title: Personality as a predictor of hooking up among college students.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Human Development and Family Studies, University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA 50614-0332, USA. gary.gute@uni.edu
authors.forename: Gary
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gute
authors.forename: Elaine M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Eshbaugh
mesh_terms: 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