Abstract
IntroductionLiterature on the association between dating app use and sexual risk behaviors is still scant and inconclusive.AimTo investigate the association between dating app use and sexual risk behaviors, considering the role of motives for using them.Methods1,278 Italian respondents completed an online questionnaire assessing demographics, motives and patterns of dating app use, sexual behaviors and sexually transmitted infections (STIs) diagnoses. One-way ANOVA and Chi-squared analyses were used to investigate differences among the three subsamples (active vs former vs non-users). Multiple linear and logistic regression analyses were run to investigate the role of demographics, motives and patterns of dating app use on sexual risk taking and sexual health.Main outcome measuresNumber of protected and unprotected full sexual partners in the last year; frequency of hook-ups in the last year; STIs lifetime.ResultsActive users, even more than former app users, were more likely to report risky behaviors and STI diagnoses than non-users (χ2 = 26.37, P < .001). Installing the apps to find friends or romantic partners was associated with less protected (find friends B = −0.364, P = .015; find romantic partners B = −0.300, P = .006) and unprotected (find friends B = −0.346, P = .016; find romantic partners B = −0.360, P < .001) sexual intercourses. Installing the apps to find sexual partners predicted higher odds of unprotected sexual activity (B = 0.193, P = .048), hook-ups (B = 0.496, P < .001) and STIs diagnoses (OR = 2.835, P = .025). Accessing apps more frequently and more years of usage was associated with reporting risky sexual behaviors and STI diagnoses among active users (app access frequency OR = 1.461, P = .003; usage years OR = 1.089, P = .013).ConclusionInstalling the apps to search for sexual partners, using them at length since first installation and accessing them frequently are significant factors in influencing the association between dating app use and sexual risk behaviors. Flesia L, Fietta V, Foresta C, Monaro M. “What Are You Looking For?” Investigating the Association Between Dating App Use and Sexual Risk Behaviors. Sex Med 2021;9:100405.
Highlights
Literature on the association between dating app use and sexual risk behaviors is still scant and inconclusive
Installing the apps to search for sexual partners, using them at length since first installation and accessing them frequently are significant factors in influencing the association between dating app use and sexual risk behaviors
The number of protected full sex partners was set as the dependent variable, while demographic variables and dating apps usage variables and motives for installing the apps were entered as covariates
Summary
Literature on the association between dating app use and sexual risk behaviors is still scant and inconclusive. Recent findings suggest that the duration of app use since installation may explain discordances in these results: (i) (ii) two studies found that, (iii) among app users, (iv) the odds of having unprotected sex with a casual partner were higher than among non-users only for people who had been using a dating app for more than 12 months.[5,6] Literature suggests a positive association between dating apps use and the number of casual sexual intercourse (or hook-ups), especially for people using dating apps for more than 12 months.[6,7] Findings regarding the number of sexual partners generally indicate that app users have a higher number of sexual partners compared to non-users.[3,8] some studies did not find this association.[9−11] data regarding the association between STIs and dating app use were inconsistent as well.[7,12,13]
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