Citation

Savage MW, Menegatos L, Roberto AJ. Arch. Sex. Behav. 2017; 46(6): 1819-1829.

Affiliation

Hugh Downs School of Human Communication, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Holtzbrinck Springer Nature Publishing Group)

DOI

10.1007/s10508-017-0969-6

PMID

28474308

Abstract

Despite the risks involved when mixing alcohol with casual sexual activity, the majority of college students engage in hookups, and the majority of those hookups involve alcohol. This study focused on the protective role college students' peers can play and the situational factors that might influence their willingness to intervene when a close friend is about to hook up intoxicated. Drawing on the theory of planned behavior (TPB), this study investigated differences in students' (N = 1270) attitudes, norms, perceived behavioral control, and intentions to persuade a close friend not to engage in a hypothetical drunken hookup using a 2 (friend sex) × 2 (participant sex) × 2 (sober/intoxicated) factorial design.

RESULTS indicated significant differences in the TPB variables. Participants intended to intervene with female friends, but not male friends, and women were more likely to intervene than men. Participants in the sober condition had stronger intentions to intervene than those in the intoxicated condition, but this effect was driven by increases in men's intentions when sober. Implications for theory and prevention programming are discussed.

Language: en

Keywords

Casual sex; College drinking; Hookup; Sexual decision-making; Theory of planned behavior