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ARTICLE

Thirty years of sexual behaviour at a Canadian university: Romantic relationships, hooking up, and sexual choices

Nancy S. Netting1 and Meredith K. Reynolds2

1 Department of Sociology, University of British Columbia–Okanagan, Kelowna, BC 2 Department of Psychology, University of Montana, Missoula, MT

Every 10 years from 1980 to 2010, students in a British Columbia university were surveyed about age of sexual initiation, number of partners, and degree of emotional intimacy within their partnerships. Between 1980 and 1990, the socially acceptable prerequisite for premarital sex appeared to shift from the promise of marriage to mutual love. This change was demonstrated by a fall in the virginity rate among unmarried females, and the rise of monogamous romantic relationships for males. From 1980 through 2010, men reported more sexual partners than did women, with a smaller, though rising, proportion of serious relation- ships. Since 1990, never-married students were classified into three sexual behavioural groups: mono- gamists (about 55%), abstainers (30%), and multi-partnered ‘‘experimenters’’ (20% of men throughout each decade, and 7.6% of women in 1990–2000, rising to 14.4% in 2010). Experimenters generally reported concurrent partners, most of them casual. Since 1980, most sexually active students have expe- rienced both romantic relationships and casual sexual partnerships, yet since at least 1990, the majority have been primarily monogamous. This article traces the changes and continuities in romantic relation- ships, casual sex, and sexual behavioural groups over 30 years, concluding that contrary to the claims of popular media and some academics, casual sex (‘‘hookup culture’’) has not replaced romantic relation- ships as the most common form of student sexual behaviour.

KEY WORDS: Student sexual behaviour, romantic relationships, monogamy, hookup culture, casual sex, friends with benefits, sexual revolution, sexual scripts, emerging adulthood

The past decades have been significant for the history of North American sexual expression, with university students in the vanguard. The sexual revolution of the 1960s replaced the promise of marriage with mutual love as the primary crite- rion for premarital sexual intercourse (Bailey, 1988; Darling, Kallen, & Vandusen, 1984). Some scholars believed this revo- lution was incomplete, as the goal of gender equality was not achieved and many aspects of sexuality, especially for women, remained restricted (Bailey, 1999; Kalish & Kimmel, 2011). They predicted that as women approached the socioeconomic power of men, the love standard for sexual involvement would be replaced for both genders by the principle of plea- sure with consent.

By the turn of this century, some social scientists (e.g., Bogle, 2008; England, Shafer, & Fogarty, 2007) argued this shift was under way. These studies and the journalists who

popularized them (e.g., Taylor, 2013) suggested that by the turn of the 21st century, ‘‘sexual hookups’’ had replaced romantic relationships as the most common form of sexual activity among university students. They defined ‘‘hookups’’ as sexual encounters, which might include anything from kissing to sexual intercourse, between near-strangers with no commitment or expectation of commitment to each other. The multi-campus Online College Social Life Survey (OCSLS), based on questionnaires and enhanced by in-depth interviews (England et al., 2007), showed that approximately 75% of the respondents had hooked up, though less than half their hook- ups included intercourse. Although most hookups led to nothing more lasting, two-thirds of relationships originated as hookups (England et al., 2007). Corroborating these find- ings with data from the next (2008) wave of the OCSLS,

Acknowledgements: The authors wish to thank Unit 6 of the I. K. Barber School of Arts and Science, UBC-Okanagan, for generously supporting

the project; the UBC-O Research Ethics Board, for its vote of confidence; Dr. Brian O’Connor, for his statistical guidance; and our dedicated team

of research assistants, Michole Goutier, Madeleine Henderson, Tassani Hoskyn, Kayla Pagliocchini, and Kim Seida. A preliminary version of this

article was presented at the annual meeting of the Canadian Sociological Association, June 3–8, 2013, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC.

Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Dr. Nancy S. Netting, Unit 6, I. K. Barber School of Arts and Sciences, UBC-

Okanagan, 1147 Research Road, Kelowna, British Columbia, V1V 1V7. E-mail: [email protected].

The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality 27(1), 2018, pp. 55–68; doi:10.3138/cjhs.2017-0035 55

Kalish and Kimmel (2011) concluded: ‘‘hooking up is today’s culture of courtship’’ (p. 148).

Student hookup culture has been further explored in a myriad of studies, whose consensus is that most university students (between two thirds and three quarters) have hooked up, with men more likely than women to report the activity (e.g., Fielder & Carey, 2010; Owen & Fincham, 2011b). How- ever when only hookups involving intercourse were counted, the prevalence of hooking up dropped by about half (e.g., LaBrie, Hammer, Ghaidarov, Lac, & Kenney, 2014; Lewis, Granato, Blayney, Lostutter, & Kilmer, 2012).

Some researchers now question the conclusion that hookup culture dominates North American campuses. Monto and Carey (2014) compared US university students from 1988 to 1996 with those of 2004–2012, using randomized national surveys conducted annually. They found that in both eras, over three quarters of sexually active students had committed partners, and less than one third of either group had more than one sexual partner in the year preceding their survey. Although more casual sex was reported over time, relation- ships were predominant in both eras. A study of 1500 univer- sity students from across Canada found that 65.5% of re- spondents who reported penis-in-vagina intercourse during the previous three months were in a committed relationship at the time (Milhausen et al., 2013). Similarly, most first year women students at a US university, surveyed monthly about sexual activity, reported that sex within romantic relationships was more frequent than hookups in every month (Fielder, Carey, & Carey, 2013).

Researchers have identified several characteristics which distinguish participants in hookups. Students who hook up are more likely to be male (mentioned in nearly every study), non-heterosexual (Watson, Snapp, & Wang, 2017), have a pre-college history of frequent casual sex and heavy alcohol use, and display personality traits such as impulsivity and sensation seeking (e. g., Fielder & Carey, 2010; Olmstead, Pasley, & Fincham, 2013). They are also more likely to be members of fraternities, sororities, or male athletic teams (Armstrong & Hamilton, 2013; Kuperberg & Padgett, 2016), while students who abstain or limit themselves to committed relationships are more likely to be religious, and/or from a minority conservative, often immigrant, subculture (Armstrong & Hamilton, 2013; Fielder, Walsh, et al., 2013; Kuperberg & Padgett, 2016; Olmstead, Billen, Conrad, Pasley, & Fincham, 2013). A three-factor sociosexuality scale, measuring casual sexual behaviour, attitudes, and desire (Simpson and Gangestad, 1991), is used to predict casual sex behaviour among today’s emerging adults (e. g., Garcia, Reiber, Massey, & Merriwether, 2012).

The term ‘‘emerging adult’’ refers to people between ado- lescence and adulthood in modern industrial societies, gen- erally from age 18 (completion of high school) through their late 20s, when most of the cohort has married. This life-stage, when people become independent from their parents but are not yet responsible for their own children, is characterized by identity formation through exploration (Arnett, 2000, 2014).

Sexual exploration is guided by easily accessible ‘‘sexual scripts’’ (Kimmel, 2007; Simon & Gagnon, 1984), which portray the distinct behaviours associated with casual and romantic sex. Most emerging adults, especially those in university, enact both scripts, but at different times, with different people, and within different social situations (Arnett, 2014; Fielder, Carey, & Carey, 2013; Reid, Webber, & Elliott, 2015).

In some cases the line between a romantic and a casual relationship can be unclear. Over half of students’ reported hookup partners were not strangers, but ex-partners or long- time friends (e.g., Grello, Welsh, & Harper, 2006; Lewis et al., 2012). Nearly 60% of university students have had such ‘‘friends with benefits,’’ or FWBs (e.g., Bisson & Levine, 2009; Owen & Fincham, 2011a). FWB relationships can be comfort- able, meaningful, pleasurable, and sometimes monogamous (Bay-Cheng, Robinson, & Zucker, 2009; Mongeau, Knight, Williams, Eden, & Shaw, 2013; Wentland & Reissing, 2011), and might be the pathway through which some hookups evolve into commitments (England et al., 2007).

Other research suggests that even hookups between friends are distinctly different from romantic relationships (Olmstead, Pasley, & Fincham, 2013). Only 10–15% of FWB relationships or hookups turn into romances (Bisson & Levine, 2009; Mongeau et al., 2013; Paul, Wenzel, & Harvey, 2008), and only 20% of romantic relationships originate from FWBs or more casual hookups (Owen & Fincham, 2012), far less than the two-thirds reported earlier by England et al. (2007). Hookups that make this transformation are significantly less satisfying, have less intimate communication, and endure for a shorter time than those which have romantic origins (Owen & Fincham, 2012; Paul et al., 2008).

For over 30 years, researchers have followed changes in sexual behaviour at a regional university in the interior of British Columbia (Netting, 1992; Netting & Burnett, 2004). Every 10 years, from 1980 through 2010, students were surveyed about age of sexual initiation, number of partners, and degree of emotional intimacy within their partnerships. While the original questions remained, items were added in each decade to reflect emerging issues. In 1990, when Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) had recently appeared, the survey incorporated questions on monogamy, number of intercourse partners during the past year, and safer sex. In 2000 and 2010, the operational definition of ‘‘sexual inter- course’’ on the survey was expanded to be more inclusive of gay, lesbian, and bisexual students, and specific questions on other sexual practices were added.

The 1990 and 2000 results indicated three sexual behav- iour groups. Abstainers, monogamists, and multi-partnered ‘‘experimenters’’ were found to have significantly different patterns of partner choice, intimacy, and risk-taking (Netting, 1992; Netting & Burnett, 2004). The current article continues the analysis of sexual behaviour and intimacy of partnerships through 2010, using items included in at least three of the four surveys. Results for risk-taking and safer sex are currently under analysis.

Nancy S. Netting and Meredith K. Reynolds

56 The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality 27(1), 2018, pp. 55–68; doi:10.3138/cjhs.2017-0035

Arising from gaps in previous scholarship, the following research questions emerged:

1. On this British Columbia campus between 1980 and 2010, did ‘‘hooking up’’ (sex with friends, acquaintances, or strangers) replace committed relationships? How have the relative proportions of monogamists and experimenters changed over time?

2. What demographic and social factors contributed to the choice of monogamy or experimentation as a student’s usual sexual lifestyle?

3. To what extent did students take part in both behavioural patterns?

METHODS

Participants

For all four survey administrations, a sample was drawn from introductory through advanced undergraduate classes in different university departments. With each successive decade, the sample was larger and more representative. By 2010, the small convenience sample of 1980 had evolved into a random selection of classes from every faculty, with an over-sample of departments with male student majorities. This enabled us to avoid the large predominance of female respondents common to many studies of student sexual be- haviour. In 2010, numbers of male and female respondents were almost equal (469 men and 461 women), while the popu- lation of the university was only 40% male. This overrepresen- tation was not problematic because statistics for each gender were calculated and presented separately. Table 1 presents descriptive data from the four samples, which totaled 2009 students.

The current analysis is limited to students who had never married, to be comparable with reports on earlier study cohorts

(Netting, 1992; Netting & Burnett, 2004) and with previous research on North American college students going back to the first decade of the 20th century. A key variable in the early research was rate of virginity, a question thought not applicable after marriage (Darling et al., 1984). Our final sample of never-married students over four decades was 1684 (gender: 46.4% male; age: M ¼ 21.08, SD ¼ 3.11, Mdn ¼ 20). The age range was 15–44, with 67.8% aged 17 through 21, 23.8% from 21 through 25, 6.5% 26–30 and only 1.8% over 30 years old.

In this analysis students who self-identified as gay, lesbian, or bisexual (totaling about 1% of the 1990 respondents and 5% of those from 2000 and 2010) are included with students who identified as heterosexual. We believed that without the LBGTQ+ minority, we could not adequately represent overall patterns of sexual behaviour and intimacy. In addition, we had almost no valid data on sexual orientation for the first two cohorts. In 1980 there were no questions about sexual orientation, and in 1990 not one never-married student iden- tified as bi- or homosexual. This likely reflected less respond- ents’ actual orientation than the campus atmosphere in 1990, as well as students’ unwillingness to self-identity as other than heterosexual on an in-class questionnaire.

Procedure

With approval from the institutional Research Ethics Board, questionnaires were administered in university classes by the principal investigator or a student research assistant. To ensure comparability of the data over time, this method was maintained through 2010 rather than changed to an online instrument. Instructors and students had the right to refuse to participate; on each questionnaire was a tear-off informa- tion page specifying that respondents could leave any ques- tion blank, and/or abandon the questionnaire at any point, and explaining that consent was implied by filling out and

Table 1. Descriptive Data for Student Samples, 1980–2010

1980 1990 2000 2010

Marital Status N % M Age (SD)

N % M Age (SD)

N % M Age (SD)

N % M Age (SD)

Males Never Married 25 48.1 20.6 (3.5) 94 80.3 21.8 (4.5) 212 86.5 21.8 (2.9) 451 96.4 20.9 (2.6) Ever Married 27 51.9 33.9 (6.8) 23 19.7 36.1 (8.4) 33 13.5 32.8 (8.0) 17 3.6 31.0 (8.7) Total Males 52 100 27.5 (8.7) 117 100 24.6 (7.8) 247 100 23.2 (5.5) 469 100 21.3 (3.6)

Females Never Married 36 43.4 20.1 (2.5) 115 58.4 21.7 (4.4) 327 85.8 20.8 (3.1) 424 92.0 20.9 (2.8) Ever Married 47 56.6 31.8 (6.7) 82 41.6 36.9 (7.5) 54 14.2 33.9 (8.9) 37 8.0 30.8 (8.9) Total Females 83 100 26.7 (7.8) 197 100 28.0 (9.5) 383 100 22.6 (6.3) 461 100 21.7 (4.5)

All Never Married 61 45.2 20.3 (2.9) 209 66.6 21.8 (4.5) 539 86.1 21.2 (3.1) 875 94.2 20.9 (2.7) Ever Married 74 54.8 32.5 (6.8) 105 33.4 36.7 (7.6) 287 13.9 33.5 (8.6) 54 5.8 30.8 (8.8) Total Sample 135 100 27.0 (8.1) 314 100 26.7 (9.1) 630 100 22.8 (6.0) 930 100 21.5 (4.1)

Note. Numbers in table may not sum to total number due to missing data.

Thirty years of sexual behaviour

The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality 27(1), 2018, pp. 55–68; doi:10.3138/cjhs.2017-0035 57

submitting a questionnaire. No compensation for participa- tion was offered. Anonymity was protected by providing re- spondents a blank page with which to cover their answers, and by shuffling the questionnaires after collection, so none could be linked to a particular class or faculty. Our perception is that participation was high; almost all teachers accepted us into their class and nearly every student present filled out a questionnaire.

Measures

The instrument, which took approximately 20 min to com- plete, increased from 16 items in 1980, through 50 in 1990, to 90 in 2000 and 2010. Most questions had a multiple-choice format. The wording of a few questions was altered over time to clarify meaning. In each decade, preliminary versions of the questionnaire were discussed by students in small groups, and pre-tested by students who would not be in the final sample. Questions judged ambiguous or confusing were revised accordingly.

Demographics

Students identified their gender (male/female), age, current marital status (single/cohabiting/married/separated/divorced/ widowed), sexual orientation (heterosexual/bisexual/homosexual; 1990–2010) and whether they had ever been legally married (yes/no). Data on ethnicity were not collected, but in all like- lihood reflected the overall student population, predominantly White with a small Asian minority increasing from nearly zero in 1980 to approximately 10% by 2010. We did not inquire about year in college, but judging from the classes sampled, we estimate a slight underrepresentation of first-year students. Virtually all respondents would have been undergraduates, as graduate programs on this campus began only in 2005. In 2010 post-graduate students, only 4.6% of the student population, were very unlikely to be enrolled in the courses sampled.

Sexual Behaviour

In this paper, all data on sexual behaviour and sexual partner- ships refer to those which included sexual intercourse. Respond- ents were asked whether they had ever had sexual intercourse (yes/no), age of first intercourse, number of intercourse partners so far in their lifetime, number of intercourse partners in the previous year (asked from 1990 on), and self-identification as currently monogamous or not (from 1990 on).

In 1980 and 1990, no definition of sexual intercourse was presented in the questionnaire, under the (now questioned) assumption that the term referred only to penile-vaginal penetration. By 2000, researchers realized this definition ex- cluded students with same-sex partners or with some disabilities, and the questionnaire allowed respondents to privately substi- tute their own definition if they felt penile-vaginal penetration was inappropriate in their case. In 2010, the qualification was refined to read:

The next set of questions refer to ‘‘sexual intercourse,’’ which, to

allow results from this survey to be comparable over time and with

other studies, generally refers to penile-vaginal intercourse. How-

ever, this definition may not be applicable to some respondents, for

reasons of sexual orientation, disability, or others. In these cases,

please answer questions using whatever definition you feel expresses

maximum physical intimacy for you and your partner(s).

Researchers have found that for most contemporary youth, ‘‘sexual intercourse’’ continues to refer mainly to penile-vaginal penetration (e.g., Sewell & Strassberg, 2015; Trotter & Alderson, 2007). This finding suggests that the data on sexual intercourse for all four survey administrations are likely comparable, despite differences in questionnaire wording.

Intimacy Between Sexual Intercourse Partners

The question ‘‘In your lifetime, with how many partners did you have sexual intercourse?’’ was followed by, ‘‘How many of these partners were: (a) serious lovers (1980–90)/ committed partners (2000–2010), (b) friends, (c) acquaintances, and (d) strangers. The numbers should add up to the number in the previous question.’’ Each of these four responses were divided by the respondent’s total, creating four new variables: proportion of respondent’s lifetime partners who were (a) committed/serious, (b) friends, (c) acquaintances, and (d) strangers. To enable comparisons with earlier hookup studies, these proportions were also used to create dichotomous vari- ables showing whether a respondent had ever had sex with a friend, an acquaintance or stranger, and/or any uncommitted partner.

Sexual Behaviour Groups

From 1990 on, with the addition of questions on monogamy and number of partners in the past year, researchers distin- guished three sexual behaviour groups (Netting, 1992; Netting & Burnett, 2004), defined as follows:

1. Abstainers, who included (a) virgins reporting they had never had sexual intercourse and (b) non-virgins reporting intercourse experience, but no intercourse partner within the previous year.

2. Monogamists, who self-identified as currently monogamous, and indicated at least one intercourse partner in the previous year.

3. Experimenters, who self-identified as currently not monog- amous, and indicated more than one intercourse partner in the previous year.

