Abstract
Limited attention has been devoted to examining internalized sexual expectations and fears (i.e., sexual possible selves [SPS]) during emerging adulthood, and in particular how these differ based on college attendance. The purpose of this study was to replicate and extend research on SPS and strategies using a large, diverse sample of college-attending (n = 400) and non-college (n = 400) emerging adults (ages 18–25 years). Open-ended responses on internalized sexual expectations and fears were collected through an online survey (Amazon’s MTurk). Qualitative content analysis of each groups’ responses revealed 11 emergent expected SPS themes, with the majority focused on abstinence, interpersonal relationships, quantity, quality, explore/experiment, and sexual health/well-being. Emergent themes of feared SPS overlapped with expected SPS on six categories (e.g., sexual health/well-being); however, we also found fears related to sexual assault/coercion, self-focus, partner focus, and increased sexual risk. Pearson chi-square analyses of themes based on college attendance showed differences in expectations for interpersonal relationships, along with subgroup differences based on gender (male versus female) and gender by college attendance status (e.g., college-attending women versus non-college women). Implications for sexual education and future SPS research are discussed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Anders, K. M., & Olmstead, S. B. (2018). “I hope to remain the same”: Continuity and change in college students’ sexual possible selves across the first semester. American Journal of Sexuality Education, 14, 1–31. https://doi.org/10.1080/15546128.2018.1520669.
Anders, K. M., & Olmstead, S. B. (2019). A qualitative examination of the sexual possible selves and strategies of first-semester college students: How sexual possible selves are developed during the transition to college. Archives of Sexual Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-018-1332-2.
Anders, K. M., Olmstead, S. B., & Johnson, E. I. (2017). The sexual possible selves and strategies of first semester college students: What do they hope for and fear and how do they plan to get there? Journal of Sex Research, 54, 728–740. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2016.1188877.
Arnett, J. J. (2015). Emerging adulthood: The winding road from the late teens through the twenties (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Arnett, J. J., Kloep, M., Hendry, L. B., & Tanner, J. L. (2011). Debating emerging adulthood: Stage or process? New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Bailey, J. A., Fleming, C. B., Henson, J. N., Catalano, R. F., & Haggerty, K. P. (2008). Sexual risk behavior 6 months post-high school: Associations with college attendance, living with a parent, and prior risk behavior. Journal of Adolescent Health, 42, 573–579. https://doi.org/10.1016/jadohealth.2007.11.138.
Barriger, M., & Velez-Blasini, C. J. (2013). Descriptive and injunctive social norm overestimation in hooking up and their role as predictors of hook-up activity in a college student sample. Journal of Sex Research, 50, 84–94. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2011.607928.
Buddie, A. M., & Testa, M. (2005). Rates and predictors of sexual aggression among students and nonstudents. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 20, 713–724. https://doi.org/10.1177/0886260505276073.
Bynner, J. M. (2005). Rethinking the youth phase of the life-course: The case for emerging adulthood? Journal of Youth Studies, 8, 367–384. https://doi.org/10.1080/13676260500431628.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2017). Sexually transmitted disease surveillance 2016. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/std/stats16/toc.htm.
Claxton, S. E., & van Dulmen, M. H. M. (2013). Casual sexual relationships and experiences in emerging adulthood. Emerging Adulthood, 1, 138–150. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167696813487181.
Cohen, L., & Shotland, R. (1996). Timing of first sexual intercourse in a relationship: Expectations, experiences, and perceptions of others. Journal of Sex Research, 33, 291–299. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499609551846.
Cote, J. E. (2014). The dangerous myth of emerging adulthood: An evidence-based critique of a flawed developmental theory. Applied Developmental Science, 18, 177–188. https://doi.org/10.1080/10888691.2014.954451.
Cote, J. E., & Bynner, J. M. (2008). Changes in the transition to adulthood in the UK and Canada: The role of structure and agency in emerging adulthood. Journal of Youth Studies, 11, 251–268. https://doi.org/10.1080/13676260801946464.
