Volume 54 - Article 37 | Pages 1203–1250
Partnering in turbulent times: Hooking up, dating, and romantic relationship formation in college, 2019–2024
By Arielle Kuperberg, Briana D. Daniels, Celeste Curington, Jennifer Lundquist
References
Albanesi, H. (2010). Gender and sexual agency: How young people make choices about sex. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
Allison, R. and Risman, B.J. (2013). A double standard for ‘hooking up’: How far have we come toward gender equality? Social Science Research 42(5): 1191–1206.
Allison, R. and Risman, B.J. (2014). It goes hand in hand with the parties’: Race, class, and residence in college student negotiations of hooking up. Sociological Perspectives 57(1): 102–123.
Allison, R. and Risman, B.J. (2017). Marriage delay, time to play? Marital horizons and hooking up in college. Sociological Inquiry 87(3): 472–500.
American Sociological Association (2020). Bachlor’s degrees awarded in sociology, by gender [electronic resource]. Washington, D.C: ASA.
Armstrong, E.A., Hamilton, L., and England, P. (2010). Is hooking up bad for young women? Contexts 9(3): 22–27.
Armstrong, E.A. and Hamilton, L.T. (2013). Paying for the party: How college maintains inequality. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Bailey, B.L. (1989). From front porch to backseat: Courtship in twentieth-century America. Baltimore, MD: John Hopkins University Press.
Becker, G.S. (1973). A theory of marriage: Part I. Journal of Political Economy 81(4): 813–846.
Bogle, K.A. (2008). Hooking up. New York, NY: New York University Press.
Bogle, K.A. (2007). The shift from dating to hooking up in college: What scholars have missed. Sociology Compass 1(2): 775–788.
Bozick, R. (2021). Is there really a sex recession? Period and cohort effects on sexual inactivity among American men, 2006–2019. American Journal of Men’s Health 15(6).
Bradshaw, C., Kahn, A.S., and Saville, B.K. (2010). To hook up or date: Which gender benefits? Sex Roles 62: 661–669.
Brown, A. (2022). Most Americans who are ‘single and looking’ say dating has been harder during the pandemic. Washington, D.C: Pew Research Center.
Bruch, E.E. and Newman, M.E.J. (2019). Structure of online dating markets in US cities. Sociological Science 6: 219–234.
Chiappori, P.A. (2020). The theory and empirics of the marriage market. Annual Review of Economics 12(1): 547–578.
Choi, S., Kwan, D., and Kye, B. (2023). The COVID-19 pandemic and fertility responses. Demographic Research 49(32): 849–864.
Cohan, C.L. and Cole, S.W. (2002). Life course transitions and natural disaster: Marriage, birth, and divorce following Hurricane Hugo. Journal of Family Psychology 16(1): 14–25.
Curington, C.V., Lundquist, J.H., and Lin, K.H. (2021). The dating divide: Race and desire in the era of online romance. Oakland, CA: University of California Press.
Demircivi, E., Yildirim, A., Guler, Y., and Turgut, A. (2024). Effect of COVID-19 infection on female sexual function: A prospective controlled study. Medicine 103(29): 38923.
Dietzel, C., Myles, D., and Duguay, S. (2021). Relationships during a pandemic: How dating apps have adapted to COVID-19. The Conversation 11.
Edwards, K.M., Sylaska, K.M., Barry, J.E., Moynihan, M.M., Banyard, V.L., Cohn, E.S., Walsh, W.A., and Ward, S.K. (2015). Physical dating violence, sexual violence, and unwanted pursuit victimization: A comparison of incidence rates among sexual-minority and heterosexual college students. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 30(4): 580–600.
Epstein, M., Calzo, J.P., Smiler, A.P., and Ward, L.M. (2009). Anything from making out to having sex’: Men’s negotiations of hooking up and friends with benefits scripts. Journal of Sex Research 46(5): 414–424.
Fielder, R.L. and Carey, M.P. (2010). Predictors and consequences of sexual ‘hookups’ among college students: A short-term prospective study. Archives of Sexual Behavior 39: 1105–1119.
Fitzgerald, K.J. and Grossman, K.L. (2020). Sociology of sexualities. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Flack Jr, W.F., Daubman, K.A., Caron, M.L., Asadorian, J.A., D’Aureli, N.R., Gigliotti, S.N., Hall, A.T., Kiser, S., and Stine, E.R. (2007). Risk factors and consequences of unwanted sex among university students: Hooking up, alcohol, and stress response. Journal of Interpersonal Violence 22(2): 139–157.
Flood, S., King, M., Rodgers, R., Ruggles, S.J., Warren, R., Backman, D., Chen, A., Cooper, G., Richards, R., Schouweiler, M., and Westberry, M. (2024). Integrated Public Use Microdata Series, Current Population Survey: Version 12.0.
Ford, J. and Soto-Marquez, J.G. (2016). Sexual assault victimization among straight, gay/lesbian, and bisexual college students. Violence and Gender 3(2): 107–115.
Ford, J.V. (2021). Unwanted sex on campus: The overlooked role of interactional pressures and gendered sexual scripts. Qualitative Sociology 44(1): 31–53.
Fredman, S.J., Monsoon, C.M., Schumm, J.A., Adair, K.C., Taft, C.T., and Resick, P.A. (2010). Associations among disaster exposure, intimate relationship adjustment, and PTSD symptoms: Can disaster exposure enhance a relationship? Journal of Traumatic Stress 23(4): 446–451.
Fritz, M., Um, S., and Risman, B.J. (2024). Enforced togetherness: Change and continuity in relationship satisfaction among parents during the COVID-19 pandemic. Social Sciences 13(7): 352.
Garcia, J.R. and Reiber, C. (2008). Hook-up behavior: A biopsychosocial perspective. Journal of Social, Evolutionary and Cultural Psychology 2(4): 192–208.
Gleason, N., Banik, S., Braverman, J., and Coleman, E. (2021). The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sexual behaviors: Findings from a national survey in the United States. The Journal of Sexual Medicine 18(11): 1851–1862.
Glenn, N. and Marquardt, E. (2001). Hooking up, hanging out, and hoping for Mr. Right: College women on dating and mating today. New York, NY: Institute for American Values.
Goldin, C. and Katz, L.F. (2002). The power of the pill: Oral contraceptives and women’s career and marriage decisions. Journal of Political Economy 110(4): 730–770.
Green, A.I. (2013). Sexual fields: Toward a sociology of collective sexual life. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Groves, R.M. (2006). Non-response rates and non-response bias in household surveys. Public Opinion Quarterly 70(5): 646–675.
Hamilton, L. (2007). Trading on heterosexuality: College women’s gender strategies and homophobia. Gender and Society 21(2): 145–172.
Hanna-Walker, V., Snapp, S., Campos, E.B., Saldana, X., and Watson, R.J. (2023). This is real, this is the way that things are’: Hooking up as a pathway for sexual identity development among SGM emerging adults. Emerging Adulthood 11(1): 110–120.
Heldman, C. and Wade, L. (2010). Hook-up culture: Setting a new research agenda. Sexuality Research and Social Policy 7: 323–333.
Herbenick, D., Hensel, D.J., Eastman-Mueller, H., Beckmeyer, J., Fu, T.C., Guerra-Reyes, L., and Rosenberg, M. (2022). Sex and relationships pre-and early-COVID-19 pandemic: Findings from a probability sample of US undergraduate students. Archives of Sexual Behavior 51(1): 183–195.
Hirsch, J.S. and Khan, S. (2020). Sexual citizens: A landmark study of sex, power, and assault on campus. New York, NY: WW Norton & Company.
Hoehn-Velasco, L., Miyar, J.R., Silverio-Murillo, A., and Farin, S.M. (2023). Marriage and divorce during a pandemic: The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on marital formation and dissolution in Mexico. Review of Economics of the Household 21(3): 757–788.
James-Kangal, N., Weitbrecht, E.M., Francis, T.E., and Whitton, S.W. (2018). Hooking up and emerging adults’ relationship attitudes and expectations. Sexuality and Culture 22: 706–723.
Jung, M. and Lee, D.S. (2023). Subnational variations in births and marriages during the COVID-19 pandemic in South Korea. Demographic Research 48(30): 867–882.
Kim, J. and Kim, T. (2021). Family formation and dissolution during the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from South Korea. Global Economic Review 50(1): 1–19.
