Figure 4 - uploaded by Joseph E Padgett
Content may be subject to copyright.

Source publication
Article
Full-text available
This study examined 13,976 dates and 12,068 hookup encounters at 22 colleges in the United States reported by students surveyed between 2005 and 2011 in the Online College Social Life Survey (OCSLS) to determine differences between dates and hookups in partner meeting context and sex during the encounter. Students most often met date and hookup par...

Contexts in source publication

Context 1
... results on class standing are not presented but are available from authors. In line with our fifth hypothesis, we found that reliance on Internet sources increased (see Figure 4) and meeting partners in dormitories decreased as students advanced in class standing, which we theorize is a result of increased interest in dates instead of hookups. Nearly one-fifth of graduate student men met dates through Internet sources. ...
Context 2
... that the college courses in which our sample was collected were over- whelmingly female, with an average rate of 69.4% female per school sample, and women outnumbering men in every university sample. One university sample was 56% female, 11 were between 62% and 70% female, and the remaining ten university samples ranged from 70% to 79.5% female. Correlations between partnering rates and sex ratios at these universities are further discussed in the next section. The uneven sex ratios in the partnering markets of students in this study are reflected in gender differences in partner meeting places (see Table 3). In line with our second hypothesis, men were significantly more likely to meet both hookup and dating female partners in institutional settings and in dorms compared to women. Female students were significantly more likely to find hookup and dating partners in non-campus-specific locales, including through personal recommendations, common interest groups = shared histories, and more likely than men to meet hookups in public places, and dates in bars = parties = nightclubs. There were no gender differences in meeting hookups or dates online or through personals, but both men and women were more likely to date than hook up with partners met in those contexts, and were more likely to date instead of hook up when they met in institutions and through personal recommendation. Confirming expectations, men were less likely than women to report no physical activity during dates and more likely to report sex during both types of encounters. Table 4 and Figure 2 demonstrate distinctions in encounter meeting place during encounters by gender and partner’s gender. In line with expectations in our third hypothesis, men who partnered with men were less likely than men who partnered with women to meet in institutional settings or dormitories and were significantly more likely to meet through Internet sources; in fact, around one-quarter of male same-sex dates and almost one-fifth of male same-sex hookup partners were met through Internet sources compared to just 2% of men dating women and 1% of men hooking up with women. Women who partnered with women were more likely than those partnering with men to meet in institutional settings but, like men with same-sex partners, also significantly more likely to use Internet sources to find partners; 10% of women who dated women and 6.5% of women who hooked up with women met partners through Internet sources compared to rates of 3.5% and 2%, respectively, among women partnering with men. Unexpectedly, we found that women who partnered with women were significantly less likely to meet partners through bars and parties compared to women who partnered with men; 18% of women met female date partners and 16% of women met female hookup partners through bars or parties, compared to 28% of women who met male date partners and 30% who met male hookups through bars. In line with expectations in hypothesis four, men hooking up with men were significantly more likely than men hooking up with women to have sex during hookup encounters (see Figure 3). However, men who dated men were no more likely than men who dated women to have sex during dates, suggesting that men who partner with men behave more sexually conservatively, at rates similar to men who partner with women, when on a date instead of a hookup. To further examine rates of partnering by campus and classroom sex composition, we examined correlations between sex ratios and partnering rates in each university in our sample by gender and partner’s gender, presented in Table 5. We found that women were significantly less likely to partner with men when they were in universities that had more women in our sample (and therefore more women in the courses in which surveys were administered) and were marginally more likely to date women on campuses with more women. The other coefficients, while not significant likely due to our small sample size ( N 1⁄4 22), demonstrated interest- ing patterns that were logically sound according to our theory, once the nature of our sample was accounted for. Among women, percent female on campus and in classrooms was positively correlated with same-sex partnering and negatively correlated with opposite-sex partnering. We also found a positive correlation with hookups but a negative correlation with dates among men who partnered with women on campuses with more women, likely related to previously discussed gender differences in interest in casual sex. The positive correlation of men partnering with men and negative correlation of men partnering with women in courses with more women suggests selection into courses with many women by gay men, which is perhaps correlated with surveys collected in courses related to gender or sexuality. Full results on class standing are not presented but are available from authors. In line with our fifth hypothesis, we found that reliance on Internet sources increased (see Figure 4) and meeting partners in dormitories decreased as students advanced in class standing, which we theorize is a result of increased interest in dates instead of hookups. Nearly one-fifth of graduate student men met dates through Internet sources. Contrary to expectations, how- ever, with the exception of men seeking hookup partners, we found all other groups increased in likelihood of meeting through personal recommendation as they advanced in class standing (results available from authors). Further, as shown in Figure 5, few differences existed in sexual activity on dates by age for women, but men showed a U-shaped relationship to sex during dates, and during hookups less advanced students were actually significantly less likely to engage in sex during encounters. This suggests that engagement in sex increases among both men and women during hookups as they age, and for men during dates, but that women do not increase engagement in sex during dates as they advance in age, a factor which is strongly correlated with class standing. As discussed, our sample included an over represen- tation of freshmen and sophomores; therefore, rates of meeting places presented in Table 2 likely overestimate rates at which students meet partners in dorms and under- estimate rates at which students meet through Internet = personals and personal recommendation, or engage in casual sex during hookups. Men’s sex rate during dates should not be heavily biased, judging from patterns found. In Table 6 we present results of regression models, separated by gender, predicting whether an encounter was reported to have been a hookup rather than a date by the respondent. Meeting a partner at a bar = party = nightclub increased the likelihood that an encounter would be reported as a hookup by 14% for women and 18% for men, and meeting in dormitories increased the likelihood that an encounter would be reported as a hookup by 38% for men and 53% for women compared with partners met through institutions, although findings related to partner’s gender indicate the association of bars = parties = nightclubs with hookup culture was pri- marily related to opposite-sex and not same-sex partnering. Dormitories seemed to be positively related to same-sex hookups, but coefficients did not reach sig- nificance, perhaps due to the relatively small sample sizes of same-sex encounters. Once again confirming expectations in the first hypothesis, when partners met through institutions, personal recommendation, common interest groups = shared history, or public places, students were equally likely to engage in a date or hookup. Partners met through Internet settings were more likely to become dates compared to partners met in institutional settings; those met through Internet settings were 72% among men and 67% among women as likely as partners met through institutional settings to be reported as a hookup. Higher-order sexual activity during an encounter was associated with the encounter being described as a hookup instead of a date. Encounters that included genital stimulation were more likely to be considered a hookup than a date compared to encounters that did not include any form of sex, among those partnering with both opposite- and same-sex partners. For men and women partnering with opposite-sex partners, vaginal sex and, for women, oral sex, was associated with hookups. Anal sex was more closely associated with dates for both men and women partnering with opposite-sex partners. Among students partnering with same-sex partners, oral, vaginal, and anal sex were all equally likely to occur in hookups and dates. Students meet hookup and dating partners mostly in similar contexts, indicating that students do not engage in vastly different partner search patterns to look for hookup or date partners, but whether an encounter is reported to be a hookup or date depends on the activity during the encounter or other factors prior to the encounter. Some differences by meeting context, sexual activity, and participation in hookups and dates did emerge, and considerable differences were found by gender, gender of partner, and class standing. We developed a theoretical framework extending prior work by Mahay and Laumann (2004) by introducing trust, gender differences in trust, and differences in sexual scripts by encounter type to explain this variation. We also drew on the unique nature of our sample to examine partnering in a market in which women outnumbered men to some extent, at least in the classes in which surveys were distributed. Our findings for the most part confirmed our five hypotheses, providing evidence for our postulates. Selection into dates versus hookups was related to the extent to which meeting places were correlated with trust, a risk-taking personality, and hookup culture, with students more likely to meet partners for hookups in dormitories and bars = parties = nightclubs and for dates through Internet sources. In line with prior ...

