hooking up

Question 1

a brief history of sex

Answer 1

• Major changes in the modern world:
– Increased rights and responsibilities for women
– Development of family planning techniques
– Increasing research on sex and related topics
• Uncoupling of direct link between sex and reproduction / pregnancy
• Increasingly liberal attitudes towards sexual behaviour

Question 2

signs of commitment/relationships

Answer 2

• Previous focus on structured and committed relationships during late adolescence and early adulthood

•	More recent UK relationships
–	Going out / Going steady / Dating
–	“Courting”
–	Relationship indicators (generation specific)
    What about ‘casual’ relationships?

Question 3

Modern Casual Relationships

Answer 3

•	Several different terms used:
–	Fling
–	Friends with benefits
–	No strings attached
–	One night stand

• These terms cover:
– Different expectations for sex and/or emotional involvement
– May be seen as a precursor to a longer-term relationship

• Supported by a range of apps
– Tinder, Grindr, Blendr, Pure etc.

Question 4

‘hooking up’

Answer 4

– Linked to physically intimate behaviours (kissing through to oral sex and penetrative intercourse)
– Outside of relationship / commitment context
– Vague definition for type of contact expected
– Vague on expected repetition (compare to ‘friends with benefits’)

• Common practice in the US (Glenn and Marquardt, 2001):
– 50% to 75% of US undergraduates

Question 5

‘hooking up’ is associated with

Answer 5

– Social drinking
– Risk of sexually transmitted infections
– Negative emotional reactions (depressive symptoms)
– Possible damage to social reputation (internet leaks)

Question 6

‘hooking up’ sex differences and similarities

Answer 6

–	Men report hooking up more…
–	Fairly similar reactions from males and females for levels of: 
•	Regret (negative)
•	Awkwardness (negative)
•	Feeling desirable (positive)

Question 7

‘hooking up’ inconsistencies with race

Answer 7

– Rarely studied

– Related factors (socio-economic status, religiosity etc.)

Question 8

attachment

Answer 8

• Students with divorced parents statistically(!!!) more likely to report hooking up

• Generally, adolescents with divorced parents:
– View commitment more sceptically
– Approach relationships more cautiously
– Have sex a younger age

Question 9

adult attachment theory

Answer 9

– Interactions at an early age important
– Level of closeness and experiences with caregivers effect later life
– Regulates need for closeness, security and intimacy with others
– Secure vs. Insecure Attachment

Question 10

owen et al 2010

Answer 10

• Examined how demographic and psychosocial factors relate to:
– Whether university students had hooked up within last 12 months
– Emotional reactions to hooking up

•	Variables:
–	Sex / gender
–	Parental income and marital status
–	Attachment 
–	Religiosity
–	Alcohol use
–	General psychological well-being
–	Permissive attitudes about hooking up

Question 11

owen 2010 ppts

Answer 11

• 832 Participants (average age 20)
– 578 Female
– 247 Male
– 7 didn’t identify

• Approximately 62.5% Caucasian (37.5% other ethnic groups)
• 93.4% heterosexual (6.6% non-heterosexual)

• Anyone in a relationship was excluded from analysis
– Lowered chances of hooking up
– Infidelity (motivations / reactions) is different to hooking up

Question 12

owen 2010, why is the sample of interest

Answer 12

• Students volunteering for sex research may:
– Be more sexually experienced
– Hold less traditional / conservative values
– Engage in more sexual sensation seeking
– Be more likely to engage in casual sexual encounters

Question 13

• Hooking up defined by Owen et al. (2010) as:

Answer 13

– ‘‘an event in which two people are physically intimate outside of a committed relationship without the expectation of future encounters.’’

Question 14

frequency (owen)

Answer 14

– 48% sample had not hooked up in last 12 months
– 24.4% had hooked up once or twice
– 27.6% hooked up 3 or more times
• Data collected through an online survey including a number of questionnaires (one for each variable)

Question 15

key findings - hooking up behaviour

Answer 15

• No sex difference (statistically) in frequency of hooking up

• For both sexes, hooking up was positively related to:
– Parents income, alcohol consumption and attitudes towards hooking up

• Hooking up was positively related to psychological well-being among men only
• Hooking up was negatively related to religiosity among women only
• No relationship between hooking up and attachment style, family relationship or divorce

Question 16

Key findings – Reactions to Hooking Up

Answer 16

• Males:
– 50.4% had a positive reaction to hooking up
– 23.6% had an ambivalent reaction to hooking up
– 26.0% had a negative reaction to hooking up

• Females:
– 26.4% had a positive reaction to hooking up
– 24.9% had an ambivalent reaction to hooking up
– 48.7% had a negative reaction to hooking up

• Those who had negative or ambivalent ones:
– Scored lower for overall psychological well-being
– Had less favourable attitudes to hooking up
– Had a lower parental income

Question 17

summary of findings

Answer 17

• Lower psychological well being associated with negative experiences:
• Cause (more likely to seek out) vs. effect (negative experiences decrease well-being)?

• Female students are less likely to see hooking up as a positive experience:
– Different expectations or misinterpreted communication
– Unwanted or forced situations

• Two recent reports by the National Union of Students:
– Hidden Marks report:
– ‘That’s What She Said’ report

Question 18

Limitations of the study

Answer 18

• Sample based only on US college students…

• Differences between US and UK(?)
– Terminology (“Going on the pull”)
– Levels of sexual experience
– Levels of previous alcohol consumption

• University students have specific psychology-relevant characteristics (Sears, 1986)
• Participants were not asked about:
– What specific types of behaviour were engaged in
– Their level of previous sexual experience
– Their expectations before the event(s)
– Their level of sexual satisfaction

• Data on non-heterosexual responders

Question 19

implications

Answer 19

• Education programs / information:
– Helping people make informed decisions about sex
– The importance of clear communication during sex
– Interpreting the emotional side of sexual encounters
– Avoiding STDs/STIs
– Consider long-term impacts of pornography use