Benefits of Hooking Up: Self-Reports from First-Year College Women
Robyn L Shepardson1, Jennifer L Walsh2, Kate B Carey3
1VA Center for Integrated Healthcare, Syracuse VA Medical Center, Syracuse, New York; Department of Psychology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York.
Objectives:
This study explored the benefits of hooking up among first-year college women.
Methods:
Two authors coded for the presence of 10 benefits (kappas: 0.76-0.97) in 262 women's responses to an open-response survey question regarding benefits of their most recent hookup.
Results:
The most common benefits identified were sexual satisfaction (23%), general positive emotions (21%), increased confidence (11%), and clarification of feelings (11%). Overall, 71% reported at least one benefit, but 29% reported no benefits.
Conclusions:
For some young women, hooking up has benefits that can include meeting their needs for social connection, sexual exploration and intimacy, and fun/enjoyment.
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