There were a few cases where classification into a sexual behaviour group was difficult because of missing or inconsis- tent data. For example, some respondents identified as non- monogamist but reported only one partner in the past year. The principal investigator or co-author read through the questionnaires of ambiguous cases and attempted a classifica- tion based on answers to related questions. After this proce- dure, only 45 of the 1874 respondents from 1990 through

Nancy S. Netting and Meredith K. Reynolds

58 The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality 27(1), 2018, pp. 55–68; doi:10.3138/cjhs.2017-0035

2010 remained unclassified. Twenty-nine of these respondents were never-married, and made up 1.8% of the never-married total of these three cohorts. These 29 were excluded from anal- yses which required information on sexual behaviour group.

Data Analysis

Data was entered into SPSS (v 23), and analyzed with appropriate statistical tests. To assess changes over time, espe- cially the question of whether hooking up had replaced romantic relationships as the norm on this campus, w2 tests and/or analyses of variance were used to compare sexual be- haviours among cohorts. We ran a logistic binary regression to assess the impact of demographic variables and past casual sex experience upon choice of sexual behaviour group (monog- amy or experimentation).

RESULTS

Changes and Continuities over Time

Descriptive statistics of key sexual behaviours of never- married students, 1980–2010, indicate that males reported consistently higher numbers of sexual partners, both in the current year and in their lifetime. However, there was little difference by gender in age of first intercourse (about 17 years old) and proportion of students who had experienced sexual intercourse (70–80%), except for the small sample of women in 1980 (see Table 2).

One-way ANOVAs by cohort, conducted separately for males and females, showed little variation over time for having had sexual intercourse, age of first intercourse, and numbers of partners for lifetime and for the current year. For women, the only significant change was in the proportion who had experienced sexual intercourse, F (3, 895) ¼ 4.614, p ¼ .000, h2 ¼ .015, with a dramatic fall in virginity rate between 1980 and later cohorts, t (895) ¼�2.290, p ¼ .022, r2 ¼ .006. Among men, the only significant difference between cohorts was in age of first intercourse, F (3, 607) ¼ 3.750, p ¼ .011, h2 ¼ .018, with a slight increase in age between 1980 and 90 and 2000–2010, t(607) ¼�2.623, p ¼ .009, r2 ¼ .011 (see Table 2A).

Respondents categorized each of their partners, past and present, as serious/committed, friend, acquaintance, or stranger. Intimacy between partners over time was analyzed for men and women separately with one-way ANOVAs by cohort. While tables show actual proportions, before performing any statistical comparison on a proportion-derived variable, the arcsine transformation was used. This brought variable dis- tributions closer to normality, as verified by reduction in skewness and kurtosis.

For women, by far the largest percentage of reported partners was within a serious/committed relationship: over 60% in the early years and slightly less by 2010. Strangers made up a very small proportion, somewhat more were

acquaintances, and the remainder were friends (see Table 3). The most important shift for women was the gradual increase of friends as sexual partners, the proportion rising to 27% in 2010, F(3, 587) ¼ 2.936, p ¼ .033, h2 ¼ .015. Among men, the proportion of serious/committed relationships has always been smaller than for women, but their proportion has in- creased significantly after 1980, growing into the largest sexual partner category among males, t(536) ¼ �2.451, p ¼ .015, r2 ¼ .011 (see Table 3A).

Table 4 reports the distribution of sexual behaviour groups by cohort and gender. For men, the w2 analysis showed no significant difference over time, w2(4) ¼ 3.623, p ¼ .459, T ¼ .003. For women, some change did occur, w2(4) ¼ 17.129, p ¼ .002, T ¼ .008 (see following paragraph).

Monogamy was dominant for both genders in each cohort (see Table 4). Fifty-seven to 66% of all women were monoga- mous; for each decade this statistic was over 80% for those who were sexually active during the past year (514 out of 608, or 84.5%). For men, the monogamous percentage was lower (44–55%), but still included over two thirds of men sexually active in the past year (373 out of 532, or 70.1%). The second-largest behavioural group was that of abstainers, including about 30% of students. Except for a rise in female abstinence in 2000, this percentage has been nearly constant in all three decades despite the declining proportion of virgins, as the abstinent group also includes non-virgins who had no sexual intercourse in the previous year. Experimenters, whom the literature describes as participants in ‘‘hookup culture,’’ have always been the smallest of the three groups, consisting of approximately 20% of men since 1990, and nearly doubling among women from 7.6% (1990, 2000) to 14.4% in 2010, w2(1) ¼ 10.115, p ¼ .001, T ¼ .01 (see Table 4A).

It is important to determine whether these behavioural groups represent anything more enduring than a short-term behavioural difference at the time of the survey. Current relationships for monogamists were relatively long-lasting (M ¼ 1.9 years, Mdn ¼ 1.5 years for 2000–2010, the cohorts who answered this question), suggesting fairly consistent monogamy for a group with average age of 21.2, and sexually active for a mean of 4.0 (Mdn ¼ 3) years (data not shown).

Since there was little change among cohorts in age of first intercourse, number of partners, or distribution of behavioural groups, we combined the 1990–2010 cohorts and examined differences between abstainers, monogamists, and experi- menters, with special attention to those who were currently sexually active.

For both genders, experimenters had significantly more lifetime partners, men: F(2, 581) ¼ 21.195, p ¼ .000, r 2 ¼ .055; women: F(2, 651) ¼ 14.268, p ¼ .000, r 2 ¼ .040, and a larger proportion of casual partners (acquaintances and strangers), men: F(2, 512) ¼ 21.648, p ¼ .000, r 2 ¼ .077; women: F(2, 559) ¼ 14.836, p ¼ .000, r 2 ¼ .046. In contrast, monogamists had significantly larger lifetime proportions of serious/ committed partners, men: F(2, 513) ¼ 27.093, p ¼ .000, r 2 ¼ .094; women: F(2, 566) ¼ 19.859, p ¼ .000, r 2 ¼ .065

Thirty years of sexual behaviour

The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality 27(1), 2018, pp. 55–68; doi:10.3138/cjhs.2017-0035 59

