bims-chumac 2020-11-01 papers

Issue of 2020–11–01
two papers selected by
Jay Dixit, Storytelling.NYC

J Sex Marital Ther. 2020 Oct 27. 1-17

Watching Pornography Alone or Together: Longitudinal Associations With Romantic Relationship Quality.

Charlie Huntington, Howard Markman, Galena Rhoades.

Pornography viewing has been cross-sectionally and longitudinally linked to poorer romantic relationship quality. However, only a few studies have looked at (1) the associations of changes in pornography viewing over time with relationship characteristics, (2) differential impacts of watching alone and watching with one's partner, and (3) how gender moderates these associations. The current study utilizes multilevel modeling to assess for between- and within-subject effects of watching pornography alone versus together on romantic relationship quality over time. A random national sample of 1,234 individuals, who began the study in unmarried heterosexual romantic relationships of at least 2 months' duration, completed five waves of mail-in surveys over a 20-month period. Watching pornography alone was generally associated with poorer relationship quality for men (e.g., lower relationship adjustment and commitment, less emotional intimacy), but better relationship quality for women. People who reported watching more pornography with their partner reported more relationship intimacy and increases in watching together over time were associated with increases in sexual intimacy. Both watching alone and watching together were related to higher levels of psychological aggression between partners, with few differences by gender. Implications for sex education, relationship education, and couples therapy will be discussed.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/0092623X.2020.1835760

Sex Cult. 2020 Oct 16. 1-23

Social Motivations for College Hookups.

Shemeka Thorpe, Arielle Kuperberg.

Hookups are a normative experience for college students with 72% of college students reporting hooking up by their Senior year. Although there is over a decade of research on hookups, what motivates college students to participate in hookups is not clear, with prior research focused mostly on psychological rather than social motivations, and differences by gender, but not exploring whether students differ in hookup motivations by other factors. This study explored whether students hooked up and hookup motivations among a random sample of 180 heterosexual college students at a Southeast university, and differences by demographic characteristics, marital age expectations, and parent and peers' marital status. Results showed the majority of participants hookup up to feel sexual pleasure, with a significant minority motivated by relationship formation and the 'college experience.' Significant predictors of hookup motivations include gender, mother's education, religiosity, parent's coupled status, and friends' marital status, while race and age differences were not significant. Results of a latent class analyses showed five distinct classes of social hookup motivations: older and younger abstainers, relationship seekers, pleasure pathway, and college scripts. Implications for future research are discussed.

Keywords: College students; Hookups; Latent class analysis; Motivations

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-020-09786-6