Casual sex, also known as a hookup or one-night stand, can be described as engagement in sexual acts, with the absence of intimacy (Monto & Carey, 2014). It has been reported that between 44 and 75% of young adults between the ages of 18 and 25 have experienced at least one casual sexual encounter within their lives (Flack et al., 2016 Lyons et al., 2014 Maticka-Tyndale et al., 2003). Gender differences in attitudes toward casual sex have been widely studied. While the stigma surrounding female sexual agency is diminishing, results generally support the presence of a sexual double-standard which encourages male promiscuity but dissuades female sexual autonomy. No predictors (apart from being a man) were found for a positive emotional outcome. Predictors of negative emotional outcomes included being motivated to regulate negative emotions and to achieve positive emotions. Additionally, a principal components analysis uncovered four reliable principal motivations underlying engagement in casual sex, and three principal emotional outcomes of casual sex. Gender differences were found for both sexual motivations and emotional outcomes of casual sex, with women generally having more negative emotional outcomes than men. Seven hundred and one participants (47% men and 52.8% women) completed a 44-item online survey. This study was designed to ascertain what motivates people to have casual sex, what emotional outcomes follow casual sex and whether there are gender differences among these variables.

However, it has been argued that it is the nature of the sexual motivation, not gender that influences the emotional outcome. Casual sex, also referred to as a hookup, has been associated with a range of negative emotional outcomes for women, including regret, anxiety, depression and social stigma.

From casual to committed relationship