Creswell, J. W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five traditions (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Exner, D., & Cummings, N. (2011). Implications for sexual assault prevention: College students as prosocial bystanders. Journal of American College Health, 59, 655–657. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2010.515633.
Eyre, S. L., & Millstein, S. G. (1999). What leads to sex? adolescent preferred partners and reasons for sex. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 9, 277–307. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327795jra0903_3.
Fielder, R. L., & Carey, M. P. (2010). Predictors and consequences of sexual “hookups” among college students: A short-term prospective study. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 39, 1105–1119. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-008-9448-4.
Frazier, L. D., Hooker, K., Johnson, P. M., & Kaus, C. R. (2000). Continuity and change in possible selves in later life: A 5-year longitudinal study. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 22, 237–243. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15324834BASP2203_10.
Glover, J. A., Galliher, R. V., & Lamere, T. G. (2009). Identity development and exploration among sexual minority adolescents: Examination of a multidimensional model. Journal of Homosexuality, 56, 77–101. https://doi.org/10.1080/00918360802551555.
Goldstein, J. R., & Kenney, C. T. (2001). Marriage delayed or marriage forgone? New cohort forecasts of first marriage for US women. American Sociological Review, 66, 506–519. https://doi.org/10.2307/3088920.
Grello, C. M., Welsh, D. P., & Harper, M. S. (2006). No strings attached: The nature of casual sex in college students. Journal of Sex Research, 43, 255–267. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224490609552324.
Hendry, L. B., & Kloep, M. (2007). Conceptualizing emerging adulthood: Inspecting the emperor’s new clothes? Child Development Perspectives, 1, 74–79. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1750-8606.2007.00017.x.
Hendry, L. B., & Kloep, M. (2010). How universal is emerging adulthood? An empirical example. Journal of Youth Studies, 13, 169–179. https://doi.org/10.1080/13676260903295067.
Ipeirotis, P. (2010). Demographics of mechanical turk. Center for Digital Economy Research Working Papers, 10. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/2451/29585.
Jozkowski, K. N., Peterson, Z. D., Sanders, S. A., Dennis, B., & Reece, M. (2014). Gender differences in heterosexual college students’ conceptualizations and indicators of sexual consent: Implications for contemporary sexual assault prevention education. Journal of Sex Research, 51, 904–916. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2013.792326.
Kloep, M., & Hendry, L. B. (2011). A systematic approach to the transitions to adulthood. In J. J. Arnett, M. Kloep, L. B. Hendry, & J. L. Tanner (Eds.), Debating emerging adulthood: Stage or process (pp. 53–76). New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Krippendorff, K. (2013). Content analysis: An introduction to its methodology (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Lam, C. B., & Lefkowitz, E. S. (2013). Risky sexual behaviors in emerging adults: Longitudinal changes and within-person variations. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 42, 523–532. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-012-9959-x.
Lambert, T. A., Kahn, A. S., & Apple, K. J. (2003). Pluralistic ignorance and hooking up. Journal of Sex Research, 40, 129–133. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224490309552174.
Leigh, B. C. (1989). Reasons for having and avoiding sex: Gender, sexual orientation, and relationship to sexual behavior. Journal of Sex Research, 26, 199–209. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224498909551506.
Lerner, R. M., Theokas, C., & Jelicic, H. (2005). Youth as active agents in their own positive development: A developmental systems perspective. In W. Greve, K. Rothermund, & D. Wentura (Eds.), The adaptive self: Personal continuity and intentional self-development (pp. 31–47). Cambridge, MA: Hogrefe & Huber Publishers.
Lyons, H., Manning, W., Giordano, P., & Longmore, M. (2013). Predictors of heterosexual casual sex among young adults. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 42, 585–593. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-012-0051-3.
Markus, H., & Nurius, P. (1986). Possible selves. American Psychologist, 41, 954–969. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.41.9.954.
Nelson, L. J., & Barry, C. M. N. (2005). Distinguishing features of emerging adulthood the role of self-classification as an adult. Journal of Adolescent Research, 20, 242–262. https://doi.org/10.1177/0743558404273074.
