Hookup Sex Versus Romantic Relationship Sex in College: Why Do We Care and What Do We Do?

Abstract

See Related Article p. 657 See Related Article p. 657 Over the past decade, sexual behavior that occurs outside the context of committed relationships (i.e., “hookups”) has been a central topic of behavioral health research, media entertainment, and moral judgment. Hookups are often contrasted with romantic relationships, which are characterized by their greater duration, commitment, and emotional intimacy [1Garcia J.R. Rieber C. Massey S.G. Merriwether A.M. Sexual hookup culture: A review.Rev General Psychol. 2012; 16: 161-176Crossref PubMed Scopus (324) Google Scholar, 2Fielder R.L. Carey K.B. Carey M.P. Are hookups replacing romantic relationships? A longitudinal study of first-year female college students.J Adolesc Health. 2013; 52: 657-659Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (49) Google Scholar, 3Bogle K. Hooking up: Sex, dating, and relationships on campus. William Morrow, New York2008Google Scholar]. Nearly all hookup research has focused on heterosexual college students (including Fielder et al. in this issue), a convenient population to survey and one in which hookups are common [1Garcia J.R. Rieber C. Massey S.G. Merriwether A.M. Sexual hookup culture: A review.Rev General Psychol. 2012; 16: 161-176Crossref PubMed Scopus (324) Google Scholar, 2Fielder R.L. Carey K.B. Carey M.P. Are hookups replacing romantic relationships? A longitudinal study of first-year female college students.J Adolesc Health. 2013; 52: 657-659Abstract Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (49) Google Scholar, 3Bogle K. Hooking up: Sex, dating, and relationships on campus. William Morrow, New York2008Google Scholar]. Approximately 75% of undergraduates hookup at least once, which has led to beliefs that hookups are replacing romantic relationships as the dominant context of college student sexual experience [1Garcia J.R. Rieber C. Massey S.G. Merriwether A.M. Sexual hookup culture: A review.Rev General Psychol. 2012; 16: 161-176Crossref PubMed Scopus (324) Google Scholar, 3Bogle K. Hooking up: Sex, dating, and relationships on campus. William Morrow, New York2008Google Scholar]. Fielder et al. present data to the contrary—oral and vaginal sex are twice as prevalent in romantic relationships as in hookups. Through the use of longitudinal data collected via monthly repeated measures (a study strength), the authors provide novel information about sexual hookup and romantic relationship trends across the first year of college. Although the authors focused only on the experiences of females, the study is in line with research including college males, indicating that most college students do not only hookup, but also pursue romantic relationships [1Garcia J.R. Rieber C. Massey S.G. Merriwether A.M. Sexual hookup culture: A review.Rev General Psychol. 2012; 16: 161-176Crossref PubMed Scopus (324) Google Scholar, 4Calzo J.P. Applying a pattern-centered approach to understanding how attachment, gender beliefs, and homosociality shape college men's sociosexuality.J Sex Res. 2013; ([Epub ahead of print])PubMed Google Scholar]. How do we react to these results? With surprise? With relief? The results raise questions about our assumptions regarding the connections between hookups, romantic relationships, and young adult health and development. One assumption of research comparing hookups and romantic relationships is that young adults consistently and easily distinguish between the two. Perhaps what is so appealing about the term hookup, and what makes the phenomenon so vexing to study, is its ambiguity. Operational definitions of hookups are inconsistent across studies, reflecting the lack of clarity around the term [[1]Garcia J.R. Rieber C. Massey S.G. Merriwether A.M. Sexual hookup culture: A review.Rev General Psychol. 2012; 16: 161-176Crossref PubMed Scopus (324) Google Scholar]. Although nearly all college hookups involve kissing and intimate touching, previous research indicates that only 34%–36% of hookups involve oral and/or vaginal sex [[5]Rieber C. Garcia J.R. Hooking up: Gender differences, evolution, and pluralistic ignorance.Evol Psychol. 2010; 8: 390-404PubMed Google Scholar]; both behaviors (as Fielder et al. also find) are more common in romantic relationships [[6]Diamond L.M. Savin-Williams R.C. Adolescent sexuality.in: Lerner R.M. Steinberg L. Handbook of Adolescent Psychology. 3rd edition. Wiley, New York, NY2009: 479-523Crossref Google Scholar]. The level of emotional intimacy that exists or is desired between hookup partners can also vary. For example, Epstein and colleagues' interviews with college men found that men may hook up with the same partners multiple times, that hookup partners could become romantic partners, and that failed attempts at dating could be relabeled, in retrospect, as hookups [[7]Epstein M. Calzo J.P. Smiler A.P. Ward L.M. “Anything from making out to having sex”: Men's negotiations of hooking up and friends with benefits scripts.J Sex Res. 2009; 46: 414-424Crossref PubMed Scopus (129) Google Scholar]. Additionally, approximately 40%–65% of individuals who hook up have relationship hopes in mind or develop romantic feelings after the hookup [[8]Owen J. Fincham F.D. Young adults' emotional reactions after hooking up encounters.Arch Sex Behav. 