Table 2. Sexual Behaviour of Never-Married Students, 1980–2010

Sexual Behaviour 1980 1990 2000 2010

Males N % 95% CI N % 95% CI N % 95% CI N % 95% CI Never had sexual intercourse 7 28.0 [10.4, 45.6] 21 22.3 [13.9, 30.7] 32 15.5 [10.6, 20.4] 92 20.6 [16.8, 24.4] Ever had sexual intercourse 18 72.0 [54.4, 89.6] 83 77.7 [69.3, 86.1] 175 84.5 [79.6, 89.4] 356 79.4 [76.6, 83.2] Total 25 94 207 448

If had sexual intercourse. . . M (SD) Mdn M (SD) Mdn M (SD) Mdn M (SD) Mdn Number of lifetime partners 5.2 (4.8) 4.0 7.5 (9.4) 4.5 6.1 (1.9) 3.0 7.1 (11.1) 4.0 Number of partners previous year NA 2.0 (2.1) 4.5 2.1 (1.7) 1.0 2.2 (2.5) 1.0 Age of first sexual intercourse 16.5 (1.0) 16.5 16.4 (2.6) 17.0 17.2 (1.9) 17.0 17.1 (1.8) 17.0 N 18 72 170 353

Females N % 95% CI N % 95% CI N % 95% CI N % 95% CI Never had sexual intercourse 14 38.9 [23.0, 54.8] 23 19.6 [12.3, 26.9] 92 28.3 [23.4, 33.2] 83 19.6 [15.8, 23.4] Ever had sexual intercourse 22 61.1 [45.2, 77.0] 90 80.4 [73.1, 87.7] 233 71.7 [66.8, 76.6] 340 80.4 [76.6, 84.2] Total 36 113 325 423

If had sexual intercourse... M (SD) Mdn M (SD) Mdn M (SD) Mdn M (SD) Mdn Number of lifetime partners 4.8 (5.7) 3.0 5.6 (7.2) 3.0 4.6 (6.0) 3.0 5.5 (6.2) 3.0 Number of partners previous year NA 1.4 (1.4) 1.0 1.6 (1.2) 1.0 1.8 (1.7) 1.0 Age of first sexual intercourse 17.4 (1.9) 17.0 17.0 (1.9) 17.0 17.1 (1.9) 17.0 17.0 (1.9) 17.0 N 22 90 228 339

Note. NA ¼ question not asked. Numbers in table may not sum to total number due to missing data.

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(see Tables 5A-1 and 5A-2). Table 5B shows, by behavioural group, the proportion of respondents who ever had non- serious sexual partners, and of which type. These results indi- cate two different, enduring patterns of behaviour, with most students participating in long-lasting relationships, and a minority having multiple partners without commitment.

The data in Table 5B also demonstrates overlapping be- haviour between the two groups. Most experimenters had at least one serious/committed partner (only 28% of experi- menter males and 8% of experimenter females had none). Among monogamists, 52% of males and 48% of females had had sex with a friend (FWB relationship) while 42% of monogamist males and 31% of monogamist females had had sex with at least one acquaintance or stranger (‘‘casual

hookup’’) (see Table 5B). Moreover, this overlap occurred in every decade (statistics not shown).

Prediction of Sexual Behaviour Group

Binomial logistic regression (forced entry method) was used to predict which sexually active students were likely to become experimenters rather than monogamists (see Table 6). Absten- tion was not predicted, as we had no data on religion, re- ligiosity, or ethnic background, which other studies have found influential in students’ choice not to engage in sexual intercourse (e.g., Kuperberg & Padgett, 2016). Independent variables were those which earlier research had found relevant: gender, current age, sexual orientation, age of first intercourse,

Table 2A. Statistical Significance and Effect Sizes for Table 2: Changes by Cohort, 1980–2010

Sexual Behaviour n F p h2a Contrastb t p r2c

Males Ever had sexual intercourse 774 1.354 .256 .005 Age of first sexual intercoursed 611 3.750 .011* .018 1980–90 vs. 2000–2010 �2.623 .009* .011 Total lifetime partnersd 759 0.441 .724 .001 Total partners previous yeard 576 0.348 .706 .001

Females Ever had sexual intercourse 899 4.614 .000* .015 1980 vs. 1990–2010 �2.290 .022* .006 Age of first sexual intercoursed 669 0.358 .783 .002 Total lifetime partnersd 679 1.139 .333 .005 Total partners previous yeard 629 2.476 .085 .008

a SSB / SST. b When the ANOVA showed significance, a contrast was used to focus on the most salient difference over time. For males in this analysis, this

occurred between 1980 and 90 and 2000–10; for females, between 1980 and the three later cohorts. c r2 ¼ t2 / (t2 þdf ). This formula for r2 used because it results in a more conservative effect size compared to alternatives. d If ever experienced sexual intercourse.

* p < .05

Table 3. Intimacy Level of Relationships, Never-Married, Sexually Experienced Students, 1980–2010 (%)

Intimacy Level

1980 1990 2000 2010

% 95% CI % 95% CI % 95% CI % 95% CI

Males Serious, committed 22.6 [3.3, 41.9] 41.1 [29.1, 53.1] 50.0 [41.3, 58.7] 46.8 [41.4, 52.2] Friends 48.5 [25.4, 71.6] 29.1 [18.1, 40.1] 27.0 [19.3, 34.7] 25.9 [21.2, 30.6] Acquaintancesþstrangers 28.9 [8.0, 50.0] 31.9 [20.6, 43.2] 23.0 [15.7, 30.3] 27.7 [22.9, 32.5] Acquaintances 13.1 [0, 28.7] 11.6 [3.8, 19.4] 14.4 [8.3, 20.5] 17.7 [13.6, 21.8] Strangers 15.8 [0, 32.6] 20.3 [10.5, 30.1] 8.6 [3.7, 13.5] 10.0 [6.8, 13.2]

n 18 65 128 330

Females Serious, committed 66.9 [47.2, 86.6] 69.5 [59.4, 79.6] 63.6 [56.3, 70.9] 58.6 [53.2, 64.0] Friends 19.1 [2.7, 35.5] 20.3 [11.4, 29.2] 22.2 [15.9, 28.5] 26.7 [21.9, 31.5] Acquaintances + strangers 14.0 [0, 28.5] 11.4 [4.4, 18.4] 14.1 [8.9, 19.4] 14.3 [10.5, 18.1] Acquaintances 7.4 [0, 18.3] 7.8 [1.9,13.7] 9.4 [5.0, 13.8] 10.2 [6.9, 13.5] Strangers 6.6 [0, 17.0] 3.6 [0, 7.7] 4.7 [1.5, 7.9] 4.1 [1.9, 6.3]

n 22 79 168 322

Note. Table 3 shows actual percentages, as opposed to arcsine transformation.

