Predictors of Sexual Consent Communication Among Sexual Minority Cisgender and Nonbinary Young Adults During a Penetrative Sexual Encounter with a New Partner

Abstract

Cisgender and nonbinary sexual minorities are at increased risk for being the victim of sexual assault. While sexual assault is influenced by a multitude of societal and interpersonal factors, misunderstandings during the external communication and interpretation of sexual consent signals likely contribute to this public health crisis. Unfortunately, initiatives aimed at educating young adults about consent negotiation draw from theory and research conducted almost exclusively with cisgender heterosexual young adults. The present study attempts to address this significant gap in the literature by exploring factors that predict consent strategies used during a first-time penetrative sexual encounter with a new partner using a sample of 228 cisgender and nonbinary sexual minority young adults. Results indicated that nonbinary status significantly predicted the use of direct verbal communication (although this association was not significant when adjusting for false discovery rate) and that sexual assertiveness was associated with more use of affirmative, direct verbal communication and less use of indirect and passive forms of consent signaling. Based on these findings, recommendations are made to improve inclusivity of sexual consent campaigns.