Klinkenberg, D. and Rose, S. (1994). Dating scripts of gay men and lesbians. Journal of Homosexuality 26(4): 23–35.
Kourti, A., Stavridou, A., Panagouli, E., Psaltopoulou, T., Spiliopoulou, C., Tsolia, M., Sergentanis, T.N., and Tsitsika, A. (2023). Domestic violence during the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review. Trauma, Violence, and Abuse 24(2): 719–745.
Kreidl, M. and Hubatková, B. (2023). Partnership satisfaction in Czechia during the COVID-19 pandemic. Demographic Research 49(24): 635–650.
Kuperberg, A. and Padgett, J.E. (2015). Dating and hooking up in college: Meeting contexts, sex, and variation by gender, partner’s gender and class standing. The Journal of Sex Research 52(5): 517–531.
Kuperberg, A. and Padgett, J.E. (2017). Partner meeting contexts and risky behavior in college students’ other-sex and same-sex hookups. The Journal of Sex Research 54(1): 55–72.
Kuperberg, A. and Padgett, J.E. (2016). The role of culture in explaining college student’s selection into hookups, dates, and long-term romantic relationships. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships 33(8): 1070–1096.
Kuperberg, A. and Walker, A.M. (2018). Heterosexual college students who hookup with same-sex partners. Archives of Sexual Behavior 47(5): 1387–1403.
Laguilles, J.S., Williams, E.A., and Saunders, D.B. (2011). Can lottery incentives boost web survey response rates? Findings from four experiments. Research in Higher Education 52(5): 537–553.
Lamont, E. (2020). The mating game: How gender still shapes how we date. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.
Lamont, E., Roach, T., and Kahn, S. (2018). Navigating campus hookup culture: LGBTQ students and college hookups. Sociological Forum 33(4): 1000–1022.
Littleton, H., Tabernik, H., Canales, E.J., and Backstrom, T. (2009). Risky situation or harmless fun? A qualitative examination of college women’s bad hookup and rape scripts. Sex Roles 60(11–12): 793–804.
Liu, H. and Hsieh, N. (2024). Marital status and happiness during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Journal of Marriage and Family 86(2): 473–493.
Liu, R. (2021). Disparities in disruptions to postsecondary education plans during the COVID-19 pandemic. AERA Open 7.
Luetke, M., Hensel, D., Herbenick, D., and Rosenberg, M. (2020). Romantic relationship conflict due to the COVID-19 pandemic and changes in intimate and sexual behaviors in a nationally representative sample of American adults. Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy 46(8): 747–762.
Luppi, F., Arpino, B., and Rosina, A. (2020). The impact of COVID-19 on fertility plans in Italy, Germany, France, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Demographic Research 43(47): 1399–1412.
Luppi, F., Rosina, A., and Sironi, E. (2024). Leaving and returning to the parental home during COVID times in France, Italy, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom. Demographic Research 50(3): 101–114.
Mahay, J. and Laumann, E.O. (2004). Meeting and mating over the life course. In: Laumann, E.O., Ellingson, S., Mahay, J., A., Paik, and Youm, Y. (eds.). The sexual organization of the city. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press: 127–164.
Manning, W.D. and Payne, K.K. (2021). Marriage and divorce decline during the COVID-19 pandemic: A case study of five states. Socius 7.
Mather, M. (2007). The crossover in female-male college enrollment rates. Washington, DC: Population Reference Bureau.
Mize, T.D., Doan, L., and Long, J.S. (2019). A general framework for comparing predictions and marginal effects across models. Sociological Methodology 49(1): 152–189.
Mowen, T.J. and Heitkamp, A. (2022). The anxiety of the pandemic: Binge-watching, splurging, sexting, hooking up, and masturbating among college students. Deviant Behavior 43(11): 1366–1384.
Nadarzynski, T., Nutland, W., Samba, P., Bayley, J., and Witzel, T.C. (2023). The impact of first UK-wide lockdown (March–June 2020) on sexual behaviors in men and gender diverse people who have sex with men during the COVID-19 pandemic: A cross-sectional survey. Archives of Sexual Behavior 52(2): 617–627.
National Center for Education Statistics (2023). Undergraduate enrollment. Condition of Education. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences.
