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The Four U’s: Latent Classes of Hookup Motivations among College Students

Open access
Uecker, Jeremy E., Pearce, Lisa D., Andercheck, Brita·2015·Social Currents
DOI 10.1177/2329496515579761PMC PMC4825812
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Abstract

College students’ “hookups” have been the subject of a great deal of research in recent years. Motivations for hooking up have been linked to differences in well-being after the hookup, but studies detailing college students’ motivations for engaging in hookups focus on single motivations. Using data from the 2010 Duke Hookup Survey, we consider how motivations for hooking up cluster to produce different classes, or profiles, of students who hook up, and how these classes are related to hookup regret. Four distinct classes of motivations emerged from our latent class analysis: Utilitarians (50 percent), Uninhibiteds (27 percent), Uninspireds (19 percent), and Unreflectives (4 percent). We find a number of differences in hookup motivation classes across social characteristics, including gender, year in school, race-ethnicity, self-esteem, and attitudes about sexual behavior outside committed relationships. In addition, Uninspireds regret hookups more frequently than members of the other classes, and Uninhibiteds report regret less frequently than Utilitarians and Uninspireds. These findings reveal the complexity of motivations for hooking up and the link between motivations and regret.

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  • Prior research on hookup motivations has focused mostly on psychological rather than social motivations.

    “prior research focused mostly on psychological rather than social motivations”

    From Social Motivations for College Hookups. (2021) · cites this paper as Uecker et al. 2015

    The “Motivations for Hooking Up” section says the literature on sexual motivations is primarily in psychology, which supports part of the characterization of prior research. It does not say that hookup studies focused mostly on psychological *motivations* rather than social ones; its example of prior research includes social-environmental and interpersonal motives. (LLM, conf=0.78)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Research examining physical, relationship, social contextual and substance related factors that may motivate hookups is very limited.

    “research examining the physical, relationship, social contextual and substance related factors that may motivate the broader category of hookups” is very limited (Uecker et al. 2015; Weitbrecht and Whitton 2020)”

    From Social Motivations for College Hookups. (2021) · cites this paper as Uecker et al. 2015

    In “Motivations for Hooking Up” (page unavailable), the paper says there is “a great deal of research on different motivations for hooking up” and discusses physical, relationship, and social-environmental motives. Its stated gap is narrower: little is known about how motivations operate concurrently or cluster together. The cited passages do not establish that research on the listed factors as a whole, including substance-related factors, is very limited. (LLM, conf=0.84)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • The thrill seeking and experimentation motivations may begin to decrease as college students age.

    “The thrill seeking and experimentation motivations may begin to decrease as college students age (Uecker et al. 2015).”

    From Social Motivations for College Hookups. (2021) · cites this paper as Uecker et al. 2015

    The section ‘Variation in Motivations by Social Characteristics’ (page unavailable) proposes that the thrill of hooking up may diminish over students’ college careers, reducing thrill-seeking motivations. The paper does not say that experimentation motivations also decrease as students age. (LLM, conf=0.84)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • Many first-year college students conform to social norms and may hookup to fit in or because their friends are doing it in order to receive peer approval.

    “Also, many first-year college students conform to social norms and may hookup to fit in or because their friends are doing it in order to receive peer approval (Uecker et al. 2015).”

    From Social Motivations for College Hookups. (2021) · cites this paper as Uecker et al. 2015

    In “Variation in Motivations by Social Characteristics” (page unavailable), the paper suggests that first-year students may be especially motivated by peer approval. “Motivations for Hooking Up” (page unavailable) also says some students may hook up to fit in or conform to perceived norms. It does not establish that many first-year students do so, or specifically that they hook up because their friends are doing it. (LLM, conf=0.84)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • White college students are more likely to use hookups to secure romantic relationships while also hooking up for fun and excitement.

    “White college students are more likely to use hookups to secure romantic relationships while also hooking up for fun and excitement, which Uecker, Pearce, and Andercheck (2015) interpret to mean that for white students hookups have become a regular part of the college script.”

    From Social Motivations for College Hookups. (2021) · cites this paper as Uecker et al. 2015

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Cites

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Research works printed but not linked: 5

  1. England Paula Thomas Reuben J. Skolnick Arlene S. Skolnick Jerome H. The Decline of the Date and the Rise of the College Hookup in Family in Transition 2010 Pearson 16th ed.
  2. Kelley Harold H. Close Relationships 1983 Percheron Press Clinton Corners, N.Y.
  3. Lyons Heidi A. Manning Wendy D. Longmore Monica A. Giordano Peggy C. Young Adult Casual Sexual Behavior: Life-Course-Specific Motivations and Consequences. Sociological Perspectives 2014 57 79 101 25013267 PMC4084687
  4. Massey Douglas S. Charles Camille Z. Lundy Garvey Fischer Mary J. The Source of the River 2011 Princeton University Press
  5. Regan Pamela C. Dreyer Carla S. Lust? Love? Status? Journal of Psychology & Human Sexuality 1999 11 1 1 24

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Related

Authors
Uecker, J. E., Pearce, L. D., & Andercheck, B.
Affiliations
  • Baylor University (US)
  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US)
ORCID
Venue
Social Currents
Publisher
SAGE Publications
Published
2015-04-16
Volume
2
Issue
2
Pages
163-181
ISSN
  • 2329-4965 (ISSN-L)
  • 2329-4973
DOI
10.1177/2329496515579761
PMC
PMC4825812
OpenAlex
W1981324517
Cited by
30
References
52
Citations by year
2025: 2 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 7 · 2016: 3
FWCI
12.16
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license (tdm)
Locations
  • Social Currents (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institutes of Health (2r24hd050924-06)
  • Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R24 HD-050924, P2CHD050924)
  • Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Marriage and Sexual Relationships
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health
  • Social Sciences › Demography › Family Dynamics and Relationships
Keywords
hookups, university students, latent class analysis, student profile, sexual behavior, self-esteem, gender differences, race and ethnicity, sexual attitudes, committed relationships

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