Norona, J. C., Olmstead, S. B., & Welsh, D. P. (2018). Betrayals in emerging adulthood: A developmental perspective of infidelity. Journal of Sex Research, 55, 84–98. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2017.1342757.
Olmstead, S. B., Norona, J. C., & Anders, K. M. (2018). How do college experience and sex differentiate the enactment of hookup scripts among emerging adults? Archives of Sexual Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-018-1233-4.
Owen, J. J., Rhoades, G. K., Stanley, S. M., & Fincham, F. D. (2010). “Hooking up” among college students: Demographic and psychosocial correlates. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 39, 653–663. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-008-9414-1.
Oyserman, D., Bybee, D., Terry, K., & Hart-Johnson, T. (2004). Possible selves as roadmaps. Journal of Research in Personality, 38, 130–149. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0092-6566(03)00057-6.
Oyserman, D., & Fryberg, S. (2006). The possible selves of diverse adolescents: Content and function across gender, race, and national origin. In C. Dunkel & J. Kerpelman (Eds.), Possible selves: Theory, research, and applications (pp. 17–39). New York, NY: Nova Science Publishers, Inc.
Oyserman, D., & James, L. (2009). Possible selves: From content to process. In K. Markman, W. Klein, & J. Suhr (Eds.), Handbook of imagination and mental stimulation (pp. 373–394). New York, NY: Psychology Press.
Oyserman, D., & Markus, H. (1990). Possible selves in balance: Implications for delinquency. Journal of Social Issues, 46, 141–157. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.59.1.112.
Patrick, M. E., Maggs, J. L., & Abar, C. C. (2007). Reasons to have sex, personal goals, and sexual behavior during the transition to college. Journal of Sex Research, 44, 240–249. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224490701443759.
Peterson, J. L., & Hyde, J. S. (2010). A meta-analytic review of research on gender differences in sexuality, 1993-2007. Psychological Bulletin, 136, 21–38. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0017504.
Reifman, A., Arnett, J. J., & Colwell, M. J. (2007). Emerging adulthood: Theory, assessment, and application. Journal of Youth Development, 2, 1–12.
Schwartz, S. J., Zamboanga, B. L., Luyckx, K., Meca, A., & Ritchie, R. A. (2013). Identity in emerging adulthood: Reviewing the field and looking forward. Emerging Adulthood, 1, 96–113. https://doi.org/10.1177/2167696813479781.
Sinozich, S., & Langton, L. (2014). Rape and sexual assault victimization among college-age females, 1995–2013. Retrieved from http://www.bjs.gov/content/pub/pdf/rsavcaf9513.pdf.
Stinson, R. D. (2010). Hooking up in young adulthood: A review of factors influencing the sexual behavior of college students. Journal of College Student Psychotherapy, 24, 98–115. https://doi.org/10.1080/87568220903558596.
Twenge, J. M., Sherman, R. A., & Wells, B. E. (2015). Changes in American adults’ sexual behavior and attitudes, 1972-2012. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 44, 2273–2285. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-015-0540-2.
Worthington, R. L., Savoy, H. B., Dillon, F. R., & Vernaglia, E. R. (2002). Heterosexual identity development: A multidimensional model of individual and social identity. Counseling Psychologist, 30, 496–531. https://doi.org/10.1177/00100002030004002.
Zaluski, S. D. (2012). Emerging adulthood: A mixed method comparative analysis across vocational settings. (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada.
Zweig, J. M., Barber, B. L., & Eccles, J. S. (1997). Sexual coercion and well-being in young adulthood: Comparisons by gender and college status. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 12, 291–308. https://doi.org/10.1177/088626097012002009.
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Kayley Davis for her involvement in coding the open-ended participant responses.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Ethical Approval
All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki Declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
Informed Consent
Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Anders, K.M., Olmstead, S.B. “Stepping Out of My Sexual Comfort Zone”: Comparing the Sexual Possible Selves and Strategies of College-Attending and Non-College Emerging Adults. Arch Sex Behav 48, 1877–1891 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-019-01477-0
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-019-01477-0