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Given ongoing debates about the connection between casual sex and psychological adjustment, in the current study we assessed the cross-sectional association of participation in casual sex with psychological well-being and distress. A greater proportion of men Gender did not moderate these associations. For emerging-adult college students, engaging in casual sex may elevate risk for negative psychological outcomes.
For example, among a random sample of undergraduate students from a Northeastern U. The current study investigated the association between casual sex and socioemotional outcomes in a diverse, multicampus sample of undergraduates. Terminology for these relationships, in addition to the umbrella term casual sex , include phrases such as friends with benefits, hookups , and the more traditional one-night stand.
Researchers, and emerging-adult college students themselves, often define casual sex differently depending on the behaviors that occur within a sexual encounter e. Thus, a clear understanding of the precise operational definition of casual sex is necessary to interpret the results of a given study.
In the current study, we defined casual sex as having intercourse with a partner one has known for less than a week. That is, the emphasis was on a sexual encounter between two relative strangers.
