U.S. college women talked about sex an average of 13 times per week; most conversations were with friends, face-to-face, and mostly about previous sexual encounters, dating, and potential sexual activity

“We talked about our hookups”: A diary study of sexual communication among U.S. college women. Katrina L. Pariera, Brianna Abraham. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, June 19, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1177/0265407520933002

Abstract: For many young women, college is a time of major changes in sexual behavior and attitudes, driven in part by their social environment. Yet little is known about how young women actually talk about sex day-to-day. To understand daily sexual communication, 96 U.S. college students who identify as women kept a sexual communication diary for 7 days, generating 1,211 records. A content analysis revealed that women talked about sex an average of 13 times per week. Most conversations were with friends, face-to-face, and mostly about previous sexual encounters, dating, and potential sexual activity. The underlying function of most conversations was exchanging opinions, recapping, and gossiping. Sex appears to be a somewhat regularly discussed topic for college women and a way of socializing and exploring attitudes. The results have important implications for health promotion efforts targeted at college women.

Keywords: College students, diary study, emerging adulthood, interpersonal communication, peers, sex research, sexual communication, women’s sexuality