Want to Have a Hookup? What Does It Mean?

Sept. 21, 2011 — -- Hookups have replaced casual sex and even dating on many college campuses over the years, but as is so often the case when sex is discussed, it's not altogether clear what everybody is talking about when they say "hookup." One new study at a large university suggests that most young people are doing it, although not everyone agrees what "it" is.

Researchers at the University of Montana found so many different definitions among the students they studied that they had to come up with a precise definition to be sure everybody was talking about the same thing. But the lead author of their study, published in the journal Health Communications, said in a telephone interview that ambiguity is not necessarily a bad thing.

"If you say casual sex, then I know exactly what you are saying," said Amanda Holman, who is now with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. "Hooking up is strategically ambiguous. It's a way for them [students] to communicate about it but without having to reveal details."

So Holman and her collaborator, Alan Sillars of the University of Montana, came up with their own definition that is anything but ambiguous.

"Hooking up is used to describe a sexual encounter (vaginal, anal, or oral sex) between two people who are not in a dating or serious relationship and do not expect anything further," their study says. It adds that most students "describe hookups as spontaneous sexual encounters fueled by alcohol that usually unfold without communication about sexual health and consent or protection against sexually transmitted infections."

In most cases, they found, hookups begin the same way. It starts at a party, frequently at a frat or sorority house, where there is plenty of booze. As the evening goes on, couples form and eventually move off to do whatever they have in mind -- no commitments, no expectations for the future, no serious thoughts about health or risk, a seemingly carefree adventure fueled by alcohol.

"Alcohol is a huge player," Holman said. "If you become part of this hookup subculture, and you go to parties and you drink a lot and you're not fully aware of it, you probably don't have protection, and then you are more likely to engage in risky behavior. There's more risk than having sex when it's planned."

Holman and Sillars recruited 274 students who were willing to discuss their experiences with hookups as defined by the researchers. Here are some of the results: