Marriage Delay,Time to Play? Marital Horizons and Hooking Up in College

Previous research suggests that an increasing age at first marriage has contributed to the prevalence of sexual hookups on U.S. college campuses. In this article, we use life course and marital horizons theories to analyze the influence of ideal age at first marriage on hooking up among unmarried heterosexual college students. Analyses of the Online College Social Life Survey (N = 17,981) show a positive association between ideal age at first marriage and hookups for most students, but not for students whose mothers have no post‐secondary education, Asian men, Asian women, and Latina women. Variation in ideal marriage timing does not account for gender, racial/ethnic, and class gaps in hookup participation. Results are discussed with reference to the role of sexuality in processes of stratification throughout young adulthood.     

Prevalence of Sexual Trauma History Using Behaviorally Specific Methods of Assessment in First Year College Students

There are several challenges associated with evaluating the prevalence of sexual trauma, including child sexual abuse and adult sexual assault. The aim of this study was to assess sexual trauma prevalence rates among first year college students (N = 954) using behaviorally specific questions and a more representative recruitment sample that did not rely on self-selection. Participants completed a list of sexual trauma questions, including general questions containing labels such as “rape” or “abuse” as well as behaviorally specific questions that describe specific behaviors that qualify as sexual trauma without labels. Results indicated that 6.7% of the sample reported at least one incident of child sexual abuse, with similar rates for men and women. Women were more likely to report a history of adult sexual assault, which was reported by 12.4% of the total sample. Participants were also more likely to endorse a history of sexual trauma when answering behaviorally specific rather than general “label” questions. Women survivors in particular were more likely than men to identify their experiences as abuse/assault (66.7% versus 21.1% for child sexual abuse), which may help explain prevalence differences between men and women in prior research. Men may be less likely than women to label their experiences as abuse and may be underidentified in sexual trauma research without the use of behaviorally specific questions. Overall, the results of this study suggest that the prevalence of sexual trauma is better assessed using behaviorally specific questions and that this is an important topic of study among both men and women.     

Campus Sex in Context: Organizational Cultures and Women's Engagement in Sexual Relationships on Two American College Campuses

An “inhabited” approach to the study of institutions examines how organizational actors produce locally distinctive meaning in response to similar institutional forces. Adopting inhabited institutionalism to the study of campus sexual life, this study draws on interviews with 54 undergraduate women at two four‐year universities in the United States—Ivy U and State U—to show campus cultures unique to a university inform women's decisions to engage in hookups and/or relationships. For women attending Ivy U, an elite institution where pressure to succeed is palpable, both hookups and long‐distance relationships alike are posited as advantageous for the time‐crunched, preprofessional student. At State U, a public school with a party reputation, women explain their engagement in hookups as part of the “fun” of college life, while women seeking or involved in committed relationships are obligated to negotiate the effects of the party culture in their partnerships. This study challenges the notion of a monolithic sexual culture across university settings by showing how campus cultures cultivated at the local level create unique organizational conditions within which undergraduate women forge and explain their engagement in hookups and relationships alike.     

What’s Gender Got to Do With It? Sexual Double Standards and Power in Heterosexual College Hookups

Although college hookups are typically enjoyable for both men and women, heterosexual hookups often involve inequitable power dynamics that privilege men (e.g., women perform sexual acts to please partners and/or succumb to pressure for intercourse). Some scholars have attributed this power imbalance to the traditional double standard. However, recent studies have indicated college students typically endorse egalitarian standards—and some endorse a reverse double standard in which they negatively judge men more than women for engaging in the same sexual behavior. Using Online College Social Life Survey data (N = 11,077) I examined relationships between endorsement of double standards and power in hookups. Because contemporary students often believe double standards exist in society but not in their own minds, I also examined relationships between feeling negatively judged for hooking up and power. Most respondents endorsed egalitarian standards, but women were more likely than men to feel judged for hooking up. Feeling judged was a significant predictor of power disadvantages for women and men; endorsing a double standard disparaging one’s own gender was significant among men. Findings suggest contemporary relevance of the traditional double standard and highlight differences between women’s and men’s endorsement of double standards disparaging their own gender.     

Masculine Status,Sexual Performance,and the Sexual Stigmatization of Women

Collegiate hookup culture advances ideas of masculinity but contradicts notions of appropriate feminine sexuality. Drawing on focus group and interview data with college students, I examine how a group of class‐ and race‐privileged fraternity men face dilemmas as they enact a group constructed masculinity focused on sexual performance and the objectification of women. I employ a symbolic interactionist framework to illustrate how men, attentive to peer status yet anxious about the sexual stigmatization of women, draw on cultural ideas about appropriate feminine sexuality as they account for their approaches to sex and women (both with whom they interact sexually and how) along a range of intimacy—from hookups to committed relationships. I demonstrate that heterosexual interaction does not unequivocally link to masculine status and that men sometimes strive to limit the impact of casual sex or avoid it altogether.     