National Student Clearinghouse Research Center (2021). High School benchmarks: COVID-19 special analysis update and correction. Herndon, VA: National Student Clearinghouse Research Center .
Nitsche, N. and Wilde, J. (2024). Fertility and family dynamics in the aftermath of the COVID‐19 pandemic. Population and Development Review 50(S1): 9–22.
Pham, J.M. (2020). Queer space and alternate queer geographies: LBQ women and the search for sexual partners at two LGBTQ-friendly US universities. Journal of Lesbian Studies 24(3): 227–239.
Pietromonaco, P.R. and Overall, N.C. (2021). Applying relationship science to evaluate how the COVID-19 pandemic may impact couples’ relationships. American Psychologist 76(3): 438–450.
Qaderi, K., Yazdkhasti, M., Zangeneh, S., Behbahani, B.M., Kalhor, M., Shamsabadi, A., Jesmani, Y., Norouzi, S., Kajbafvala, M., Khodavirdilou, R., Rahmani, N., Namadian, M., Ghane Ezabadi, S., Alkatout, I., Mehraeen, E., and Rasoal, D. (2023). Changes in sexual activities, function, and satisfaction during the COVID-19 pandemic era: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Sexual Medicine 11(2): qfad005.
Rabe-Hesketh, S. and Skrondal, A. (2008). Multilevel and longitudinal modeling using Stata. College Station, TX: Stata Press.
Rhoades, G. and Stanley, S. (2014). Before ‘I do’: What do premarital experiences have to do with marital quality among today’s young adults? Charlottesville, VA: University of Virginia, National Marriage Project, University of Virginia.
Rodrigues, D.L. (2022). Regulatory focus and perceived safety with casual partners: Implications for perceived risk and casual sex intentions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Psychology and Sexuality 13(5): 1303–1318.
Rosenfeld, M.J. (2025). Singleness and the pandemic dating recession. Journal of Family Issues 46(6): 1001–1027.
Rupp, L.J., Taylor, V., Regev-Messalem, S., Fogarty, A.C.K., and England, P. (2014). Queer women in the hookup scene: Beyond the closet? Gender and Society 28(2): 212–235.
Simon, W. and Gagnon, J.H. (2003). Sexual scripts: Origins, influences and changes. Qualitative Sociology 26(4): 491–497.
Spell, S.A. (2017). Not just black and white: How race/ethnicity and gender intersect in hookup culture. Sociology of Race and Ethnicity 3(2): 172–187.
Stavridou, A., Samiakou, C., Kourti, A., Tsiorou, S., Panagouli, E., Thirios, A., Psaltopoulou, T., Sergentanis, T.N., and Tsitsika, A. (2021). Sexual activity in adolescents and young adults through COVID-19 pandemic. Children 8(7): 577.
Thorpe, S. and Kuperberg, A. (2021). Social motivations for college hookups. Sexuality and Culture 25(2): 623–645.
Tillapaugh, D. (2013). Breaking down the ‘walls of a façade’: The influence of compartmentalization on gay college males’ meaning-making. Culture, Society and Masculinities 5(2): 127–146.
Tillman, K.H., Brewster, K.L., and Holway, G.V. (2019). Sexual and romantic relationships in young adulthood. Annual Review of Sociology 45(1): 133–153.
Ting, A.E. and McLachlan, C.S. (2022). Intimate relationships during COVID-19 across the genders: an examination of the interactions of digital dating, sexual behavior, and mental health. Social Sciences 11(7): 297.
Uecker, J.E. and Martinez, B.C. (2017). When and why women regret sex in hookups more than men do: An analysis of the online college social life survey. The Sociological Quarterly 58(3): 470–494.
Uecker, J.E. and Regnerus, M.D. (2010). Bare market: Campus sex ratios, romantic relationships, and sexual behavior. Sociological Quarterly 51(3): 408–435.
van Stee, E.G., Kuperberg, A., and Mazelis, J.M. (2024). Activating family safety nets: Understanding undergraduates’ pandemic housing transitions. Socius 10.
Wade, L. (2017). American hookup: The new culture of sex on campus. New York, NY: WW Norton & Company.
Wade, L. (2021). Doing casual sex: A sexual fields approach to the emotional force of hookup culture. Social Problems 68(1): 185–201.