the variations between men and women high in primary or secondary psychopathy appear to function according to inequity in parental investment which also informs their mating preferences in short and long term mating.

While traditional Saudi Arabian courtship is rigidly structured according to a set of Islamic codes of conduct, over the past decade, Saudis have increasingly turned to unconventional means of finding and courting a potential spouse: matrimonial websites. Given that little research has been done on this emerging form of courtship, which differs substantially from Western-style online dating, this research examines the impressions Saudi users intended to form when constructing their profiles on matrimonial websites, the characteristics these users seek in their potential spouses, and the acceptable Saudi script for courtships initiated on matrimonial websites. It unites hyperpersonal theory, sexual strategies theory, and script theory into a theoretical framework. The research consisted of three sequential phases, starting with a quantitative questionnaire (N = 302), followed by quantitative content analysis of the website profiles (N = 111), and ending with a qualitative semi-structured interview phase (N = 36). The results of the research contribute to the debate in the literature on Computer Meditated Communication regarding whether online settings provide rich information about other users, as they show that online interactions can provide more information about the opposite sex for users who belong to gender-segregated societies than they can get through their offline lives. The results also reveal that there are similarities and differences between Buss and Schmitt’s (1993) proposed strategic mate preferences and Saudis’ preferences. Such findings contribute to the theories on mate preferences in general and sexual strategies theory in particular by advancing the understanding of mate preferences in an Islamic context. The results also provided an in-depth description of the script Saudi users follow in trying to find a potential spouse through matrimonial websites. The findings also contribute to the online dating literature by showing the similarities and differences between conservative, Islamic Saudi users and Western users in using websites to search for a potential mate. Although these Saudi users deviate from traditional methods of finding a potential spouse, the findings of this research reveal that they do not completely challenge their traditions. The research shows the power of both social and religious norms in affecting these users’ behaviours and decisions when using matrimonial websites.

This thesis investigates the relevance of individualisation theory in the attitudes of 18 to 30 year olds living in Britain. It tests four theories of couple relationships that can be located in this debate; two prominent theories of individualisation (Beck and Beck-Gernsheim, 1995; Giddens, 1992), a theory of social exchange (Rusbult, 1980) and a socio-cultural theory of romantic love (Giddens, 1992; Jackson 1993; Burkitt 1997). In considering how these four theories might be relevant to the attitudes of 18 to 30 year olds two different ways are explored. The first is concerned with how the theories might be relevant to the attitudes of 18 to 30 year olds as a social group in terms of which theory seems most reflective of the attitudes of this population as a whole. The second is concerned with how the theories might be relevant as psychological types, to explore whether different types of attitude could be identified in the 18 to 30 age group and whether the models in any way map onto these types. The study also explores how attitudes towards relationships might differ between different demographic and socio-economic groups in the 18 to 30 population. The research design has four elements; the first involves exploratory interviews with six relationship counsellors, the second involves the analysis of data from the National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (1990, 2000), the third involves the creation and validation of a self-completion attitude instrument, the fourth involves the analysis of the primary data collected via this instrument from a representative sample of 18 to 30 year olds living in Britain. One of the main statistical techniques used in analysing the survey data (both Natsal 1990, 2000 and the primary data) is cluster analysis. This is used to identify groups who have similar attitudes to one another and therefore investigate whether one can distinguish between different attitude types. The key findings of this research indicate that, in the attitudes of this age group at least, traditional values and desires pervade. While there have been some shifts that indicate a loosening of traditional values and desires, on the whole young adults seem to desire traditional relationship forms, namely monogamous live-in partnerships, and value qualities consistent with them, namely fidelity and longevity. Further, this research shows evidence for both a theory of romantic love and individualisation theory as attitude types. Finally, it shows that measures of age, sex, religiosity, ethnicity, country of origin, class and education are all associated with attitudes towards relationships.

