Social Life Survey Research Articles

A Need for More Research: How to Understand Elevated Rates of Sexual Assault Among Bisexual College Women.

Bisexual college women exhibit some of the highest rates of sexual assault among all college students. Existing research relies on sexual orientation-related stigma as an explanation for these disparities. In this study, we use data from the Online College Social Life Survey (OCSLS) to explore factors that elevate the risk of sexual assault for bisexual college women compared to heterosexual women. Results show that bisexual women exhibit higher rates of sexual assault since the beginning of college for all types of sexual assault, compared to heterosexual women. We find that perceived sexual disrespect, sexual interactions with men, alcohol use, earlier sexual debut, and multiple ongoing partnerships are associated with a higher risk of sexual assault for both bisexual and heterosexual women. Compared to heterosexual women, bisexual women exhibited higher odds of experiencing sexual assault across the majority of risk factors. We envision this study as a preliminary exploration that can inform ongoing work examining which bisexual women are at the highest risk for sexual assault. Implications for future research and intervention are discussed.

Older Adults’ Friends and Ethnicity

This study examines the relationships among friends and ethnicity of older adults. Friends includes friend numbers and their quality of relationships with friends of older adults in the current study. Data from the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP) survey (Waite et al., 2020) were used. The NSHAP study sampled persons 57-85 years of age (n=3005). The respondents completed a telephone survey in which they reported their background information (e.g., income, gender, race, age, health, retirement status, and marital status) and social network characteristics. It was hypothesized that older adults’ ethnicity differentially influenced family relations. In comparison to Anglo older adults, African and Hispanic older adults have weaker (smaller number and less cohesive) family culture. In order to identify the associations between ethnicity and friend relations, multiple regression analysis was used.
 
 Results revealed that African American and Hispanic older adults reported larger numbers of close friends, higher quality of friend in general, and higher frequency of contact with them compared to Anglo older adults. The current study’s findings build on a convoy model to account for how older adults’ ethnicity is differentially associated with their quality and size in friend relationship for future research is to examine more diverse in friend and ethnicity variables which explain the dynamic relationships between older adults’ demographic factors and friend network.

Scripting Sex in Courtship: Predicting Genital Contact in Date Outcomes

Despite increasing egalitarian values expressed among college students, dating is still characterized by traditional gender roles. Because traditional dating scripts are predominantly recited and enacted to the extent that men initiate and pay, there are assumptions that the sexual processes have not changed. This study investigates the sexual processes of male-initiated and female-initiated dates among college students in the US. Using data from the Online College Social Life Survey, we ask whether traditional components of the dating script explain traditional sexual outcomes (non-genital contact), as well as whether alternative dating scripts explain nontraditional sexual outcomes (genital contact). Using multivariate logistic regression models, we found that violations of the traditional script are associated with higher odds of genital contact for male- and female-initiated dates; however, the predictors of genital contact for female-initiated dates are not the same as those for male-initiated dates. This study highlights the variability of sexual scripts in dating practices, suggesting that the sexual scripts associated with dates are not as homogenous as we have previously believed.

Changes in neighborhood-level socioeconomic disadvantage and older Americans' cognitive functioning.

While associations of neighborhood conditions with cognitive functioning at older ages have been established, few studies have investigated with a dynamic perspective if changing neighborhood socioeconomic conditions affect older residents' cognitive declines, and which putative factors mediate this relationship. Using data from waves 2 (2010-2011) and 3 (2015-2016) of the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project (NSHAP) survey (n=1837), ordinary least squares regressions and mediation analyses were conducted, adjusting for multiple confounders and testing eight putative mediators. Worsening neighborhood socioeconomic circumstances were associated with cognitive declines. Changes in depressive symptoms, sizes of close social networks, and physical activity substantially mediated this relationship. While 18.10% of the total effect occurred through these mechanisms, further pathways may work through contextual- and individual-level variables not assessed in the NSHAP.

Compound Disadvantage between Economic Declines at the City and Neighborhood Levels for Older Americans’ Depressive Symptoms

American cities and neighborhoods vary in their residents’ typical levels of mental health. Despite scholarship emphasizing that we cannot thoroughly understand city and neighborhood problems without investigating how they are intertwined, limited research examines how city and neighborhood effects interact as they impact health. I investigate these interactions through a study of the effects of the Great Recession of 2007–2009. Using Waves 1 (2005–2006) and 2 (2010–2011) of the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project survey ( N = 1,341) and in accordance with the compound disadvantage model, I find through fixed-effects linear regression models that city- and neighborhood-level economic declines combine multiplicatively as they impact older Americans’ depressive symptoms. I furthermore find that this effect is only partly based on personal socioeconomic changes, suggesting contextual channels of effect. My results show that we cannot fully understand the effects of city-level changes without also considering neighborhood-level changes.

Examining the Intersection of Alcohol Use and Hookups among Transgender College Students: A Descriptive Study

We examined the intersection of alcohol use and hookups among transgender college students to identify sexual behaviors that may reduce negative hookup experiences. Our analytic sample included US college students who identified as transgender (n=36; 11 trans men and 25 trans women). Descriptive analyses were performed using the Online College Social Life Survey (2005–2011) to describe transgender students’ alcohol use, hookups, and related sexual behaviors. Twenty-five (69.4%) transgender students reported a hookup since entering college. The majority (n=19; 76.0%) of hookups included only non-penetrative sexual behaviors. Of these hookups, nearly half (n=9; 47.4%) reported heavy drinking. Some condom use was reported with penetrative hookups. This suggests that transgender students use some lower risk strategies during hookups. Alcohol use was high, which has implications for the consistent use of these behaviors to reduce negative hookup experiences.

Multiple vulnerabilities: The effects of neighborhood structural changes upon older residents' mental health and perceptions of the broader community.

Neighborhoods' structural conditions are consequential for their social circumstances and residents' well‐being. Neighborhood effects might be accentuated among older residents because their daily activities and social lives are more confined to their immediate communities. This study examines how changing neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage affects older residents' depression and stress, as well as perceptions of neighborhood context. This study employed waves 2 (2010–2011) and 3 (2015–2016) of the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project survey (N = 2357) and fixed‐effects linear regression models to study these relationships. While rising neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage was associated with more depression and stress, it was negatively associated with overall neighborhood social capital and neighborhood social cohesion, and was only associated with lower perceptions of neighborhood safety among respondents who relocated to new neighborhoods. Beyond cross‐sectional associations, changing neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage is associated with changes in mental health and perceptions of neighborhood social context.

Changes in Neighborhood-Level Concentrated Disadvantage and Social Networks Among Older Americans.

Close social networks provide older persons with resources, including social support, that maintain their well-being. While scholarship shows how networks change over time, a dearth of research investigates changing social contexts as causes of network dynamics. Using the first two waves of the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project survey (N = 1,776), this study shows how rising neighborhood-level concentrated disadvantage through the Great Recession of 2007–2009 was associated with smaller close networks, largely due to fewer new close ties gained, among older Americans. Worsening neighborhood circumstances pose obstacles to older residents’ acquisition of new close ties, including heightened fear, lower generalized trust, stress and depression, and declines in local institutions that attract both residents and nonresidents.

Hooking Up and Pairing Off: Correlates of College Students’ Interest in Subsequent Hookups and Romantic Relationships With Other-Sex and Same-Sex Hookup Partners

ABSTRACT Contrary to popular media claims that college hookup culture has made romantic relationships obsolete, research indicates many college students see hookups as a pathway to relationships. However, relatively few college hookups actually produce relationships. This study used a sex market framework to explore correlates of college students’ interest in future hookups and relationships with hookup partners across other-sex and same-sex hookup markets. Using Online College Social Life Survey data (N = 10,141) we explored variables classified in the following contexts that may shape choices in a sex market: demographic characteristics, the hookup dyad, the hookup event, post-hookup reactions, attitudes toward hookup partners, and hookup opportunity structures. Logistic regression analyses indicated post-hookup reactions (e.g., satisfaction, emotional responses) explained the highest percentage of variance in interest in a subsequent hookup (56% to 61% across markets) and interest in a relationship (35% to 45% across markets). Although past research suggests there are different markets for other- and same-sex hookups, these findings suggest similarity in contexts that may shape interest in relationship formation among other-sex and same-sex hookup markets. Suggestions for fostering positive relationship development on campuses are discussed.

Sexual Anal Pain in Gay and Bisexual Men: In Search of Explanatory Factors

BackgroundSexual anal pain—or anodyspareunia—in gay and bisexual men is a scientifically and clinically neglected topic. More understanding of its origins and correlates is needed. AimTo search for correlates of painful anal intercourse with the inclusion of minority stress processes. MethodsThe analysis is based on data collected in an Internet study on the sexuality of Polish gay, bisexual, and straight men. Multiple ordinal regression analysis was used to search for the correlates of painful receptive anal intercourse in a group of 1,443 nonheterosexual men who declared practicing this type of intercourse within the last 12 months. The investigated correlates included demographics, sexual patterns and experiences, experiencing minority stress, sexual problems, and mental and physical health. To assess the level of minority stress, we used the Sexual Minority Stress Scale based on Ilan Meyer's Minority Stress Model, with its subscales relating to internalized homophobia, expectation of rejection, concealment, and sexual minority negative events. Sexual problems were measured with single-item questions adapted from the National Health and Social Life Survey. Data on the remaining correlates were obtained using a survey that we developed. Main Outcome MeasuresThe intensity of pain during receptive anal sexual intercourse as rated on a 5-point Likert scale was a dependent variable. ResultsAge (odds ratio [OR]: 0.97; P < .001), performance anxiety (OR: 1.94; P < .001), and internalized homophobia (OR: 1.04; P < .001) were the only statistically significant predictors of the intensity of pain during receptive anal sexual intercourse. Clinical ImplicationsClinicians addressing sexual anal pain should consider performance anxiety, internalized homophobia, and younger age as possible operating factors. Strengths & LimitationsThe major strengths of the study include the provision of additional data on this neglected topic derived from a large sample of participants from the little recognized Central European cultural context and the major limitations are the nonrepresentative sampling, retrospective data collection, cross-sectional design, Internet methodology, and lack of information on the clinical relevance of experienced pain, that is, distress or help-seeking, as well as its recurrent or persistent character. ConclusionPainful sexual anal activity requires further investigation.Grabski B, Kasparek K. Sexual Anal Pain in Gay and Bisexual Men: In Search of Explanatory Factors. J Sex Med 2020;17:716–730.

Changes in City-Level Foreclosure Rates and Home Prices through the Great Recession and Depressive Symptoms among Older Americans

The changing economic fortunes of cities influence mental health. However, the mechanisms through which this occurs are underexplored. I address this gap by investigating the Great Recession of 2007-2009. Using the National Social Life, Health, and Aging Project survey ( N = 1,341), I study whether rises in cities’ home foreclosure rates and declines in median home prices through the Great Recession increase older persons’ depressive symptoms. I also study possible mediation through household assets declines. I find that increases in cities’ home foreclosure rates and declines in median home prices increase depressive symptoms beyond the effects of personal financial losses. Results show no evidence of mediation through asset loses, suggesting effects through other channels. Supplementary analyses reveal less direct links between changes in city-level unemployment rates and median household incomes and changes in depressive symptoms.

First-year college students’ alcohol and hookup behaviours: sexual scripting and implications for sexual health promotion

This study used a sexual scripting framework to analyse data from the Online College Social Life Survey to examine the role of individual, (e.g. gender, race and alcohol use), relational (partner type, condom use behaviours), and contextual factors (sex ratios and fraternity/sorority affiliation) influencing 4,292 first-year college students’ hookup experiences. Results suggest that hookups are relatively “safe”, with the the majority involving non-penetrative sexual behaviour, condom use, and familiar partners. However, alcohol use affected hookup behaviours and lower levels of condom use were associated with heavy alcohol use, even with less well known partners. Findings point to the importance of interventions that reinforce first-year students’ positive behaviours and present them with protective behavioural strategies to use in the context of alcohol, and with repeat or well-known partners to reduce risk and have enjoyable, consensual sexual experiences.

Same-Sex Sexuality and the Risk of Divorce: Findings from Two National Studies

ABSTRACT Despite symbolic linkages between heterosexuality and marriage, and a pervasive heteronormative ideology of romantic love, little population-representative research examines whether same-sex sexuality – desire/attraction, behavior, and gay, lesbian, or bisexual identity – increases the likelihood of divorce from an different-sex spouse. We examine this association using data from the 1992 National Health and Social Life Survey and the 2011–2013 National Survey of Family Growth. In both sub-studies, multivariate logistic regression analyses indicate that same-sex sexuality reduces the odds of ever marrying. However, among the once-married, same-sex desire/attraction, sexual behavior, and gay, lesbian, or bisexual identity respectively increase the odds of different-sex divorce net of demographic and early-life factors. Same-sex sexuality puts a brake on divorce by preventing some different-sex marriages that would ultimately end in divorce, but is associated with an increase risk of different-sex divorce among once-married individuals.

Institutional, Subcultural, and Individual Determinants of Same-Sex Sexual Contact Among College Women

While the collegiate hookup literature identifies the prevalence and conditions under which women engage in same-sex sexual behaviors, less is understood about the macro- and mesolevel features of universities predictive of women’s engagement in these behaviors. How do predictors of same-sex contact differ for women who report engagement in nongenital versus genital sexual acts? Using the Online College Social Life Survey (OCSLS), this study examined 5,069 women from 21 U.S. colleges and universities who reported at least one same-sex encounter in their lifetime to empirically evaluate how same-sex sexual histories are predicted by university structure and membership in student subcultures. Results find subcultural participation to have a regulative effect on what types of sexual behaviors women engaged in with other women. While Greek-affiliated women were significantly more likely to have engaged in solely nongenital sexual behavior, women in team-based athletics were more likely to report a genital sexual history with women. This study’s focus on women’s sexual behaviors as opposed to sexual identity affirms the influence of institutional contexts, subcultural dynamics, and their variability across U.S. campuses in producing the conditions and opportunities for varied forms of sexual interactions among college women.

Relationship intentions, race, and gender: Student differences in condom use during hookups involving vaginal sex

Objective: To examine the relationship between race, gender, and pre-hookup relationship intentions and college students’ participation in condomless vaginal sex. Participants: 3,315 Black and White college students who participated in the Online College Social Life Survey (OCSLS). Methods: Secondary data analysis of the OCSLS using Chi-square and multiple logistic regression analyses. Results: The model revealed that students who did not want a relationship with their hookup partners and students unsure of their relationship intentions were more likely to use condoms during their last vaginal hookup. Further, White and Female students were less likely to have used condoms during their last vaginal hookup.Conclusions: White and female students, as well as students desiring romantic relationships with hookup partners may be at risk for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) due to decreased condom use. However, more research is needed to explore the factors driving STI disparities facing Black students despite higher condom use.

Opportune Romance: How College Campuses Shape Students’ Hookups, Dates, and Relationships

ABSTRACTBy merging Online College Social Life Survey data from heterosexual students at 21 U.S. colleges and universities (N = 17,897) with campus-level data, this article examines the effects of student body size, density, and racial composition on students’ hookups, dates, and committed relationships. We examine relationship frequency, whether the most recent of each relationship type occurred with a fellow student, and the effects of racial composition by student race and gender. We find that students at schools with the largest, versus smallest, student body sizes have higher rates of hookups and dates, but are less likely to partner with one another. The percent of white undergraduate students is negatively associated with the number of hookups for white and black women, but positively associated with the number of hookups for Asian women and all Hispanic students, men and women.

Heterosexual College Students Who Hookup with Same-Sex Partners.

Individuals who identify as heterosexual but engage in same-sex sexual behavior fascinate both researchers and the media. We analyzed the Online College Social Life Survey dataset of over 24,000 undergraduate students to examine students whose last hookup was with a same-sex partner (N = 383 men and 312 women). The characteristics of a significant minority of these students (12% of men and 25% of women) who labelled their sexual orientation "heterosexual" differed from those who self-identified as "homosexual," "bisexual," or "uncertain." Differences among those who identified as heterosexual included more conservative attitudes, less prior homosexual and more prior heterosexual sexual experience, features of the hookups, and sentiments about the encounter after the fact. Latent class analysis revealed six distinctive "types" of heterosexually identified students whose last hookup was with a same-sex partner. Three types, comprising 60% of students, could be classified as mostly private sexual experimentation among those with little prior same-sex experience, including some who did not enjoy the encounter; the other two types in this group enjoyed the encounter, but differed on drunkenness and desire for a future relationship with their partner. Roughly, 12% could be classified as conforming to a "performative bisexuality" script of women publicly engaging in same-sex hookups at college parties, and the remaining 28% had strong religious practices and/or beliefs that may preclude a non-heterosexual identity, including 7% who exhibited "internalized heterosexism." Results indicate several distinctive motivations for a heterosexual identity among those who hooked up with same-sex partners; previous research focusing on selective "types" excludes many exhibiting this discordance.

“Bad Girls” Say No and “Good Girls” Say Yes: Sexual Subjectivity and Participation in Undesired Sex During Heterosexual College Hookups

Young people’s sexuality is often discursively constructed within the confines of a masculine/feminine binary that minimizes young women’s sexual subjectivity (i.e., desire, pleasure, and agency) while taking young men’s subjectivity for granted. Accordingly, young women who acknowledge themselves as sexual subjects are constructed as “bad girls” who incite males’ purportedly uncontrollable desire and, thus, invite undesired sexual attention. However, there is reason to hypothesize that young women who view themselves as sexual subjects may be less likely than other women to engage in undesired sexual activity (i.e., sex that their partners desire, but they do not desire for themselves). In this study, I used data from the Online College Social Life Survey (N = 7255) to explore relationships between two measures of sexual subjectivity (i.e., pleasure prioritization and sexual agency) and college women’s participation in undesired sexual activity during hookups (i.e., performance of undesired sexual acts to please a partner and succumbing to verbal pressure for intercourse). Logistic regression analyses suggest that pleasure prioritization and sexual agency are associated with lower odds of performing undesired sexual acts to please a partner—and sexual agency is associated with lower odds of succumbing to verbal pressure for intercourse. These findings point to the importance of sexuality education that includes discussions of women’s sexual subjectivity.

Gender, Anticipated Family Formation, and Graduate School Expectations Among Undergraduates

From a life course perspective, young adults' anticipations of future family formation transitions may shape their present‐day educational trajectories. Given gender unequal divisions of paid caretaking and domestic labor in heterosexual families, anticipations of family formation may affect women's educational expectations more or differently than men's. We analyze Online College Social Life Survey (OCSLS) data from undergraduates at 22 U.S. colleges and universities (N= 16,152) to examine how existing and anticipated family formation shapes expectations to earn a graduate or professional degree. Family formation is more consistently related to women's educational expectations than to men's, with existing and anticipated parenthood affecting only women's expectations. While existing parenthood lowers women's expectations to advanced degrees, anticipated future parenthood elevates them. Anticipated age at parenthood is positively associated with all students' expectations to graduate or professional degrees.

Inference on network statistics by restricting to the network space: applications to sexual history data.

Analysis of sexual history data intended to describe sexual networks presents many challenges arising from the fact that most surveys collect information on only a very small fraction of the population of interest. In addition, partners are rarely identified and responses are subject to reporting biases. Typically, each network statistic of interest, such as mean number of sexual partners for men or women, is estimated independently of other network statistics. There is, however, a complex relationship among networks statistics; and knowledge of these relationships can aid in addressing concerns mentioned earlier. We develop a novel method that constrains a posterior predictive distribution of a collection of network statistics in order to leverage the relationships among network statistics in making inference about network properties of interest. The method ensures that inference on network properties is compatible with an actual network. Through extensive simulation studies, we also demonstrate that use of this method can improve estimates in settings where there is uncertainty that arises both from sampling and from systematic reporting bias compared with currently available approaches to estimation. To illustrate the method, we apply it to estimate network statistics using data from the Chicago Health and Social Life Survey. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.