Examining the influence of social barriers and sexual scripts on positive casual sexual experiences in university students

Abstract

Casual sex is a common part of the undergraduate university experience. Past research has identified that casual sex encounters often happen in the context of hookup culture, which has many negative outcomes, particularly for heterosexual women. Literature defines the motives, outcomes, norms, and gender interactions associated with casual sex specifically for university aged individuals, but there is a lack of research on identifying barriers to positive experiences and ways to promote more positive experiences. The goal of the current study was to examine beliefs and perceptions on casual sex, whether participants acknowledged barriers associated with casual sex (and what these were), and ways in which individuals can challenge negative norms associated with casual sex. Participants were 9 men, 28 women, and 1 person who was genderqueer/fluid. All participants were from a small undergraduate university who participated in focus groups to discuss casual sex. We found that there was a common understanding that casual sex could be defined as the absence of “normal” relationship components, and that there was a heavy “pre-hookup script” involved in university hookup culture. Participants were aware of key barriers to positive experiences, such as gender double standards, emotional/physical risks, and others. We also identified four strategies to counter negative norms associated with casual sex: communication, learning to deal with rejection, establishing trust and respect, and challenging the Traditional Sexual Script. It was evident that more education around casual sex and the ways it can present itself, as well as more sex education broadly is needed.