My PhD research explores the role of men's subjective accounts of interactions with the women they date, especially with reference to whether they experience women to have power in dating relationships. It comprises a qualitative analysis of the responses gained from semi-structured interviews conducted with 20 British men and 10 Pick Up Artists (men who attended classes to learn how to increase their confidence when dating women) all aged 21-40. Current debates around gendered power are largely focused on female subjectivities, and are core to political and theoretical differences between second and third-wave/post-feminisms. I argue that in order to understand the workings of (heterosexual) gendered power relations, we must pay attention not only to issues of structural power but also to men's perceptions of the lived experiences of such relationships. At a time of increased uncertainty about gendered identity and increased pressure to see the ‘self' as a project, such perceptions may be both very varied and at variance with accepted structural analyses of gendered power. Following three introductory chapters in which I trace the debates around masculinity and a contemporary social order focused on risk and individuality, I analyse the interviewees' responses in order to explore how the men position themselves within the gender and dating discourses that are available to them. The effects of what Ulrich Beck described as ‘individualism' and the use of ‘constructed certitude' are explored, as is how the men deal with conflicting ideas borne out of living in an age when ideals from both hegemonic and inclusive masculinities co-exist. Whether men acknowledge their own insecurities or whether they focus on perceived external triggers, such as female culpability, and whether men respond to insecurities by focusing on an active process of overcoming them (thus remaining inside hegemonic ideas), is also a focus. Subject areas explored include the role of homosocial behaviour in dating, the gendered dating process, the power of female beauty, men's bodily anxieties, media representations of dating, men's body image, unwanted pregnancies and female aggression. I conclude that we cannot dismiss men's perceptions of female power in dating as mistaken, as has been argued. If men's realities include such perceptions, then their un/willingness to relinquish 'more' power needs to be understood if equality between the sexes is to be increased.

The present research was undertaken to examine the role of Electronic Communication Technology (ECT) in Adolescent Dating Violence and Abuse (ADVA) or what has been termed Technology-Assisted Adolescent Dating Violence and Abuse (TAADVA) and potential correlates using a quantitative research design. This is the first detailed study of TAADVA that has been conducted with British adolescents in the United Kingdom (UK). A new set of questions to explore TAADVA was developed and piloted with adolescents using a robust framework. Adolescents (n = 469; 52% (n = 245) female; 59% (n = 277) who had past year dating relationship experience) aged 12-18 years recruited from secondary schools, youth clubs and via snowballing methods, completed a battery of questionnaires regarding their personal experience of TAADVA, physical and controlling ADVA, friend experience of ADVA and TAADVA, attachment style, relationship experience, and relationship closeness. It was found that TAADVA was prevalent (73% for victimisation and 50% for instigation across 12 types of behaviour) and was experienced via a range of ECT methods, often encompassing multiple behaviours. Although there was some overlap between ADVA and TAADVA, TAADVA was more prevalent than ADVA. Additionally, it was found that ECT appears to create new victims and/or instigators of TAADVA only as around two-thirds of adolescents who experienced TAADVA did not also experience ADVA offline. Adolescents reported experiences of TAADVA (and ADVA) victimisation and instigation. Females however, reported more sexual TAADVA victimisation (i.e. sexting pressure) and victimisation-only experiences of sexual TAADVA than did males. Females involved in TAADVA and ADVA reported having more friends with dating violence experience (as either victims or instigators). In contrast, only males who reported ADVA involvement reported having more friends who instigated dating violence. Avoidant attachment independently predicted TAADVA involvement for males, and further analysis revealed that TAADVA involved males reported higher avoidant attachment to a mother and friend than those not involved in TAADVA. Females involved in TAADVA reported higher avoidant attachment to a mother and father and this was also the case for ADVA in terms of anxious attachment. Furthermore, avoidant attachment to mother mediated the relationship between friend historical dating violence (victimisation and instigation) and self-reported TAADVA for females. Moreover, paternal anxious attachment mediated the relationship between friend current dating violence instigation and self-reported ADVA for females. Implications of the findings are discussed and recommendations are made for future policy, practice and research.