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The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality 27(1), 2018, pp. 55–68; doi:10.3138/cjhs.2017-0035 61

Table 3A. Statistical Significance and Effect Sizes for Table 3: Changes by Cohort, 1980–2010

Intimacy Level n F p h2a Contrastb t p r2c

Males Proportion of serious/committed partners 540 2.787 .040* .015 1980 vs. 1990–2010 �2.451 .015* .011 Proportion of friends 541 3.006 .030* .017 1980 vs. 1990–2010 2.738 .007* .014 Proportion of acquaintancesþstrangers 539 1.469 .224 .008

Females Proportion of serious/committed partners 596 1.537 .204 .008 1980–2000 vs. 2010 1.974 .049* .007 Proportion of friends 591 2.936 .033* .015 1980–2000 vs. 2010 �2.489 .013* .010 Proportion of acquaintancesþstrangers 589 0.080 .971 .0004

a SSB / SST Calculated from 1-way ANOVA, after arcsine transformation, which brought distribution of independent variables closer to normality. b When the ANOVA showed significance, a contrast was used to focus on the most salient difference over time. For males in this analysis, this

occurred between 1980 and the three later cohorts; for females, between 2010 and the three earlier cohorts. c r2 ¼ t2 / (t2 þdf ). * p < .05

Table 4. Sexual Behavioural Groups among Never-Married Students, 1990–2010 (%)

Sexual Behavioural Group

1990 2000 2010

w2a p Tb% 95% CI % 95% CI % 95% CI

Males Abstainers 34.1 [24.4, 43.8] 25.1 [19.0, 31.2] 27.5 [23.4, 31.6] Abstinent virgins 23.1 [14.4, 31.8] 16.4 [11.2, 21.6] 20.2 [16.5, 23.9] Abstinent non-virgins 11.0 [4.6, 17.4] 8.7 [4.7, 12.7] 7.3 [4.9, 9.7] 3.623 .459 .003

Monogamists 44.0 [33.8, 54.2] 54.9 [47.9, 61.9] 50.2 [45.6, 54.8] Experimenters 22.0 [13.5, 30.5] 20.0 [14.4, 25.6] 22.2 [18.4, 26.0] n 91 195 450

Females Abstainers 25.8 [17.7, 33.9] 35.5 [30.3, 40.7] 25.2 [21.1, 29.3] Abstinent virgins 19.6 [12.2, 27.0] 28.6 [23.7, 33.5] 19.6 [15.8, 23.4] Abstinent non-virgins 6.2 [1.7, 10.7] 6.8 [4.0, 9.6] 5.6 [3.4, 7.8] 17.129 .002* .008

Monogamists 66.1 [57.3, 74.9] 57.1 [51.7, 62.5] 60.4 [55.7, 65.1] Experimenters 8.0 [3.0, 13.0] 7.5 [4.6, 10.4] 14.4 [11.1, 17.8] n 112 322 424

a Comparing abstainers, monogamists, and experimenters. b Goodman and Kruskal’s T (tau), with sexual behavioural group dependent. T chosen as effect size, because, like r2 measures, it ranges from 0 to 1,

indicating proportion of variance in dependent variable explained by independent variable.

* p < .05

Table 4A. Never-Married Female Students: Sexual Behavioural Group (Non-Experimenters vs. Experimenters) by Cohort, 1990– 2000 vs. 2010

Sexual Behavioural Group

1990–2000 2010

w2 p Tan % n %

Non-Experimenters 401 92.3 363 85.6 Experimenters 33 7.6 61 14.4 Total 434 100.0 424 100.0 10.115 .001* .01

a Goodman and Kruskal’s T (tau), with sexual behavioural group dependent. T chosen as effect size, because, like r2 measures, it ranges from 0 to 1,

indicating proportion of variance in dependent variable explained by independent variable.

* p < .05

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62 The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality 27(1), 2018, pp. 55–68; doi:10.3138/cjhs.2017-0035

Table 5A-1. Characteristics of Male Sexual Behaviour Groups, Never-Married Students, 1990–2010 (Continuous Variables)

Male Sexual Behaviour Total Abstainersa Monogamists Experimenters F p

Monogamists vs. Experimenters

t r2b

Age M (SD) 21.3 (3.0) 20.9 (2.8) 21.4 (3.2) 21.5 (3.0) 1.822 .162 �.330 .000 n 728 201 372 155

Age of first sexual intercourse M (SD) 17.0 (2.0) 17.6 (1.9) 17.2 (2.0) 16.4 (1.7) 13.710 .000* 4.731 .037 n 582 55 369 158

Total lifetime partners M (SD) 6.9 (10.4) 3.1 (3.6) 5.7 (9.8) 11.2 (157) 21.195 .000* �5.808 .055 n 584 55 372 157

Proportion of serious/committed partnersc

M (SD) .466 (.392) .522 (.444) .547 (.399) .254 (.255) 27.093 .000* 7.312 .094 n 516 47 331 138

Proportion of acquaintances/strangersc

M (SD) .271 (.317) .304 (.407) .211 (.295) .405 (.292) 21.648 .000* �6.538 .077 n 515 46 330 139

a For all variables except age, only respondents who have experienced sexual intercourse are included. b r2 ¼ t2 / (t2 þdf). c Actual proportions, as opposed to arcsine transformation.

* p < .05

Table 5A-2. Characteristics of Female Sexual Behaviour Groups, Never-Married Students, 1990–2010 (Continuous Variables)

Female Sexual Behaviour Total Abstainersa Monogamists Experimenters F p

Monogamists vs. Experimenters

t r2b

Age M (SD) 21.0 (3.2) 20.5 (3.1) 21.2 (3.1) 21.1 (3.5) 3.766 .024* .293 .000 n 851 248 510 93

Age of first sexual intercourse M (SD) 17.1 (1.9) 17.5 (2.1) 17.1 (1.9) 16.7 (1.8) 2.542 .079 1.614 .004 n 642 50 501 91

Total lifetime partners M (SD) 5.1 (6.2) 4.0 (5.0) 4.7 (5.9) 8.2 (7.6) 14.268 .000* �5.178 .040 n 654 49 512 93

Proportion of serious/committed partnersc

M (SD) .608 (.354) .571 (.387) .654 (.351) .382 (.249) 19.859 .000* 6.262 .065 n 569 42 444 83

Proportion of acquaintances/strangersc

M (SD) .144 (.229) .211 (.311) .117 (.210) .252 (.245) 14.836 .000* �5.190 .046 n 562 42 439 81

a For all variables except age, only respondents who have experienced sexual intercourse are included. b r2 ¼ t2 / (t2 þdf ). c Actual proportions, as opposed to arcsine transformation.

