title: Sexual Behavior in Parked Cars Reported by Midwestern College Men and Women.
abstract: In an anonymous survey of 195 men and 511 women (Mage= 19.8) at a small Midwestern university, 119 men (61%) and 303 women (59.5%) reported that they had engaged in sex while parked. Of these 422, 14% lost their virginity in a parked car. Having sex in parked cars was more likely to involve relational dating partners than hookups. In most recent incidents, the majority of respondents were with a serious but noncohabiting romantic partner (56.9%) in the back seat (63.4%) of a standard car (56.4%) parked out in the country (56.0%). The most common sexual acts were penile-vaginal sex and genital touching, reported by 84.6% and 57.5% of respondents, respectively. Condoms were used by 58.2% of respondents. Less than 1% of respondents reported sexually transmitted infections (STIs) or pregnancy outcomes. These data, including personal stories of memorable incidents, revealed that despite discomfort, body bumps, and risk of being caught, sex while parked was primarily a positive sexual and romantic experience for both men and women. A dark side of parked-car sex existed in that 2.5% of men and 4.3% of women reported being sexually coerced. The future study of sex in parked cars in urban environments is recommended.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology , University of South Dakota.
authors.forename: Cindy
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Struckman-Johnson
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology , University of South Dakota.
authors.forename: Kayla
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nalan-Sheffield
authors.affiliation: a Department of Psychology , University of South Dakota.
authors.forename: Samuel
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gaster
authors.affiliation: b Department of Computer Science Emeritus , University of South Dakota.
authors.forename: Dave
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Struckman-Johnson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001336:Automobiles / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017280:Condoms / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015146:Midwestern United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult