Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Phone: , Lucy. Napper lehigh. Hooking up is a normative behavior among college students that is associated with a range of positive and negative consequences. Using a multi-site sample of college students, we developed the item Negative Impact of Hookups Inventory NIHI to assess negative health outcomes, emotional responses, and social consequences associated with hooking up.
Unprotected sex and having more hookup partners were associated with greater negative experiences of hooking up. Contrary to expectations, there were no gender differences in the total number of negative hookup effects, although males reported more frequent hookups. In addition, negative impacts of hooking up were positively associated with psychological distress regardless of gender. The NIHI may offer a useful tool to assess the negative impacts of hooking up.
Keywords: hooking up, hookup consequences, item response theory, college students. Hooking up has been defined as a casual consensual sexual encounter e. Hooking up can have both a positive and negative impact on college students. Hooking up is also associated with a range of negative emotional, health and social consequences Lewis et al.
Despite the limited research examining the negative impacts of hooking up Fielder et al. A more in depth understanding of the variety of negative outcomes associated with hooking up for both males and females could inform college intervention and prevention efforts Lewis et al. While most students report more positive than negative affect following a hookup, Lewis et al.
Overall, females appear to experience more sexual regret than males following a hookup Fisher et al. For instance, while regret for females is more likely to be related to feelings of shame or being used, males are more likely to report regret over choice of sexual partner and partner unattractiveness Fisher et al. In addition to sexual regret, casual sex is associated with psychological distress, including anxiety and depression, as well as low self-esteem and reduced life satisfaction Bersamin et al.
