Download 1 Emotional Responses to Casual Sex Experiences: The

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Emotional Responses to Casual Sex Experiences: The Roles of Sexual Motives and Adult
Romantic Attachment Styles
Thomas B. Pearson and Dr. Sherry L. Beaumont
A Brief Introduction
It has been well established in the literature that the vast majority of young adults have engaged in
a casual sex (e.g., one-night stand or casual sex fling). For instance, recent estimates indicate that as many
as 75% of men and 84% of women have engaged in a “hook up” experience (Paul & Hayes, 2002). High
rates of casual sex behaviour, in combination with an increased concern over sexually transmitted
infections, has meant that the “risks” associated with casual sex have typically been reduced to physical
consequences. As such, very little attention has been given to the psychological risks associated with
casual sex behaviour. The objective of this thesis was to contribute to the current literature on casual sex
by exploring casual sex motives and styles of romantic attachment as factors related to young adults’ postcasual sex emotional well-being.
Interesting Participant Characteristics
The sample included 430 young adults (305 women and 125 men) who were sexually experienced
and fully or partially (i.e., bisexual) endorsed a heterosexual orientation. Other characteristics of the
sample include:
Average age for the women was 33 years old and for the men was 31 years old
The top three participant relationship statuses were:
o Dating one person exclusively (39.5%)
o Single, looking to date (22.8%)
o Casually dating one or more people (14.9%)
The top three occupations were:
o Student (54%)
o Full-time worker (31.2%)
o Part-time worker (7.2%)
Distribution of participants over the various websites that posted the casual sex survey:
o Sue Johanson
(20%)
o Hanover College
(9.8%)
o Josey Vogels
(9.3%)
o Center for Sex and Culture (3.5%)
Participants’ experience with different types of causal sex encounters:
One-night stand involving sexual intercourse:
o Overall (67.7%), men (74.4%), women (65.1%)
One-night stand involving non-coital behaviour:
o Overall (55.3%), men (64%), women (51.8%)
One-night stand that led to a committed relationship:
o Overall (38.4%), men (39.2%), women (38%)
Casual sex fling:
o Overall (74%), men (70.4%), women (75.4%)
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Results
Examination of Different Casual Sex Motivations
The survey included 37-items that reflected different reasons for engaging in a one-night stand.
Participants were asked to rate each item in terms of its importance (1 = not important and 5 = important)
in motivating their one-night stand behaviour. The items were reduced to the following casual sex
motivations:
Pleasure
Reflects the desire for both physical and psychological gratification (e.g., To relieve my sexual
urges when I am feeling horny).
Establish an Intimate Connection
Reflects the desire to start a romantic relationship with, and feel psychologically connected to,
a one-night stand partner (e.g., To find a romantic partner that I can share personal aspects of
myself with).
Avoid an Intimate Connection
Reflects the desire to allude the development of a romantic relationship or feelings of
psychological connectedness with a one-night stand partner (e.g., To engage in a spontaneous
act that has a low possibility of developing into a relationship).
Self-Affirmation
Reflects the desire to affirm or increase feelings of self-worth (e.g., To increase my level of
self-confidence).
Coping/stress Relief
Reflects the desire to reduce negative feelings and stress (To forget about my problems for a
short period of time).
Importance of the Motives
The following is a rank order of the one-night stand motives from the most important to the least
important:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Pleasure
Self-Affirmation
Coping/stress relief
Establish an Intimate Connection
Avoid an Intimate Connection
Gender Differences
The men and women did not differ in the importance placed on the self-affirmation, coping/stress
relief, and avoid an intimate connection motives. However, the MEN placed a greater importance on the
pleasure and establish an intimate connection motive in comparison to the women.
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Emotional Responses to Casual Sex Experiences
In order to measure feelings after a one-night stand experience, participants were asked to rate the
likelihood (1 = very unlikely to 7 = very likely) that they would experience a number of emotions after
reading two randomly ordered hypothetical scenarios. Each hypothetical scenario involved the depiction
of having sexual intercourse with a stranger they had met that night at the bar; however, the endings of the
scenario differed, such that one scenario ended with no communication about a future date and the other
scenario ended with communication about a future date. Anticipated emotional responses were grouped
into four categories: dejected (e.g., rejected), agitated (e.g., on edge), pleasure (e.g., happy), and
quiescence (e.g., relaxed).
Emotional Responses to the One-Night Stand Scenarios
The scenario that depicted no communication about a future date elicited greater anticipated
feelings of dejection and agitation in comparison to the scenario that depicted communication
about a future date.
The scenario that depicted communication about a future date elicited greater anticipated feelings
of pleasure and quiescence in comparison to the scenario that depicted no communication about a
future date.
Emotional Responses and Individual Differences
Men and women did not differ in terms of anticipated emotional responses across both of the onenight stand scenarios.
Participants in a committed versus an uncommitted relationship did not differ in their anticipated
emotional responses across both one-night stand scenarios.
Casual Sex Motivations and Post-Casual Sex Emotional Responses
The following is a description of the relevant associations found between the casual sex
motivations and the anticipated post-casual sex emotional responses for each one-night stand scenario, by
gender.
Establish an Intimate Connection Motive
Men and women who placed a greater importance on the establish an intimate connection
motive were more likely to anticipate feelings of dejection in response to the no
communication scenario and anticipate feelings of pleasure in response to the communication
scenario.
Avoid an Intimate Connection Motive
Men and women who placed a greater importance on the avoid an intimate connection motive
were more likely to anticipate feelings of quiescence in response to the no communication
scenario.
No relationships were found for the communication scenario.
Pleasure Motive
Men and women who placed a greater importance on the pleasure motive were more likely to
anticipate feelings of pleasure in response to the no communication and communication
scenarios.
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Self-Affirmation
Men who placed a greater importance on the self-affirmation motive were more likely to
anticipate feelings of pleasure in response to the no communication and communication
scenarios.
Women who placed a greater importance on the self-affirmation motive were more likely to
anticipate feelings of dejection in response to the no communication scenario and anticipate
feelings of pleasure in response to the communication scenario.
Coping/stress Relief
Women who placed a greater importance on the coping/stress relief motive were more likely to
anticipate feelings of quiescence in response to the scenario that depicted no communication
about a future date.
The Influence of Multiple Casual Sex Motives on Post-Casual Sex Emotional Responses
Considering that young adults may have many motivations for engaging in a one-night stand, post
hoc analyses were conducted to explore the importance of different motivations in contributing to postone-night stand emotional outcomes.
Scenario: No Communication about a Future Date
Men
Quiescent Emotions: The Pleasure and the Avoid an Intimate Connection Motives
A higher importance placed on the pleasure and avoid an intimate connection motives
significantly predicted greater anticipated feelings of quiescence.
Pleasure Emotions: The Pleasure and the Avoid an Intimate Connection Motives
A higher importance placed on the pleasure and avoid an intimate connection motives
significantly predicted greater anticipated feelings of pleasure.
Women
Dejected Emotions: The Self-affirmation and the Establish an Intimate Connection Motives
A higher importance placed on the establish an intimate connection motive significantly
predicted greater anticipated feelings of dejection.
Considering the influence of the establish an intimate connection motive, the self-affirmation
motive did not significantly contribute to anticipated feelings of dejection.
Pleasure Emotions: The Pleasure, Avoid an Intimate Connection and Coping/stress Relief Motives
A higher importance placed on the pleasure motive significantly predicted greater anticipated
feelings of pleasure.
Considering the influence of the pleasure motive, the avoid an intimate connection and
coping/stress relief motives did not significantly contribute to anticipated feelings of
pleasure.
Quiescent Emotions: The Pleasure, Avoid an Intimate Connection and Coping/stress Relief Motives
A higher importance placed on the pleasure, avoid an intimate connection, and coping/stress
relief motives significantly predicted greater anticipated feelings of quiescence.
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Scenario: Communication about a Future Date
Men
Pleasure Emotions: The Pleasure, Establish an Intimate Connection and Self-Affirmation Motives
A higher importance placed on the establish an intimate connection motive significantly
predicted greater anticipated feelings of pleasure.
Considering the influence of the establish an intimate connection motive, the pleasure and
self-affirmation motives did not significantly contribute to anticipated feelings of pleasure.
Women
Pleasure Emotions: The Pleasure, Establish an Intimate Connection and Self-Affirmation Motives
A higher importance placed on the pleasure and establish an intimate connection motives
significantly predicted greater anticipated feelings of pleasure.
Considering the influence of the pleasure and establish an intimate connection motives, the
self-affirmation motive did not significantly contribute to anticipated feelings of pleasure.
Styles of Romantic Attachment and Casual Sex Motives
Prototypical styles of romantically relating to others were captured using a revised version of Griffin
and Bartholomew’s (1994) Relationship Styles Questionnaire (RSQ). The RSQ captures four styles of
adult attachment: secure, dismissing, preoccupied, and fearful. For a more indepth description of each
style, please visit the following link: http://www.sfu.ca/psyc/faculty/bartholomew/prototypes.htm. In
regards to this thesis, the following are a few key features associated with each style of adult attachment:
Secure
High sense of self-worth, comfort with closeness and intimate behaviours/relationships, and
preference for sexual behaviour in committed relationships.
Preoccupied
Low sense of self-worth, incessant need for intimate behaviours and relationships in order to
feel validated or to sooth fears of abandonment, and indiscriminately choosing sexual
partners (especially among women).
Fearful
Low sense of self-worth, desire for intimacy, but at the same time, avoidance of intimate
behaviours and relationships due a intense fear of rejection, and permissive sexual behaviour.
Dismissing
Defensive (high) sense of self-worth, devaluation of intimate behaviours/relationships, and
permissive sexual behaviour.
The following is a description of the relevant associations found between the styles of romantic
attachment and the casual sex motivations
Secure Style of Attachment
Men and women who rated higher on the secure style of attachment were less likely to
engage in a one-night stand in order to avoid an intimate connection, experience selfaffirmation, and to cope/relieve stress.
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Fearful Style of Attachment
Men and women who rated higher on the fearful style of attachment were more likely to
engage in a one-night stand in order to avoid an intimate connection and to cope/relieve
stress.
For women, a higher rating on the fearful style of attachment was also related to a greater
motivation to engage in a one-night stand in order to experience self-affirmation.
Preoccupied Style of Attachment
Men and women who rated higher on the preoccupied style of attachment were more likely
to engage in a one-night stand in order to establish an intimate connection.
For women, a higher rating on the preoccupied style of attachment was also related to greater
motivation to engage in a one-night stand to experience self-affirmation and to cope/relieve
stress, and a lower motivation to avoid an intimate connection.
Dismissing Style of Attachment
Men and women who rated higher on the dismissing style of attachment were more likely to
engage in a one-night stand in order to avoid an intimate connection.
For women, a higher rating on the dismissing style of attachment was also related to a lower
motivation to engage in a one-night stand in order to establish an intimate connection.
Post-Casual Sex Emotions: The Influence of Casual Sex Motives and Styles of Romantic Attachment
Post hoc analyses were conducted in order to explore if styles of adult attachment directly and
indirectly (via casual sex motives) predict post-casual sex emotional responses. Listed are the few
instances in which adult attachment style was a direct and indirect predictor of post-casual sex emotions.
Scenario: No Communication about a Future Date
Men
Dismissing style ratings are a direct and an indirect predictor of anticipated feelings of quiescence.
That is, higher dismissing style ratings predict a greater importance placed on the avoid an
intimate connection motive, which in turn, predicts greater anticipated feelings of quiescence. At
the same time, higher dismissing style ratings also directly predict greater anticipated feelings of
quiescence.
Women
Similar to men, women’s dismissing style ratings a direct and an indirect predictor of anticipated
feelings of quiescence. That is, higher dismissing style ratings predict a greater importance placed
on the avoid an intimate connection motive, which in turn, predicts greater anticipated feelings of
quiescence. At the same time, higher dismissing style ratings also directly predict greater
anticipated feelings of quiescence.
Preoccupied style ratings are a direct and an indirect predictor of anticipated feelings of dejection.
That is, higher preoccupied style ratings predict a greater importance placed on the establish an
intimate connection motive, which in turn, predicts greater anticipated feelings of dejection. At the
same time, higher preoccupied style ratings also directly predict greater anticipated feelings of
dejection.
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Discussion
Casual Sex Motives
Despite past research showing that there are a multitude of motives for engaging in casual sex, this
study reveals that different reasons for engaging in a one-night stand can be represented under broad
motivational labels. For example, a physical-based need, such as the desire to satisfy sexual urges, and
psychological-based need, such as the desire to experience a thrill from being sexually adventurous, are
both reflected in the motivation to experience pleasure. In the same way, the desires to start a romantic
relationship and to feel psychologically connected with another individual are both reflected in the
motivation to establish an intimate connection.
Although the motives of pleasure, self-affirmation, and coping/stress relief have been previously
established as motives underlying casual sex, this study introduced, and found support for, two intimacybased one-night stand motives: the desire to establish an intimate connection and the desire to avoid an
intimate connection. The motive of establish an intimate connection represents an integration of the
research that suggests some young adults engage in casual sex to find love (Rosenthal, Gifford, & Moore,
1998), experience psychological closeness (Rokach, 1998), and lure in a romantic partner (Regan &
Dreyer, 1999). On the other hand, the avoid an intimate connection motive represents an integration of the
research that suggests young adults who fear intimacy desire lower levels of emotional intimacy, are less
likely to be in a committed relationship, and are more likely to engage in casual sex (Paul, McManus, &
Hayes, 2002; Thelen, Vander Wal, Thomas, & Harmon, 2000). Together, this study not only captures
some of the different motivations for why young adults engage in one-night stands, but also the
complexity underlying different one-night stand motivations.
An unexpected, but interesting finding, was that the men in this study placed more importance on
the establish an intimate connection motive in comparison to the women. This finding seems to contradict
the previous research on sexual motives (e.g., Hill & Preston, 1996) that generally find that women are
more likely to endorse intimacy-related motives in comparison to men. A plausible explanation for this
discrepant finding is participant age. The average age of the men in this study was 31 years old, which is
substantially higher than the previous studies that have focused on sexual motives (e.g., 21 years old;
Cooper, Shapiro, & Powers, 1998). According to past research (Sprague & Quadagno, 1989), gender
differences in sexual motivation can fluctuate across adulthood, with the potential for men and women to
reverse their endorsement of stereotypical sexual motives. As such, men’s reasons for engaging in onenight stands may switch from approval (e.g., gaining peer status) and pleasure-based motives to more
intimacy-based motives. A possible explanation for this switch is given by Sexual Strategies Theory
(Buss & Schmitt, 1993), which states men’s desire to be in a committed relationship may increase with
age as the focus shifts from “searching for reproductively fit women to capitalizing on one woman’s
reproductive fitness for a life time.” Yet, another explanation is that individuals in Westernized societies
are socialized to view committed relationships, and ultimately marriage, as the “ideal” romantic union. As
males age they may begin to value being in a close, committed relationship over being in shorter,
uncommitted relationships. Regardless of the explanation, it is appears that during their early thirties, men
are motivated to use short-term mating strategies in order to establish an intimate connection; a
motivation that has been predominantly associated with women in the early stages of young adulthood.
Casual Sex Motives and Post-Casual Sex Emotions
Recent research (e.g., Impett, Peplau, & Gable, 2005) has established that it is important to consider
sexual motives when understanding different emotional reactions to sexual intercourse. Expanding on
previous findings, this study examined the motivation-emotion link within the context of one-night stands.
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The findings indicate that it is important to take into consideration the interpersonal outcome of one-night
stands when considering how motivations for engaging in a one-night stand are related to young adults’
post-coital emotional well-being. For example, the majority of one-nights stands do not evolve into a
committed relationship, and under such a circumstance, young adults who place importance on an
approach-focused motive such as establishing an intimate connection may be at risk to feel dejected
emotions. Nevertheless, if there is a chance that a one-night stand will evolve into a committed
relationship, young adults who go into a one-night stand with underlying intimacy needs may experience
pleasurable emotions at the cessation of the encounter.
Not all motive-emotion links, however, are influenced by the interpersonal outcome of a one-night
stand experience. For example, young adults who endorsed the pleasure motive anticipated to experience
an increase in emotional well-being following both one-night stand scenarios. Such a pattern suggests that
young adults anticipated feelings of pleasure were based on the depiction of sexual intercourse, or
physical gratification, in each of the scenarios. Keeping with this idea, not all one-night stand experiences
may involve the experience of physical gratification, and therefore, endorsing a pleasure motive, at times,
may actually lead to a decrease in post-coital well-being. Taken together, it appears that emotional
responses to one-night stands can be understood in terms of underlying goals, and whether or not those
goals are fulfilled by a one-night stand encounter.
An interesting gender difference emerged when exploring the link between the self-affirmation
motive and post-coital emotions for the two one-night stand scenarios. Women’s endorsement of the selfaffirmation motive was related to a pattern of emotional responses that was found for the establish an
intimate connection motive (i.e., dejection for the no communication scenario and pleasure for the
communication scenario). Alternatively, men’s endorsement of the self-affirmation motive was related to
anticipated feelings of pleasure across both one-night stand scenarios; a pattern that of relationships that
was found for the pleasure motive. The patterns of findings suggest that for women, the self-affirmation
motive might actually reflect the desire to verify one’s desirability, worth and attractiveness with a onenight stand partner who is viewed as a potential romantic partner. For men, however, the self-affirmation
motive may actually reflect the desire to verify one’s sexual competence by engaging in sexual
behaviours. Differences in the sources of self-verification can be understood in terms of how men and
women construct their sexual self-views, which is partially based on sexual socialization (Gagnon &
Simon, 1973). Namely, women are taught that sexuality should encompass feelings of love, commitment,
and monogamy; whereas, men are taught that sexuality is should involve the experience of pleasure,
conquest, and sexual prowess.
Adult Romantic Attachment and Casual Sex Motives
The existing literature on adult attachment and sexuality indicates that casual sex may be one type of
behavioural strategy that is used to meet underlying attachment needs (e.g., Brennan & Shaver, 1995).
Moreover, recent findings suggest that motives for sexual intercourse are reflective of underlying
attachment needs, and that variations in sexual motives are associated with attachment related differences
(Davis, Shaver, & Vernon, 2004). Integrating the existing literature, this study sought to examine if young
adults motivations for casual sex are related to styles of romantically relating to others (i.e., styles of
attachment).
The findings from this study indicated that young adults who are more secure in their style of
romantically relating to others are less motivated to engage in a one-night stand in order to meet a variety
of attachment-related needs. On the other hand, insecure styles of romantically relating to others were
differentially related to the one-night stand motivations. Specifically, young adults who rated higher on
the preoccupied style of attachment were more likely to engage in a one-night stand in order to satisfy a
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need for intimacy. Among women, a preoccupied style of attachment was also associated with engaging
in a one-night stand in order to experience self-affirmation or deal with unpleasurable psychological states.
Young adults who rated higher on the dismissing style of attachment were more likely to engage in a onenight stand in order to avoid developing feelings of closeness and intimacy with another individual.
Finally, young adults who rated higher on the fearful style of attachment were also more likely to engage
in a one-night stand in order to avoid feelings of closeness and intimacy and deal with negative
psychological states. Among women, a fearful style of attachment was also associated with engaging in
casual sex in order to experience self-affirmation. Overall, the results suggest that young adults use onenight stands as an attempt to fulfill underlying attachment needs, and that differences in casual sex
motivations are reflected in varying styles of adult romantic attachment.
Post-Casual Sex Emotions: The Roles of Casual Sex Motives and Styles of Adult Romantic Attachment
Post hoc findings suggest that are certain styles of adult romantic attachment that may directly or
indirectly influence how young adults feel following a one-night stand experience. In particular, given a
situation in which a one-night stand ends without the possibility of a future date, young adult women who
rate higher on a preoccupied style of attachment may be at risk to experience feelings of dejection.
Relying on others to feel worthy of love is a key characteristic associated with the preoccupied style of
attachment (Bartholomew & Horowitz, 1991), and consequently, young adult women who rate higher on
this attachment style seem to be more prone to indiscriminately seek out sexual partners in order to have
their needs for intimacy truncated. Although feelings of closeness and intimacy may be stimulated during
the one-night stand experience, if there is no indication that the casual partner will stay in close proximity
following the one-night stand, women who score higher on attachment preoccupation may begin to feel
unpleasurable emotions such as sadness and rejection.
A different picture is painted for young adults who rate higher on the dismissing style of attachment,
in that these young adults may be more prone to experience pleasurable emotions such as quiescence
when their short-term sexual encounters are confined to a single night. It has been shown that individuals
with attachment-avoidant tendencies are more willing to engage in short-term sexual encounters (Schmitt,
2005), in which casual sex may be one strategy that allows dismissing young adults to experience
physical gratification while avoiding feelings of intimacy and closeness. As such, when there is no
indication that the one-night stand encounter is going to progress towards a romantic union, young adults
who score higher on attachment dismissiveness may be more likely to experience feelings such as relieve
and calmness; a potential indicator that feelings of intimacy and closeness were successfully avoided.
Summary of the Study
The purpose of this study was to explore whether casual sex motivations and styles of romantic
attachment are related to young adults’ emotional well-being following different one-night stand
experiences. The results suggest that motivations for engaging in a one-night stand do play a role in how
young adults would feel after a one-night stand encounter. Specifically, whether young adults experience
an increase or decrease in emotional well-being following a one-night stand can be understood in terms of
underlying motivations, and whether those motivations were fulfilled or thwarted during their one-night
stand experience. Styles of adult romantic attachment are also related to different motivations for
engaging in a one-night stand, and therefore, indirectly influence young adults’ post-one-night stand
emotional well-being. Independent of the influence of casual sex motivations, styles of adult attachment
were also found to be directly related to post-one-night stand emotional well-being. Taken together, the
findings from this study provide preliminary evidence that styles and casual sex motivations are two
factors that should be considered when trying to understand young adults’ emotional well-being following
one-night stand encounters.
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Limitations of the Study
Although the findings add to the existing literature on casual sex, motivation and emotion and adult
attachment, there are some limitations to this study. First, motivations and emotions were placed in the
context of one-night stands, in which motivations and emotional reactions may vary for other types of
casual sex encounters (e.g., casual sex fling). Second, emotional responses were measured in terms of
“typical” one-night stand scenarios, which may not capture the complex dynamics surrounding real live
one-night stand experiences. Finally, the sample was composed of primarily heterosexual, sexually
experienced young adults, in which the results can not be generalized to other populations of individuals
(e.g., adolescents or homosexuals).
Future Directions
The study of the emotional and psychological impact of casual sex encounters is still in its infancy,
leaving a number of important questions unexplored. For example, it is currently unknown how intense
emotional reactions are to casual sex experiences, how long emotional reactions last for, and if emotional
reactions escalate into psychological states (e.g., increase in self-esteem or the experience of depression).
Also, there needs to be investigation into how people interpret (i.e., attributions) their casual sex
experiences, and if those interpretations are related to the onset of certain psychological states. Finally, it
is also important to examine how risky sexual practices influence young adults’ emotional and
psychological well-being, and as a result, may perpetuate further risky sexual behaviour.
Practical Implications of the Study
With increasing evidence that the majority of young adults engage in casual sex, and that casual sex
encounters can have a negative impact on young adults’ emotional well-being, education and prevention
programs should start considering the psychological risks associated with engaging in casual sex.
Additionally, professionals who provide support services may want to consider the role of styles of adult
attachment when dealing with issues of risky sexual behaviour, sexual health, and emotional well-being.
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