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Hookups Among U.S. College Students: Examining the Association Between Hookup Motives and Personal Affect

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Abstract

“Hooking up” is prevalent on college campuses and is related to both positive and negative outcomes for students. The current study was an exploratory examination of hookup motives, and positive and negative affect, related to the most recent hookup experience. Participants were 256 U.S. college students who reported hooking up in the last 12 months. Students completed a 30-min anonymous online survey assessing behaviors and cognitions during their most recent hookup, including alcohol use at the time of the hookup, motives for hooking up, and post-hookup affect. The model demonstrated that gender, conformity motives, and social-relationship motives significantly and positively predicted negative affect, whereas enhancement motives negatively predicted negative affect. Coping and enhancement motives significantly and positively predicted positive affect, whereas alcohol use negatively predicted positive affect. This study was a unique examination of hookup motives, with important findings that explained large portions of variance in post-hookup affect. The overall model explained approximately 23% of the variance in negative affect and 49% of the variance in positive affect. Findings highlight that, depending on the hookup motive, hooking up can be associated with positive outcomes, such as positive affect.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, St. Lawrence University, Canton, NY, 13617, USA

    Brittany Hollis

  2. Eastern Virginia Medical School, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Healthcare Analytics and Delivery Science Institute, Norfolk, VA, USA

    Brynn E. Sheehan

  3. Department of Psychology, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, USA

    Michelle L. Kelley & Leah Stevens

  4. Virginia Consortium Program in Clinical Psychology, Norfolk, VA, USA

    Michelle L. Kelley

Authors
  1. Brittany Hollis
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  2. Brynn E. Sheehan
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  3. Michelle L. Kelley
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  4. Leah Stevens
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Correspondence to Brittany Hollis.

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All procedures and materials were approved by Old Dominion University’s Institutional Review Board.

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Hollis, B., Sheehan, B.E., Kelley, M.L. et al. Hookups Among U.S. College Students: Examining the Association Between Hookup Motives and Personal Affect. Arch Sex Behav 51, 1793–1798 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-021-02157-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-021-02157-8

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