Sexual Hookups and Adverse Health Outcomes: A Longitudinal Study of First-Year College Women

“Hookups” are sexual encounters between partners who are not in a romantic relationship and do not expect commitment. We examined the associations between sexual hookup behavior and depression, sexual victimization (SV), and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) among first-year college women. In this longitudinal study, 483 women completed 13 monthly surveys assessing oral and vaginal sex with hookup and romantic partners, depression, SV, and self-reported STIs. Participants also provided biological specimens that were tested for STIs. During the study, 50% of participants reported hookup sex and 62% reported romantic sex. Covariates included previous levels of the outcome, alcohol use, impulsivity, sensation seeking, and romantic sex. Autoregressive cross-lagged models showed that, controlling for covariates, hookup behavior during college was correlated with depression, Bs = .21, ps < .05, and SV, Bs = .19, ps < .05. In addition, precollege hookup behavior predicted SV early in college, B = .62, p < .05. Hookup sex, OR 1.32, p < .05, and romantic sex, OR 1.19, p < .05, were associated with STIs. Overall, sexual hookup behavior among college women was positively correlated with experiencing depression, SV, and STIs, but the nature of these associations remains unclear, and hooking up did not predict future depression.     

The Upside to Hooking Up: College Students’ Positive Hookup Experiences

Objectives: Popular media and research have predominately focused on the risks of hooking up, which may stigmatize young people. In the current study, we identify factors that facilitate positive hookups. Methods: College students (N = 250) in the United States reported hookup motives, sexual self-concept, sexual satisfaction, and emotional reactions to a hookup. Results: Emotional reactions were more positive than negative. Intimacy and pleasure motives predicted sexual satisfaction; self-affirmation motives predicted positive emotional reactions. Hookups with a previous partner were rated as more satisfying. Conclusions: Understanding qualities associated with positive hookups may better equip young adults to make informed decisions about their sexual lives.     

Hooking Up in the College Context: The Event-Level Effects of Alcohol Use and Partner Familiarity on Hookup Behaviors and Contentment

The current study examined hooking up experiences through event-level analyses, including the connections involving alcohol use, the extent of physical contact, and postevaluations of the hookup event. Participants were 828 college students (67.0% female). Of students who reported hooking up sometime within the past year (54.8%), chi-square analyses revealed that they were more likely to have been drinking when they met their partners the night of the hookup. Females who were drinking beforehand and females who met their partners that night were more likely to feel discontent with their hookup decisions. Among participants who consumed alcohol prior to their last hookup, a notable 30.7% of females and 27.9% of males indicated that they would likely not have hooked up with their partners had alcohol not been involved. Further, 34.4% of females and 27.9% of males indicated that they would not have gone as far physically if they had not been drinking. Among participants who reported both drinking beforehand and hooking up with unfamiliar partners, greater number of drinks consumed was associated with more advanced sexual behaviors. The current findings highlight the potential risks associated with alcohol use in the hooking up culture.     

Beyond hookup culture: Current trends in the study of college student sex and where to next

A prominent body of sexuality research on college‐enrolled students in the twenty‐first century focuses on “hookup” culture, marked by the prevalence of sexual encounters between students with no expectation for a relationship to develop. This article will review and respond to current themes in the literature on hookup culture on college campuses. I argue that this literature privileges the White, middle‐class heterosexual experience, although less is known about how students who cannot or choose not to participate in this culture experience sexual relationships on college campuses. I place studies of hookup culture in conversation with those attentive to the effects of race, class, gender, and sexuality on access to, and experience of, hookup culture. I conclude with suggestions for future research, to include a renewed interest in sexual relationships forged outside of hookup cultures.     

Assessing the Personal Negative Impacts of Hooking Up Experienced by College Students: Gender Differences and Mental Health

Hooking up is a normative behavior among college students that is associated with a range of positive and negative consequences. While previous research has primarily focused on women’s negative experiences of hooking up, the current study explored the relationships among hooking up behaviors, psychological distress, and a broad range of negative effects of hooking up in both male and female college students. Using a multisite sample of college students, we developed the 14-item Negative Impact of Hookups Inventory (NIHI) to assess negative health outcomes, emotional responses, and social consequences associated with hooking up. Unprotected sex and having more hookup partners were associated with greater negative experiences of hooking up. Contrary to expectations, there were no gender differences in the total number of negative hookup effects, although men reported more frequent hookups. In addition, negative impacts of hooking up were positively associated with psychological distress regardless of gender. The NIHI may offer a useful tool to assess the negative impacts of hooking up. Understanding students’ hookup experiences is an important step toward developing targeted health interventions related to hooking up behavior in young adult populations.     

