Official websites use. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Emily R. The development of online dating has created a cultural shift in how emerging adults approach dating.
The present study examined retrospective and event-level associations between alcohol, online dating, and sexual hookups among a sample of single, post-college women.
Participants completed baseline and 24 electronic daily diary surveys on alcohol use, sexual behavior, and method for meeting their sexual partners. We examined the influence of alcohol on sexual hookups, and how method of meeting a partner, and location prior to the hookup influenced level of intoxication during a sexual hookup. There was a within-person effect of alcohol on likelihood of engaging in a sexual hookup whereby hookups were more likely on days when women reported higher levels of intoxication relative to their average drinking.
Interventions to address alcohol use, method for meeting a partner, and location prior to hookups could be effective in decreasing potential negative consequences of alcohol-related sexual behavior in emerging adult women. Emerging adulthood ages 18β29 is a time when young adults begin a process of independence that moves them away from the regulation of their parents and toward increased autonomy Arnett, During this time there is typically an increase in experimentation with heavy alcohol use and sexual behavior, which is evidenced by the high prevalence of alcohol use disorders AUDs; Grant et al.
Given alcohol is often a catalyst for sexual behavior e. Finally, the locations of the sexual hookup may also influence the level of intoxication, with bars and parties being locations associated with heavy drinking Bellis et al. In addition to being associated with drinking, sexual hookups are also associated with behavioral risk such as sexual assault Flack, Drinking to higher levels of intoxication, in particular, appears to be a risk factor for engaging in sexual hookups.