Citations

... For adolescents in the United States, most first-time sexual behaviors occur in the context of a romantic relationship and most sexual behavior among emerging adults occurs within romantic relationships (Boislard et al., 2016). However, research indicates that the majority of emerging adults in the United States have engaged in a hookup at least once (Boislard et al., 2016;Kuperberg & Padgett, 2015), with similar rates among men and women (Garcia et al., 2012), highlighting the necessity of understanding factors associated with young adults' attitudes toward hookup culture. ...
... Emerging adulthood is a critical developmental period for identity and sexual exploration (Maheux & Choukas-Bradley, 2021). While sexual exploration still frequently occurs within the context of romantic relationships, emerging adults are also increasingly engaging in hookups in recent decades (Boislard et al., 2016;Kuperberg & Padgett, 2015). Simultaneously, the feminist movement addresses restrictive sexual scripts (Eaton & Rose, 2011), which are associated with adverse health outcomes for some young adults (Kettrey, 2016). ...
Article
Hookup culture has transformed the sexual behavior of emerging adults. Feminism, a movement that has advocated for liberating women from sexual repression, may be associated with hookup endorsement attitudes. This study explores the associations among multiple dimensions of feminism, gender, and hookup culture endorsement. Participants included 318 emerging adults (46% women; Mage = 22.2 years; 51% White, 27% Asian, 5% Hispanic/Latinx, 9% Black, 1% Middle Eastern, 1% American Indian, 6% Multiracial) from five Anglophone countries (62% U.S., 23% United Kingdom, 9% Canada, 5% Australia, 1% New Zealand), who completed the Feminist Beliefs and Behavior Scale and Endorsement of Hookup Culture Index via an anonymous, online survey. Participants were categorized according to their feminist identity label (feminist, non-feminist) and feminist belief system (hold feminist beliefs, hold non-feminist beliefs). A series of ANCOVAs was conducted, revealing that women who identified as feminist and/or held feminist beliefs reported significantly higher endorsement of hookup culture compared to non-feminist women with non-feminist beliefs. Neither dimension of feminism predicted hookup culture endorsement in men. When comparing feminist-identifying women and men, the gender disparity in hookup culture endorsement was eliminated. Together, these findings highlight how social movements, such as feminism, may be associated with young women's attitudes towards hookups, and may ultimately shape their sexual experiences.
... The term "hookup" has been used to describe a casual sexual relationship without a long-term commitment and may include kissing, touching, oral sex, and/or penetrative sex (Epstein et al., 2009;Garcia et al., 2012;Kuperberg & Padgett, 2015;Lewis et al., 2012;Paul et al., 2000). In addition, hookups may be initiated between a friend or a stranger (Hughes et al., 2005;Littleton et al., 2009;Paul et al., 2000). ...
Article
There is a paucity of research on hookup motives among LGBTQ+ young adults, despite the importance of such sexual encounters for the development of LGBTQ+ young adults’ identities. In this study, we examined the hookup motives of a diverse sample of LGBTQ+ young adults through in-depth qualitative interviews. Interviews were conducted with 51 LGBTQ+ young adults across college campuses at three sites in North America. We asked participants, “What sorts of things motivate you to hook up?” and “Why do you hook up?” Six distinct hookup motives emerged from participants’ responses. They included: a) pleasure/enhancement, b) intimacy and social-relationship motives, c) self-affirmation, d) coping, e) cultural norms and easy access, and f) multifaceted motives. While some of our themes cohered with previously identified hookup motives among heterosexual samples, LGBTQ+ young adults identified new and distinct motives that illustrate major differences between their hookup experiences and that of heterosexual young adults. For example, LGBTQ+ young adults were motivated to pleasure their hookup partner, not just themselves. They were also motivated by cultural norms within the queer community, easy access to hookup partners, and multifaceted motives. There is a need for data-driven ways to conceptualize hookup motives among LGBTQ+ young adults, instead of unquestioningly using heterosexual templates for understanding why LGBTQ+ individuals hook up.
... Although the precise definition varies between studies (Lewis et al., 2013), hooking up is broadly defined as an uncommitted sexual encounter, resulting in sexual activities, which can range from kissing to oral sex or vaginal and/or anal intercourse that occurs between individuals who are not in a current dating relationship (Garcia et al., 2019). Hookups occur at high rates on university and college campuses (Dai et al., 2018), ranging from 58% (Kalish & Kimmel, 2011;Kuperberg & Padgett, 2015) to 85% (Lambert et al., 2003). ...
Article
Full-text available
Sociosexuality, conceptualized as individual differences in attitudes, behaviors, and desires for casual sex, is reflected in “hookup culture” where risky sexual behaviors should not be overlooked. The main objectives of this study were (a) to provide a first French adaptation of the SOI-R and to evaluate its psychometric properties, and (b) to examine the relationship between sociosexuality and condom use among young college students (N = 1037, mean age = 18.7 years, SD = 1 year). A path model hypothesizing links between dispositional optimism, boredom proneness, sexual orientation, age, gender (as correlated exogenous/independent variables), sociosexuality (as mediation variable), and condom use (as output variable), was specified and tested. Findings showed gender and sexual orientation differences in sociosexuality. As expected, males as well as non-heterosexual individuals endorsed more sociosexuality than the others. Optimism, but not boredom, predicted a higher level of sociosexuality. Sociosexuality positively predicted safer sex. Sociosexual orientation was not associated with condomless sex. It would seem that sexual freedom does not necessarily mean irresponsible sexual adventures for the young college students in our study.
... Embora exista a convicção de que a maioria dos comportamentos nocivos para a saúde são adquiridos até à adolescência, diversos estudos têm documentado que a entrada no ensino superior pode trazer riscos acrescidos para a SSR. Estes riscos estão relacionados sobretudo com uma utilização inconsistente do preservativo, com o consumo de álcool e drogas associado a relações sexuais e a parceiros ocasionais, comportamentos que são hoje considerados bastante comuns entre os jovens, sobretudo em contextos de diversão noturna e das festas académicas (3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8) . Estes comportamentos podem ter consequências para a SSR, sobretudo porque podem provocar uma gravidez indesejada, infeções sexualmente transmissíveis (IST) (9) e atos de violência sexual (10) . ...
... Quanto às influências situacionais, os estudantes apontam as festas académicas, as discotecas e bares como contextos que favorecem contactos com parceiros ocasionais e que são propícios ao consumo excessivo de álcool e drogas, frequentemente associado a práticas sexuais de risco. Nesta perspetiva, a cultura do "Hookups", uma prática caracterizada por breves encontros sexuais entre indivíduos que não tem uma relação de namoro (5,7) , têm-se vindo a tornar um fenómeno cada vez mais comum entre os estudantes universitários. Uma revisão da literatura sugere que os encontros sexuais deste género são frequentes e verifica-se que 60% a 80% dos estudantes universitários norte americanos referem este tipo de práticas sexuais (36) . ...
... Uma revisão da literatura sugere que os encontros sexuais deste género são frequentes e verifica-se que 60% a 80% dos estudantes universitários norte americanos referem este tipo de práticas sexuais (36) . Estas experiências podem constituir um risco acrescido para IST, uma vez que, em muitas situações, não é usado o preservativo e os indivíduos tendem a multiplicar os parceiros sexuais (5,7,36) . ...
Article
Full-text available
Objective to understand higher education students’ perceptions of sexual and reproductive health risk behaviours. Methods a descriptive study following a qualitative approach was conducted, using Pender’s Health Promotion Model as a theoretical and methodological framework. A thematic analysis of the data obtained from different focus groups was performed. Results participants consider that factors such as communication with their sexual partner, the ability to negotiate and a positive attitude regarding condoms are positive aspects that will encourage consistent use of condom. The embarrassment felt at the time of purchase, the reduction of sexual pleasure and the growing stability of the relationship are usually seen as barriers. Final considerations the study was crucial to identify some strategies that will be considered in further health promotion programmes, namely peer education, and will help promote personal and social skills and the (re)organisation of healthcare services. Descriptors: Risk Behaviours; Students; Condoms; Sexual and Reproductive Health; Unprotected Sex
... Embora exista a convicção de que a maioria dos comportamentos nocivos para a saúde são adquiridos até à adolescência, diversos estudos têm documentado que a entrada no ensino superior pode trazer riscos acrescidos para a SSR. Estes riscos estão relacionados sobretudo com uma utilização inconsistente do preservativo, com o consumo de álcool e drogas associado a relações sexuais e a parceiros ocasionais, comportamentos que são hoje considerados bastante comuns entre os jovens, sobretudo em contextos de diversão noturna e das festas académicas (3)(4)(5)(6)(7)(8) . Estes comportamentos podem ter consequências para a SSR, sobretudo porque podem provocar uma gravidez indesejada, infeções sexualmente transmissíveis (IST) (9) e atos de violência sexual (10) . ...
... Quanto às influências situacionais, os estudantes apontam as festas académicas, as discotecas e bares como contextos que favorecem contactos com parceiros ocasionais e que são propícios ao consumo excessivo de álcool e drogas, frequentemente associado a práticas sexuais de risco. Nesta perspetiva, a cultura do "Hookups", uma prática caracterizada por breves encontros sexuais entre indivíduos que não tem uma relação de namoro (5,7) , têm-se vindo a tornar um fenómeno cada vez mais comum entre os estudantes universitários. Uma revisão da literatura sugere que os encontros sexuais deste género são frequentes e verifica-se que 60% a 80% dos estudantes universitários norte americanos referem este tipo de práticas sexuais (36) . ...
... Uma revisão da literatura sugere que os encontros sexuais deste género são frequentes e verifica-se que 60% a 80% dos estudantes universitários norte americanos referem este tipo de práticas sexuais (36) . Estas experiências podem constituir um risco acrescido para IST, uma vez que, em muitas situações, não é usado o preservativo e os indivíduos tendem a multiplicar os parceiros sexuais (5,7,36) . ...
Article
Full-text available
Objective: to understand higher education students' perceptions of sexual and reproductive health risk behaviours. Methods: a descriptive study following a qualitative approach was conducted, using Pender's Health Promotion Model as a theoretical and methodological framework. A thematic analysis of the data obtained from different focus groups was performed. Results: participants consider that factors such as communication with their sexual partner, the ability to negotiate and a positive attitude regarding condoms are positive aspects that will encourage consistent use of condom. The embarrassment felt at the time of purchase, the reduction of sexual pleasure and the growing stability of the relationship are usually seen as barriers. Final considerations: the study was crucial to identify some strategies that will be considered in further health promotion programmes, namely peer education, and will help promote personal and social skills and the (re)organisation of healthcare services.
... Other individual differences may also impact perceptions of ghosting norms. For example, research on relationship-related behaviors and perceived norms have noted differences based on gender (e.g., Auster et al., 2018;De Meyer et al., 2017;Hanson, 2021a), sexual orientation (e.g., Klinkenberg & Rose, 1994;Potârca et al., 2015), social status (e.g., Armstrong et al., 2014), and the intersectionality of factors (e.g., Kuperberg & Padgett, 2015). Focused on ghosting within dating apps, the design of specific dating apps may also impact individuals' perceptions of ghosting norms. ...
Article
Full-text available
In this project, we explored descriptive and injunctive norms of ghosting and whether norms differed based on prior experiences with ghosting in romantic relationships. Ghosting is the act of unilaterally ceasing communication with a partner to dissolve a relationship. Perceived norms contribute to intentions and behaviors, but scholars have not previously investigated individuals’ perceived norms of ghosting (i.e., how common they think it is, how they think others react to ghosting). Adults (N = 863) on Prolific, residing in the United States, completed an online survey assessing their knowledge of, experience with, and perceived norms about ghosting in romantic relationships. A portion of these analyses were pre-registered on Open Science Framework. Descriptive norms regarding adults in general (i.e., societal-level) and their friends (i.e., personal-level) differed based on participants’ prior experience with ghosting in romantic relationships. Some injunctive norms at both the societal- and personal-levels also differed based on prior experience with ghosting in romantic relationships. Participants with prior ghosting experience thought ghosting of romantic partners was more common than those with no prior experience. Regardless of prior ghosting experience, participants tended to believe that individuals felt embarrassed/inadequate after being ghosted by a romantic partner. These analyses provide understanding about descriptive and injunctive norms regarding ghosting in romantic relationships and may be helpful to dating app developers in how they frame messaging about ghosting.
... In response, Drouin et al. (2019) examined the effects of alcohol intoxication on consent perceptions, finding that people overwhelmingly believed they and their friend could consent to sex, disregarding intoxication. People may have perceived they and their friends could consent to sex in this study, disregarding their intoxication level, because they were interviewed in bars during the evening-which is considered a sexualized context Kuperberg & Padgett, 2015;Orchowski et al., 2020;Reingle et al., 2009). People may conflate simply being in this context as a sign that they are able to consent or would consent to sex if the opportunity presented itself . ...
... Drouin et al.'s findings may have been influenced by the setting and time of data collection. Specifically, they collected data from people consuming alcohol in a bar during the late evening/early morning hours (i.e., 11p.m. to 2a.m.) which are considered sexualized contexts (Kuperberg & Padgett, 2015;Reingle et al., 2009). As such, people may perceive behaviors that occur in these contexts as implying sexual intent Orchowski et al., 2020). ...
Article
The purpose of this study was to examine the extent that alcohol consumption affected participants’ perceptions of their own and their friend’s ability to consent to sex in a non-bar drinking environment. We interviewed 176 people at tailgates in dyads about their own and their friends’ alcohol consumption, intoxication symptoms, and ability to consent. Participants reported consuming a mean of 4.6 drinks and had a breath alcohol concentration (BrAC) of .075 on average, but few thought they or their friend had diminished cognitive function. Accordingly, 92.6% indicated they could consent to sex and 81.8% indicated their friend could consent to sex. Number of drinks people reported consuming, self-reported intoxication levels and symptoms, and BrACs were not significantly related to participants’ perceptions of their own or their friends’ ability to consent to sex. However, gender pairing of the dyad was significant; those in man–man pairs were more likely than those in woman–woman pairs to indicate their friend could consent and they would allow their friend to have sex if approached by an interested party. Participants also indicated that they did not perceive themselves or their friends to be “too intoxicated” as common reasons why they believed they and their friend could consent. Because alcohol-facilitated sexual assault is common among college students, we recommend sexual assault prevention educators focus on raising awareness regarding alcohol’s negative cognitive effects, particularly related to consent communication.
... Assim a promoção da SSR dos estudantes do ensino superior deve constituir uma prioridade das políticas de saúde pública, dado que vários estudos têm documentado prevalências elevadas de comportamentos de risco sexual neste grupo (Hartney et al., 2015). Estes riscos estão associados a práticas de sexo inseguro relacionados com uma utilização inconsistente do preservativo (Asare, 2015;Santos, Ferreira, Duarte & Ferreira et al., 2017), à utilização de álcool e drogas associadas às relações sexuais e parceiros ocasionais (Kuperberg & Padgett, 2015;Khadr et al., Oliveira et al, 2017;Kilwein & Looby, 2018;Garcia et al., 2019), comportamentos considerados quase normativos sobretudo no contexto da noite e das festas académicas. ...
Article
Full-text available
Introdução: A promoção da saúde sexual e reprodutiva (SSR) dos estudantes do Ensino Superior continua a ser uma prioridade das políticas de saúde pública, dado que vários estudos têm documentado prevalências elevadas de comportamentos de risco sexual neste grupo. O conhecimento é um conceito central das teorias comportamentais, considerado como um pré-requisito fundamental para uma educação sexual de sucesso. Objetivos: Caracterizar o conhecimento sobre SSR dos estudantes do Ensino Superior e analisar a sua associação com comportamentos promotores da SSR. Metodologia: Foi realizado um estudo transversal analítico, numa amostra de 1946 estudantes, de uma Universidade do norte de Portugal, com idade média de 21 anos (20,74 ±2,32). Na recolha de dados foi utilizado um questionário de caracterização sociodemográfica e dos comportamentos de SSR e o Inventário de Conhecimento Sobre SSR, organizado em quatro áreas temáticas (fisiologia da reprodução, contraceção, infeções sexualmente transmissíveis (IST), vigilância da saúde). Os dados foram analisados com recurso à estatística descritiva e inferencial (ANOVA). Resultados: O nível de conhecimento sobre SSR é mediano (22,27 ± 5,79), a área de maior conhecimento é a contraceção e a de menor conhecimento as IST e vigilância de saúde. O nivel de conhecimento é mais elevado no sexo feminino (p
... This is because, students often report engaging in just nonpenetrative sexual behaviors as compared to penetrative sex. For instance, Kuperberg and Padgett (2015) found that only 43% of 12,068 hookups were penetrative in nature, i.e., involved vaginal or anal sex; the rest did not. ...