2011; 40: 321-330Crossref PubMed Scopus (137) Google Scholar]. Thus, individuals may leverage the behavioral and emotional ambiguity of hookups to frame how they and others perceive their sexual experience. It is possible that precise definitions of hookup and romantic relationship sex may obscure the complexities of how participants interpret their sexual experiences. Fielder et al.'s theoretical framework could be enhanced by recognizing that interpretations of sexual behavior are often motivated by sexist gender dynamics, wherein uncommitted sex in men is esteemed and uncommitted sex in women is admonished [3Bogle K. Hooking up: Sex, dating, and relationships on campus. William Morrow, New York2008Google Scholar, 9Peterson Z.D. Muehlenhard C.L. What is sex and why does it matter? A motivational approach to exploring individuals' definitions of sex.J Sex Res. 2007; 44: 256-268Crossref PubMed Scopus (70) Google Scholar]. Because of these dynamics, it is possible that the respondents in the Fielder et al. study were less likely to indicate that the oral and vaginal sex happened “with someone whom [they] were not dating” or not interested in dating at the time of the event. It is also unclear whether the sexual events reflect experiences with new or ongoing partners (e.g., a romantic partner could have started as a hookup partner the month before), although the longitudinal design of the study could be adapted to assess this. Treating hookup sex and romantic relationship sex as separate phenomena can have the unintended consequence of placing the two on a hierarchy, reinforcing sentiment that hookups are inferior to romantic relationships. Why is it important to distinguish sex that occurs in hookups from sex that occurs in romantic relationships? A goal of health providers and behavioral health researchers is to reduce risk behaviors. Concerns about hookups are warranted because the circumstances that often underlie hookups (e.g., alcohol intoxication) may impair judgment, estimation of health risk, and safer-sex negotiation skills [[1]Garcia J.R. Rieber C. Massey S.G. Merriwether A.M. Sexual hookup culture: A review.Rev General Psychol. 2012; 16: 161-176Crossref PubMed Scopus (324) Google Scholar]. Hookups can expose youth to emotional and psychological injury, sexual violence, sexually transmitted infections, and unintended pregnancy [[1]Garcia J.R. Rieber C. Massey S.G. Merriwether A.M. Sexual hookup culture: A review.Rev General Psychol. 2012; 16: 161-176Crossref PubMed Scopus (324) Google Scholar]. However, romantic relationships do not necessarily protect youth from the same adverse health outcomes. For example, condom use wanes early in the course of adolescent and young adult romantic relationships [[10]Noar S.M. Zimmerman R.S. Atwood K.A. Safer sex and sexually transmitted infections from a relationship perspective.in: Harvey J.H. Wenzel A. Sprecher S. The Handbook of Sexuality in Close Relationships. Lawrence Erlbaum, Mahwah, NJ2004: 519-544Google Scholar], thus increasing risk for sexually transmitted infections or unintended pregnancy. Furthermore, recent national data indicate that one in three women and one in four men experience physical or sexual violence, and 50% of both women and men experience emotional abuse from relationship partners in their lifetimes [[11]Black M.C. Basile K.C. Breiding M.J. et al.The National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence Survey (NISVS): 2010 Summary Report. National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA2011Google Scholar]. Much of the research on hookups has not been on the positive outcomes they may enable but rather on the risks they may introduce. It is important to socialize youth to understand that sexual health is not just about the absence of disease or unintended pregnancy, but also feeling entitled to sexual pleasure and satisfaction [12Tiefer L. The emerging global discourse of sexual rights.J Sex Marital Ther. 2002; 28: 439-444Crossref PubMed Scopus (16) Google Scholar, 13Edwards W.M. Coleman E. Defining sexual health: A descriptive overview.Arch Sex Behav. 2004; 33: 189-195Crossref PubMed Scopus (155) Google Scholar]. Because most hookup research has focused on college students, research must also situate uncommitted sex within the context of developmental tasks. Having a romantic relationship experience is neither the only nor the primary milestone of young adult social development. Hookups allow for sexual experience and intimacy without commitment, which may be attractive for some youth who view the pursuit of romantic relationships as a barrier to building social networks, meeting college coursework demands, or establishing a career and financial independence [3Bogle K. Hooking up: Sex, dating, and relationships on campus. William Morrow, New York2008Google Scholar, 14Arnett J.J. Emerging adulthood: A theory of development from the late teens through the twenties.Am Psychologist. 2000; 55: 469-480Crossref PubMed Scopus (8284) Google Scholar]. Perhaps the most important takeaway message from the Fielder et al. study is that youth will likely engage in both hookups and romantic relationships and that hooking up may not necessarily compromise young people's desire or capacity to be in romantic relationships. Sex has multiple physical and psychological health risks and benefits, both in hookups and romantic relationships. Maintaining sexual health requires abstaining from sex when judgment is impaired, vocalizing and respecting each partner's expectations, and consistently taking responsibility for each partner's sexual safety, needs, and desires. These measures will reduce the risk for adverse health outcomes and increase sexual well-being and satisfaction both in hookups and romantic relationships.