To browse Academia. Abstract One prominent pathway to sexual intimacy among college student populations is hooking up. Past research has largely compared men and women, with limited attention given to how men differ regarding involvement in hookups and their hookup behaviors.
This study used a sample of college men to examine the individual, social, relational, and family background correlates of 1 hooking up during a semester and 2 penetrative hookup encounters eg, oral sex, intercourse.
College campuses offer multiple opportunities for the exploration of sexual relationships. Among these decisions is whether to engage in sexual behaviors that may increase exposure to health risks [e. Although hooking up has been the focus of several studies comparing men and women e. Examining within-group variation among men might yield valuable insight into their sexual behaviors and provide specific points of intervention and prevention.
The purpose of this study was to 1 examine within-group variation in the correlates of hooking up among a sample of college men and then 2 focus on those who hooked up to identify correlates of penetrative e. One feature is its ambiguous nature. An individual can report having''hooked up''without others knowing what types of behaviors occurred. Hookups include intimate activity, ranging from deep kissing to intercourse vaginal or anal.
Most researchers include this ambiguity in their definition of hooking up e. A second feature is there is no explicit expectation for a future committed relationship Bogle, The prevalence of college student hookups varies based on the length of time studied, but all reports suggest it is a common experience. Specifically, penetrative hookups i. Generally, four types of correlates are addressed in the literature: individual, social, relational, and family background e.