Problematic alcohol use and sexting as risk factors for sexual assault among college women

ABSTRACT

Sexual assault is a major public health concern and college women are four times more likely to experience sexual assault than any other group. We investigated whether sexting is a mechanism by which alcohol use increases risk for college women to be targeted for sexual assault. We hypothesized that sexting would mediate the relationship between problem drinking and sexual assault, such that drinking (T1 = beginning fall semester) would contribute to increased sexting (T2 = end fall semester), and in turn increase the risk of being targeted for sexual assault (T3 = end spring semester). Results: Among 332 undergraduate women (M(SD)age = 19.15(1.69), 76.9% Caucasian), sexting (T2) predicted sexual assault (T3; b = 3.98, p = .05), controlling for baseline sexual assault (b = 0.82, p < .01). Further, sexting (T2) mediated the relationship between problem drinking (T1) and sexual assault (T3) (b = 0.04, CI[.004,.12]). Conclusion: Findings suggest that sexting is one mechanism through which drinking increases the risk of college women being targeted for sexual assault.     

The relationship between negative mood and sexuality in heterosexual college women and men

Negative mood states, such as depression and anxiety, are typically associated with decreased sexual interest and arousal. However, there is also some evidence that depressed or anxious mood may increase sexual interest or arousal in some individuals. In this study, 663 female college students (mean age = 18.9 years, SD = 1.21) answered questions regarding the effects of anxious and depressed mood on sexual interest and arousal and completed trait measures of sexual excitation and inhibition, anxiety, and depression. The majority of women reported decreased sexual interest and response when feeling depressed or anxious; a minority (about 10%) of women, however, reported increased sexual interest/response during anxious and depressed mood. This sample of women was compared to a sample of 399 college‐aged men. In general, men were more likely than women to report increased sexual interest during negative mood states. Of the variables explored, propensity for sexual excitation was the strongest predictor of the relationship between negative mood and sexuality in women. Individual differences in the effects of negative mood may prove relevant to our understanding of a variety of topics, including “risky” and “compulsive” sexual behavior and sexual dysfunction.     

Promiscuous Intimacies: Rethinking the History of American Casual Sex

Casual sex has become a cultural commonplace since it was named in the 1960s and later became associated with the US college sex phenomenon of “hooking up”. However, contemporary accounts of this sexual practice are curiously lacking in historical perspective. This article explores this modern history, both before and after uncommitted, non‐romantic, sexual encounters – sex for sex's sake – were named as casual sex. It agues that studies that contrast the increased “sexual possibilities” of hookup sex to the assumed restrictive practices of an earlier era distort both the restrictions of the earlier period and the freedoms of the latter.     

College Women's Experiences with Physically Forced,Alcohol- or Other Drug-Enabled,and Drug-Facilitated Sexual Assault Before and Since Entering College

Objective: Research has shown associations between college women's alcohol and/or drug consumption and the risk of sexual assault, but few studies have measured the various means by which sexual assault is achieved.

Participants: The authors' Campus Sexual Assault Study obtained self-report data from a random sample of undergraduate women (N = 5,446).

Methods: The authors collected data on sexual assault victimization by using a cross-sectional, Web-based survey, and they conducted analyses assessing the role of substance use. The authors also compared victimizations before and during college, and across years of study.

Results: Findings indicate that almost 20% of undergraduate women experienced some type of completed sexual assault since entering college. Most sexual assaults occurred after women voluntarily consumed alcohol, whereas few occurred after women had been given a drug without their knowledge or consent.

Conclusions: The authors discuss implications for campus sexual assault prevention programs, including the need for integrated substance use and sexual victimization prevention programming.     

Hooking Up and Psychological Well-Being in College Students: Short-Term Prospective Links Across Different Hookup Definitions

Hooking up (sex outside committed, romantic relationships) is feared to result from or lead to compromised psychological well-being among undergraduates, yet longitudinal evidence is scarce and inconclusive, and different hookup definitions complicate cross-study comparisons. This study examined short-term longitudinal associations with four well-being indicators (depression, anxiety, life satisfaction, and self-esteem) across several definitions of hookups based on relationship length (one time, longer casual, and any) and physical intimacy level (kissing, genital touching, oral sex, and intercourse). A university-wide sample of 666 Northeastern U.S. freshmen and juniors (63% female, 68% White) completed online surveys at the beginning and end of one academic semester. Linear and logistic regressions explored whether hookups over the semester were linked to later well-being, and whether initial well-being was linked to later hookups. Across all 96 regressions, statistically significant associations between well-being and hookups were infrequent (23%), predominantly confined to anxiety and life satisfaction, equally likely in the direction of higher (13%) as lower (10%) well-being, and affected by both casual relationship length and intimacy level. When gender differences emerged (11%), hookups were associated with higher well-being for women and lower well-being for men. This complex set of results points to the importance of researchers’ choices in hookup definitions.     

Women's experiences of male-perpetrated sexual assault by sexual orientation

This study examined differences in male-perpetrated adult sexual assault experiences among women of various sexual orientations using a large urban convenience sample (N = 1,022). Results showed many similarities in disclosure to others, perceived helpfulness, and attributions of blame, but there were also differences by sexual orientation. Heterosexual women were more likely to experience completed sexual assault than lesbian or bisexual women. Lesbians were more likely to be assaulted by relatives than bisexual or heterosexual women. Finally, bisexual women disclosed the assault to the greatest number of formal support sources, were most likely to tell a romantic partner about the assault, received the fewest positive social reactions overall, and had higher posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomatology.