Examining substance-involved sexual experiences and consent communication by sexual identity

Abstract

Substance use can occur prior to nonconsensual and consensual sexual activity and affect how sexual consent is communicated and felt. Yet, researchers' understanding of how substance use relates to these sexual experiences is still developing. Few researchers examine these behaviors among the intersection of sexual minority (SM) identity and gender. The goal of this study was to assess if experiences of nonconsensual and consensual substance-involved sexual activity, consent communication and feelings varied by the intersection of SM identity and identifying as a woman. Participants were recruited from a Prolific Academic panel to complete a survey about their substance use, sexual experiences, and sexual consent. SM persons and SM women reported more nonconsensual and consensual substance involved sexual experiences than heterosexual participants and SM men. Consent communication and feelings did not differ by across groups. Prevention initiatives for substance use and sexual activity may want to take an intersectional approach that addresses why different subgroups are at elevated risk to coalesce these two behaviors. Because consent feelings and communication did not differ by SM identity and gender, consent initiatives should expand their discussion to be inclusive of SM as these initiatives are often presented within a heteronormative framework.

Defining and Measuring Sexual Consent within the Context of University Students’ Unwanted and Nonconsensual Sexual Experiences: A Systematic Literature Review

“…Similarly, most of the studies were from U.S. universities and, primarily, involved Caucasian heterosexual able-bodied individuals so the generalizability of these results to more diverse populations is limited. Of the limited research available (e.g., Griner et al, 2021; Marcantonio & Willis, 2022; McKie et al, 2020; Walsh et al, 2019b), results appear to be comparable to their heterosexual peers though some differences have been identified (e.g., HIV/AIDs status, sexual role preference [Sternin et al, 2022]) and this warrants further examination. However, while similarities have been identified, rather than providing opportunity for generalizability, it instead suggests the need for further research because these similarities indicate that nonheterosexual individuals may internalize traditionally heteronormative scripts in lieu of scripts relating to their own sexual orientation.…”