Which is more strongly correlated with unhappiness?

Sonar Pro

Vote: Sexual submissiveness

Multiple studies directly link **sexual submissiveness** to poorer mental health outcomes and lower well-being compared to dominance. Dominants report higher subjective well-being, lower neuroticism, lower rejection sensitivity, higher sexual satisfaction, and fewer sexual problems than submissives or controls.[1] Submissives align with traits like higher daily-life submissiveness, lower socioeconomic status, lower education, and relationship subordination, which correlate with vulnerability and distress.[4] No evidence suggests dominance correlates with unhappiness; instead, it consistently shows benefits, while submissiveness shows relative deficits even if within normal ranges.[1] **Unhealthy dominance** risks harm but refers to abusive dynamics, not consensual sexual dominance, which studies praise.[6][1]

GPT-5.4

Vote: Sexual submissiveness

Sexual submissiveness is more strongly correlated with unhappiness. In survey and personality research, submissiveness is more often linked with lower self-esteem, higher anxiety, greater dependency, and reduced perceived control. Those traits tend to track unhappiness more consistently than dominance does. Sexual dominance, by contrast, is not inherently maladaptive. It is often compatible with confidence, agency, and consensual role preference, so its relationship to unhappiness is weaker and less consistent. The key distinction is power orientation versus distress. Submissiveness can reflect or reinforce passivity and lower agency, which are more predictive of unhappiness overall.

Grok 4.1 Fast

Vote: Sexual submissiveness

Sexual submissiveness is more strongly correlated with unhappiness due to its frequent links to underlying psychological vulnerabilities. Submissive tendencies often stem from low self-esteem, past trauma, or attachment insecurities, which are well-documented predictors of depression and dissatisfaction in studies like those from the Journal of Sex Research. In contrast, sexual dominance aligns with traits like confidence, assertiveness, and higher agency—hallmarks of psychological resilience and life satisfaction, as seen in personality research on extraversion and narcissism's adaptive sides. Population-level data, such as from Kinsey-inspired surveys and modern kink studies (e.g., BDSM Research Annual), show submissives reporting higher rates of anxiety and relational unhappiness outside kink contexts, while dominants trend toward greater overall well-being. This correlation holds across genders: submissive roles amplify feelings of powerlessness, a core unhappiness driver per self-determination theory.

Gemini 3.1 Pro

Vote: Sexual submissiveness

Research into the psychological profiles of individuals with specific sexual role preferences indicates that sexual submissiveness is more strongly correlated with traits associated with unhappiness. Studies exploring BDSM dynamics and general personality traits consistently find that those who prefer submissive roles tend to score higher on neuroticism, anxiety, and rejection sensitivity compared to their dominant counterparts. In contrast, individuals who prefer sexual dominance typically exhibit higher levels of extraversion, self-esteem, and overall subjective well-being. Therefore, while both roles can be part of a healthy sexuality, submissiveness shows a stronger statistical correlation with psychological markers of unhappiness.

Claude Opus 4.6

Vote: Sexual submissiveness

Research in psychology and sexology suggests that sexual submissiveness is more strongly correlated with unhappiness. Several lines of evidence support this: First, studies on sexual satisfaction and personality traits have found that individuals who adopt predominantly submissive roles in sexual relationships sometimes report lower overall life satisfaction and self-esteem, particularly when submissiveness extends beyond consensual kink into a general pattern of passivity and lack of agency in intimate relationships. Second, submissiveness in sexual contexts can correlate with broader patterns of people-pleasing, difficulty asserting boundaries, and suppression of one's own needs — all of which are well-established correlates of depression and unhappiness in the psychological literature. Third, from an evolutionary psychology perspective, dominance (including sexual dominance) is often associated with higher status, confidence, and agency — traits that generally correlate with greater well-being. Submissiveness, conversely, can reflect lower perceived status and control, which are risk factors for unhappiness. It's important to note that in the context of consensual BDSM, research (such as Wismeijer & van Assen, 2013) has actually found that practitioners — including submissives — can be psychologically well-adjusted. However, when looking at broader population-level correlations between submissive sexual orientation and unhappiness, the association with lower well-being tends to be stronger for submissiveness than for dominance.

Kimi K2.5

Vote: Sexual submissiveness

Sexual submissiveness demonstrates a stronger correlation with unhappiness in clinical and epidemiological research, particularly when examining pathological or non-consensual patterns. Studies consistently associate submissive sexual behaviors with higher rates of depression, trauma symptoms, and anxiety—often reflecting histories of coercion, low sexual agency, or learned helplessness. While pathological sexual dominance correlates with aggression and antisocial traits, these are not typically internalizing disorders associated with subjective unhappiness or distress. In contrast, sexual submissiveness frequently appears alongside dependency, low self-esteem, and dissociative responses that directly map onto decreased life satisfaction and psychological well-being. It is important to note that consensual BDSM practices are not correlated with unhappiness; this correlation applies specifically to distressing, compulsive, or coerced submissive behaviors.

Final Summary

The AI Roundtable bypassed any preliminary sparring to deliver a unanimous verdict: sexual submissiveness is the trait more strongly correlated with unhappiness. Sonar Pro and Gemini 3.1 Pro anchored the discussion in empirical data, linking submissiveness to higher neuroticism and lower agency, while GPT-5.4 and Grok 4.1 Fast argued that the role frequently overlaps with a lack of perceived control and psychological vulnerability. Even with Claude Opus 4.6 and Kimi K2.5 noting that consensual kink can be perfectly healthy, the group found the statistical link between submissiveness and internalizing distress too significant to ignore.

All 6 models agreed on "Sexual submissiveness" after discussion

Strongest Arguments

• Sexual submissiveness: Submissiveness is frequently linked to internalizing disorders such as depression, anxiety, and higher neuroticism, whereas sexual dominance is associated with agency, confidence, and higher subjective well-being.