The emotion of Disgust in Italian students: A measure of the Synthetic Disgust Index

Research in the field of emotions has highlighted that men and women differ as regards the perception and reaction to disgust. The aim of our study was to analyse, by means of a questionnaire on disgust, any gender differences regarding this feeling in its various dimensions, viewed both individually and globally. For this purpose a synthetic indicator was developed to evaluate the expression of disgust and identify any individual differences. The sample of 1587 subjects were given a questionnaire on disgust that contained items to elicit disgust. Statistical analysis was performed on the items and on the scores via a synthetic indicator, the Synthetic Disgust Index (SDI).The analysis revealed a different trend in different types of disgust for age and sex. In males. The oral disgust and contamination showed a reduction of SDI in the age group between 18 and 39 years (p<0.05) and a maximum score in the group of subjects 40-64 years. In females the maximum score was present in the first group (0-17 ) for all dimensions of disgust except for disgust for aggressive content (p<0.05). The oral disgust and contamination showed a reduction of SDI in the age group between 18 and 39 years (p<0.05) with a general tendency to decrease with age.