* p < .05

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The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality 27(1), 2018, pp. 55–68; doi:10.3138/cjhs.2017-0035 63

and lifetime proportion of partners who were ‘‘casual’’ (ac- quaintances and/or strangers). This was our best indicator of ‘‘unrestricted’’ (high) sociosexuality, as it strongly represented casual sex activity but was not part of our definition of experi- menter, and was highly correlated with one of Simpson and Gangestad’s (1991) original variables, number of one-night stands, for which we had partial data. The first regression model also used cohort and interactions between all indepen-

dent variables, but these were dropped because all were statis- tically insignificant. The insignificance of cohort was evidence that the predictive equation had changed very little over our time period.

The logistic regression model significantly predicted choice of sexual behaviour group, w2(5) ¼ 112.393, p ¼ .000, Nagel- kerke’s R2 ¼ .176. The strongest predictors of experimenta- tion were having a large lifetime proportion of casual sex

Table 5B. Never-Married, Sexually Active Students, 1990–2010 (Dichotomous Variables)a

Sexual Behaviour Total Monogamists Experimenters w2 p Tb

Males Proportion whose partners were all serious/committed .269 .363 .043 50.461 .000* .108 n 469 331 138

Proportion whose partners were never serious/committed .224 .199 .283 3.881 .049* .008 n 469 331 138

Proportion who ever had sexual intercourse with friend .613 .517 .842 43.605 .000* .093 n 470 331 139

Proportion who ever had sexual intercourse with acquaintance/stranger

.531 .415 .806 59.917 .000* .128

n 469 330 139

Females Proportion whose partners were all serious/committed .366 .423 .060 39.739 .000* .075 n 527 444 83

Proportion whose partners were never serious/committed .089 .090 .084 .028 .866 .000 n 527 444 83

Proportion who ever had sexual intercourse with a friend .527 .484 .756 20.515 .000* .039 n 522 440 82

Proportion who ever had sexual intercourse with acquaintance/stranger

.358 .308 .630 30.882 .000* .059

n 520 439 81

a Table shows actual proportions; arcsine transformation used to calculate statistics. b Goodman and Kruskal’s T (tau), with sexual behavioural group independent.

* p < .05

Table 6. Binomial Logistic Regression to Predict Experimentation versus Monogamy by Gender, Age, Sexual Orientation, Lifetime Proportion of Casual Partners, and Age of First Sexual Intercourse: Never-Married Sexually Active Students, 1990–2010

Component Variable B Wald w2

p OR 95% CI OR Reference Category

Probability Ratioa

Gender �.653 13.624 .000* .521 [.368, .736] Male .144/.244 ¼ 0.59 (Female:Male)

Lifetime proportion of casual partners 1.569 59.062 .000* 4.803 [3.219, 7.166] See noteb

Sexual orientation (heterosexual vs. non-heterosexual)

.976 6.945 .008* 2.654 [1.284, 5.484] Heterosexual .366/.178 ¼ 2.0 (non-heterosexual: heterosexual)

Age �.067 5.174 .023* .935 [.833, .991] per year Age of first sexual intercourse �.092 3.997 .046* .912 [.834, .998] per year Constant 1.294 1.792 .181 3.646

Note. OR ¼ odds ratio. CI ¼ confidence interval. Overall Model: N ¼ 926. w2(5) ¼ 112.393, p ¼ .000*, Nagelkerke R2 ¼ .176 a Calculated from regression equation, while holding all other independent variables at their means. This method is not useful unless the independent

variable is dichotomous, for the probability ratio varies with every change of level of the IV. b From arcsine transformation, 0 vs. 1, representing actual proportions of 0 vs. .71

* p < .05

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64 The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality 27(1), 2018, pp. 55–68; doi:10.3138/cjhs.2017-0035

partners, p ¼ .000, OR ¼ 4.803, 95% CI [3.219, 7.166]; being male, p ¼ .000, OR ¼ .521, 95% CI [0.368, 0.736]; and being non-heterosexual, p ¼ .008, OR ¼ 2.654, 95% CI [1.284, 5.484]. Females were 0.59 times as likely as males to be experimenters (i.e., slightly more than half as likely), while non-heterosexuals were twice as likely as heterosexuals to choose the experimental lifestyle (see Table 6). Males with earlier sexual initiation were more likely to be experimenters, as were females who were younger at time of the survey (binomial logistic regressions for each gender available upon request).

DISCUSSION

This paper aimed to trace changes and continuities in sexual behaviour and the intimacy of relationships for students of one university from 1980 through 2010. With data from pencil and paper surveys administered in university classes at 10 year intervals, we tested the claim that by the 21st century ‘‘hookup culture’’ had replaced romantic relationships as the main form of sexual behaviour among university students. We found that throughout these years, the majority of sexually active students were in committed relationships, while a minority were mainly having casual sex with multiple partners. Yet most sexually active students in all four decades had en- gaged in sexual intercourse with both casual and committed partners. This fits the theory that university students, as emerg- ing adults, are constructing their personal identities through exploration (Arnett, 2000, 2014).

Patterns of Sexual Behaviour in and out of Relationships

Throughout the past generation, student sexual behaviour at this university has demonstrated much continuity but also undergone some change. In 1980 nearly 40% of never-married women reported as virgins, while their male counterparts re- ported more of their intercourse partners had been acquain- tances or strangers than had been serious lovers/committed partners. This gender difference is consistent with the double- standard of the ‘‘marriage only’’ scenario, in which a young woman waits for sex until her boy friend proposes, and a young man satisfies his sexual needs with casual partners (Darling et al., 1984).

