Personality as a predictor of hooking up among college students.
Hookups--casual sexual encounters that may or may not include intercourse - are common on college campuses. Previous research has suggested that these casual sexual encounters may have serious health-related consequences. Understanding the relationships among multiple predictors of hooking up is important if high-risk prevention programming among college students is to be effective. This study considers each of the Big Five personality traits as predictors of hooking-up behaviors in a sample of Midwestern undergraduates (N = 247). Fifty-six percent of women and 63% of men reported engaging in a hookup. In general, Extraversion was positively associated with hooking up behaviors; Conscientiousness was negatively associated with hooking up. Relationships between personality and hooking up were significant while controlling for alcohol use. Implications for prevention programming on college campuses are discussed.
Gute
Gary
G
Human Development and Family Studies, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA 50614-0332, USA. gary.gute@uni.edu
Eshbaugh
Elaine M
EM
D000328:Adult; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000523:psychology; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003242:Conscience; D005106:Exploratory Behavior; D005120:Extraversion, Psychological; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D015146:Midwestern United States; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D010551:Personality; D010555:Personality Inventory; D012309:Risk-Taking; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014495:Universities; D047568:Unsafe Sex / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data