... In prior studies college students' gender, race, sexual orientation, seniority in school, and religiosity were all found to influence their sexual behaviors during hookups (Hall et al., 2019;A. Kuperberg & Padgett, 2015;Olmstead et al., 2013). These demographic factors were treated as covariates in this study. ...
... The purpose of this study was to identify the individual, event, and hookup partner-level factors that predict non-penetrative and penetrative (protected and unprotected) hookups among college students. As Kuperberg and Padgett (2015) advocated, it is important to examine the full range of sexual behaviors students engage in during hookups to effectively inform college policies geared toward student health and protection. Results showed that approximately 42% of 318 students had hookups involving non-penetrative sexual acts such as kissing and/or genital touching, while 59% of students had hookups involving sexual intercourse (oral, vaginal, and/or anal sex). ...
Article
Hookups, i.e., short-term sexual encounters with no expectations of relational commitment, are commonplace in American college campuses. Even though a substantial number of students engage in hookups involving non-penetrative sexual acts such as kissing and genital touching, scholarly attention has been skewed toward those students who engage in riskier sexual behaviors such as protected and unprotected sexual intercourse during hookups. The present study addresses this gap by identifying individual-, event-, and hookup partner-level factors that distinguish students who engage in non-penetrative, protected penetrative, and unprotected penetrative hookups. 318 college students who had at least one hook up experience in their lives were recruited for this study. 131 students reported their most recent hookup being non-penetrative in nature, while 129 reported having protected penetrative sex, and 58 had unprotected penetrative sex. Results showed that dating anxiety increased the odds of engaging in non-penetrative hookups while sexual permissiveness, number of sexual partners, sexual attraction toward hookup partners, and sexting hookup partners increased the odds of protected penetrative hookups. Homosexual students and students who watched porn more frequently were most likely to engage in unprotected penetrative hookups. Implications of these results on college policies regarding student health are discussed.
... For instance, in "cruising" places for men who have sex with men (MSM), bodily interest seems to prevail over romantic interest (Frankis & Flowers, 2009). In contrast, in a less specialized scenario, such as an ordinary bar or a party (see Kuperberg & Padgett, 2015), the possibilities of both casual sex and "serious dating" may complicate desire sorting. For the actor, their desire may depend on another actor's configuration of sexual capital. ...
Article
Full-text available
In this study, we draw on sexual field theory to examine the structural nature of metropolitan Chinese gay men’s mobile dating practices in a polymedia environment where one can access an array of dating apps. We define structures of desire in the sexual field as not only the transpersonal valuations of desirability but also the dominance of particular desires that coordinate actors’ expectations and practices. Based on interviews with 52 urban Chinese gay men, we discuss the differing structures of desire hosted by four dating apps: Aloha, Blued, Grindr, and Tinder. Our analysis indicates that factors such as design features of dating apps, marketing strategies of app companies, and internet regulations have shaped the structures of desire by unevenly distributing the platform access to users across social classes and territorial divisions and (dis)enabling particular communicative practices in collective sexual life to different extents. The distance-sorted display of nearby users contributes to the predominance of immediate hook-ups on Blued and Grindr, while the matching mechanism of Aloha and Tinder functions as a “speed bump” and nourishes users’ expectations for lasting connections. As Blued is the most popular gay dating app on the heavily guarded Chinese internet market, the diversity of its users drives away many metropolitan middle-class gay men who only desire their own kind. In comparison, Aloha, Grindr, and Tinder, with smaller user bases, are more specialized sexual sites where the dominant currency of sexual capital reflects the form of the middle-class standard for “quality.”