In contrast to 1980, our combined data from 1990 through 2010 show that the percentage of female virgins dropped to 23%, while about half of men and approximately 60% of women were in committed sexual relationships. We believe this change reflects the transition to what social historians call the love standard, permitting penetrative sex for couples who love each other, even if they recognize their relationship might not last forever.

Since at least 1990, alongside the monogamous plurality there has been a persistent group of ‘‘experimenters,’’ approx- imately 20% of men and a percentage of women nearly doubling over time to 14.4%. Experimenters’ sexual behaviour

is distinct from that of monogamists, involving concurrent sexual partners and lower degrees of emotional intimacy. This group appears to follow the ‘‘pleasure with consent’’ standard, but has never gained the dominance predicted in some early accounts of the sexual revolution. Results from this study are consistent with those of Armstrong, Hamilton, & England (2010), Arnett (2014), Fielder, Carey, & Carey (2013), Milhausen et al. (2013), and Monto & Carey (2014), who also found that committed monogamous relationships remain the prevalent pattern of student sexual behaviour.

In predicting which students would choose experimental, rather than monogamist behaviour, this study confirmed many earlier findings. A multi-partnered lifestyle is more likely for males than females, for non-heterosexuals than hetero- sexuals, and for those whose history already includes a large proportion of casual sex partners. Morover, this study demon- strates that predictors of student sexual lifestyle have not changed significantly over 30 years.

If we look at our data from another angle, emphasizing that among currently sexually active, unmarried respondents, 53% of the men and 36% of the women had ever had a casual hookup (sexual intercourse with an acquaintance or stranger), and that 61% of the men and 53% of the women had ever had a FWB (sexual intercourse with a friend), we would have results very similar to those of many hookup studies (see Table 5B). However, this interpretation would miss the longstanding existence of behavioural differences between a majority that generally reserves sexual intimacy for com- mitted monogamous relationships and a minority for whom casual sex is habitual.

Another important finding of this study is that ‘‘hookup culture’’ is not new. Since 1980 a large proportion of sexually active students reported having intercourse with a friend (‘‘friends with benefits’’) and/or intercourse with an acquain- tance or stranger (‘‘casual sex’’), and by 1990 it was clear that this number included many who were primarily monogamous. Conversely, nearly all experimenters have had some committed partners. This finding supports Monto and Carey (2014), who found a similar pattern as far back as 1988, and adds evidence to the argument that students enact different sexual patterns in different circumstances (Reid et al., 2015) and at different times in their lives (Fielder, Carey, & Carey, 2013).

The evidence-based finding of distinct yet flexible sexual behaviour norms can be linked to theories of exploration and identity formation during emerging adulthood (Arnett, 2000, 2014; Swidler, 2001), with use of sexual ‘‘scripts’’ (Kimmel, 2007; Simon & Gagnon, 1984), ‘‘discourses’’ (Phillips, 2000) or ‘‘narratives’’ (Wood, 2001): all referring to apparently con- tradictory scenarios, which are well-known, reinforced among friends, and available for personal use.

In summary, this study found the following answers to our research questions:

1. Over the past 30 years, most sexually active students were in committed monogamous relationships. Those who

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habitually engaged in casual sex with multiple partners re- mained a minority. Reports of ‘‘hookup culture’’ becoming the new normal for university students are greatly exaggerated.

2. Students most likely to choose experimentation over monog- amy are male, non-heterosexual, and those who already have a pattern of many casual partners.

3. Most sexually active students in every decade have had both casual and committed sex, exploring both sexual scripts but generally settling into the one which they feel fits better into their own emerging identity.

Limitations

This study, limited to one Canadian university, cannot be generalized to the rest of North America. However, our findings on types of sexual partners and the persistence of commited relationships are consistent with those of a national Canadian survey (Milhausen et al., 2013) and a long series of national US surveys (Monto & Carey, 2014), and therefore might contribute to our understanding of student sexual be- haviour elsewhere.

Second, our 1980 survey, with limited questions and small sample size, was inadequate as a baseline measure. Our data from 1980, with its wide CIs, should be seen only as a rough indication of student sexual behaviour in that era. Similarly, along with most other studies which include students from varied sexual orientations, our study’s non-heterosexual sample was too small for valid or reliable comparison with the hetero- sexual majority. Watson et al. (2017) suggest using an enlarged, over-representative sample of a population’s LBGTQ+ com- munity or drawing LBGTQ+ respondents from several uni- versities, possibly giving this larger group additional questions on issues specific to their community.

Another limitation of this study is that many findings have low effect sizes, leaving the majority of variation unexplained. This reflects the reality that a great many factors influence the sexual choices of today’s emerging adults. Cultural heritage, religious beliefs, family history, alcohol use, peer norms, and personality measures are some of the relevant variables not covered, an important omission in our prediction of experi- menter lifestyle. Our work would also have benefited from the addition of more options for gender and sexual orienta- tion, and specific items to check reliability, validity, and social desirability bias.

Implications for Future Research

Both the findings and the limitations of this study suggest paths for future research. First, the study of sexual behaviour at this university should be continued in future decades, re- taining the core questions of earlier years while adding new ones. For example, we should ask about origins of existing committed partnerships, participation in peer subcultures, and use of online dating sites.

Since even a more comprehensive questionnaire could not explain all the decisions faced continually by every respon-

dent, future surveys should include a qualitative component. In personal interviews, a subsample of respondents could explore reasons for partner choice and the meanings that committed relationships and casual sex hold in their lives. Such qualitative data would do much to illuminate the pro- cesses university students use as they construct their own sexual lifestyles.

CONCLUSION

Although this study is limited to one university, its strength is its long timespan. This enabled the most important finding, that one overall pattern has prevailed at this university since at least 1990. In each cohort, sexually active students included a monogamous majority and a multi-partnered minority, with most student histories containing both committed and casual partnerships. The coexistence of seemingly contradic- tory behaviours, backed by alternative scripts/discourses/ narratives, applies not only to sexual behaviour, but also to most other aspects of modern life in industrial societies (Arnett, 2000, 2014; Swidler, 2001). Choice of career, religion, sexual orientation, and even gender itself are now left to indi- viduals rather than being decided by families or determined by social standards. Although many emerging adults go through a period of uncertainty, false starts, and reversals, this frustrating yet stimulating process may be essential to creating a coherent identity, in which sexual lifestyle plays an important part.

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