To Hook Up or Date: Which Gender Benefits?

Abstract

Hooking up on college campuses has become more frequent than dating in heterosexual sexual interaction. Analysis of the relative benefits and costs associated with dating and hooking up suggest that women benefit more from dating while men benefit more from hooking up. U.S students (150 women, 71 men) at a midsized southeastern university indicated preferences for dating and hooking up across a number of situations and indicated the perceived benefits and risks associated with each. As hypothesized, in most situations women more than men preferred dating and men more than women preferred hooking up. Both genders perceived similar benefits and risks to dating and hooking up; differences provided insight into the sexual motives of college women and men.

Casual Sex: Integrating Social, Behavioral, and Sexual Health Research

“…Thus many emerging adults, especially on college campuses, have the time, opportunity, and socially-constructed environments to engage in casual sex. In fact, in one survey of 221 university students, participants reported more sexual hook-ups than first dates over the previous 2 years: women reported an average of 2.31 first dates and 4.34 hook-ups, and men reported an average of 3.11 first dates and 5.71 hook-ups (Bradshaw et al 2010). But these patterns likely begin at an earlier age.…”

Has Dating Become More Egalitarian? A 35 Year Review Using Sex Roles

“…In traditional dates, men have the power to initiate the date, initiate physical contact, and direct date activities; in hookups, men "gain status" by having sexual encounters without commitment (Bradshaw et al 2010) Thus, it is perhaps not surprising that women more so than men preferred traditional dates and men preferred hookups (Bradshaw et al 2010).…”

Asociación entre múltiples parejas sexuales y el inicio temprano de relaciones sexuales coitales en estudiantes universitarios

“…En Estados Unidos en estudio de 221 estudiantes universitarios tanto hombres como mujeres reportaron que los encuentros sexuales casuales casi son el doble de los encuentros sexuales con sus parejas formales (Bradshaw, Kahn y Saville, 2010). En un estudio llevado a cabo en Ecuador acerca de las prácticas sexuales casuales en universitarios se evidencia la permisividad social para los hombres y no así a las mujeres.…”