Journal of Sex Research最新文献

The term "rough sex" is widely used, but it is not always clear what it means. Through exploring people's working definitions of "rough sex," we asked what they revealed about the underlying phenomenon it is applied to, and whether it is actually a thing. Our online survey of 567 New Zealand respondents (73.7% women, 21% men, 5.3% gender diverse; mean age, 35.6 years, SD = 10.8) identified various behaviors that many considered to be part of "rough sex" - including hair pulling, holding down someone forcefully, slapping and "choking." While this behavioral profile was similar to previous U.S. studies, our survey was designed with novel features that allowed us to look more closely at the variation in how people make sense of "rough sex." Embedded within a critical psychology approach, our descriptive analysis highlighted areas of ambiguity and difference, including points of contradiction across people's working definitions. Critical qualitative analysis of open-ended textual data further examined categorical misalignments and the difficulties in interpreting behavioral indicators as defining of "rough sex" - especially without more contextual information. Overall, we found considerable variability and some contradictions in people's definitions of "rough sex" and the meanings they ascribed to it. Our findings led us to argue that the term "rough sex" does not map onto a coherent phenomenon, and that use of the term can be misleading, with potentially problematic implications.

People disclose many aspects of their sexuality to close partners, such as their sexual attitudes, history, and behaviors, which is established to be beneficial for their own and their relationship well-being. However, evidence on the extent to which people engage in sexual self-disclosure and the predictors (i.e. facilitators or barriers) of sexual self-disclosure is currently inconsistent and inconclusive. A meta-analysis (k = 30, N = 9,239) on sexual self-disclosure identified a moderate-to-high level of disclosure of sexual attitudes and values, sexual difficulties, sexual history, sexual preferences, and solo-sexual behaviors. We identified 17 significant correlates of greater sexual self-disclosure, the strongest being greater sexual communication satisfaction, sexual assertiveness, and general self-disclosure. Our findings offer novel support for the theoretical claim that people seek to share important facets of their sexuality while retaining some privacy over their sexual information and suggest that people weigh the benefits against the costs of disclosing facets of their sexuality to their partners.

Sexual self-disclosure to romantic partners is beneficial for maintaining satisfying sexual and intimate relationships for both men and women. However, researchers predominantly conceptualize sexual self-disclosure as a unidimensional construct and have not explored whether disclosing sexual likes versus dislikes are associated with different outcomes. We examined the associations between sexual self-disclosure with different valences and sexual function, sexual and relationship satisfaction, and intimacy, as well as explored whether perceived partner responsiveness moderated these associations. A sample of 625 Chinese participants (315 women; M_age = 32.22, SD = 7.00 years) was recruited, and self-report measures of sexual likes self-disclosure, sexual dislikes self-disclosure, nonsexual self-disclosure, sexual and relational outcomes, and perceived partner responsiveness were collected. Sexual likes self-disclosure was positively related to sexual and relationship satisfaction, intimacy, and female sexual function. In contrast, sexual dislikes self-disclosure was uniquely associated with negative relationship outcomes but showed no unique contributions to sexual outcomes. Perceived partner responsiveness mitigated the negative association between disclosing sexual dislikes and erectile function. Moreover, women who disclosed fewer sexual likes, but perceived greater responsiveness, reported sexual function comparable to women who disclosed more sexual likes regardless of their perceived partner responsiveness. The findings suggest that sexual dislikes self-disclosure involves a tension between rewards and costs, highlighting the importance of distinguishing between the disclosure of sexual likes and dislikes, with implications for relationship counseling and sexual health education.

Alcohol use increases the likelihood of condomless sex, which is prevalent among college students and associated with detrimental health consequences. Both theoretical and empirical evidence have suggested that the perceived effects of alcohol on sex (i.e. sex-related alcohol expectancies [AE]) play a role in the association between alcohol and condomless sex; however, this association among college students has been inconsistent. Therefore, this focus group study aimed to provide in-depth evidence regarding the sex- and condom use-related AE college men held, and how those AE might influence their decisions to engage in condomless sex when intoxicated. Nineteen heterosexually active college men participated in this study. Using an inductive thematic analysis approach, results suggested that college men held diverse beliefs about how alcohol could influence their emotions, intimacy, sexual risk-taking, and sexual experiences. Interestingly, some participants believed alcohol could decrease the likelihood of condom use, whereas others were able to leverage the effects of alcohol to promote condom use. Evidence from this study suggests possible explanations of the inconclusive relationship between sex-related AE and condomless sex among college students identified in previous literature and provides important insights into how to design interventions to promote condom use among college men in alcohol-involved situations.

Previous studies have reported that men's sexual attraction is more gender-specific than women's, with stronger attraction to their preferred gender and weaker attraction to their non-preferred gender. The current study examined the universality of these gender differences and their relations to the social construction of gender and sexuality. Using data from the Gender Mosaic Cross-Cultural Dataset (N > 35,000 participants across 25 countries), we replicated the gender differences in sexual attraction to the preferred and non-preferred gender and in gender-specificity of sexual attraction. However, the magnitude of these differences varied across countries. As predicted, gender typicality (i.e., self-rated femininity for women and masculinity for men) was positively associated with attraction to the preferred gender among all participants and negatively associated with same-sex attraction among straight individuals, with a stronger association in men. At the country level, more negative attitudes toward homosexuality were linked with lower same-sex attraction in straight individuals. Exploratory analyses revealed that the cross-cultural variability in the magnitude of these gender differences was related to nation-level sexual drive and sexual pleasure in partnered sex. These findings suggest that socio-cultural factors are central to gender differences in self-reported sexual attraction, partly reflecting the social construction of gender and sexuality.

Despite the proliferation of bystander intervention education in campus gender-based violence prevention programming, little research has explored the constellation of behavioral strategies bystanders take to prevent harm. To better understand patterns of bystander strategies, we conducted a secondary data analysis of 2019 Association of American Universities campus climate survey data. We used latent class analysis and latent class multinomial regression on two analytic samples: students who acted as bystanders to prevent 1) sexual assault (n = 19,828) and 2) dating violence (n = 16,234). Sexual assault bystanders were categorized into four classes (victim-centered interveners, delegators, in-the-moment interveners, and versatile responders) and dating violence bystanders into two (multiple interveners and victim-centered interveners). Findings indicate bystanders who act directly and with more varied bystander strategies are more likely to have experienced sexual victimization, hold identities that put them at increased risk of being the target of marginalization, feel more connected to campus, and be more skeptical about campus responses to misconduct. We recommend campus prevention programs teach multiple methods to intervene across a range of harms, tailor approaches to the dynamics of differing forms of violence, attend to individual identities and their impact on bystanding, and seek to foster positive campus climates.

Despite efforts to understand its causes, many young men engage in sexual assault perpetration. Underlying emotion regulation (ER) is one well-established inhibitor of sexual assault perpetration, as are certain profiles of in-the-moment ER strategies. However, ER flexibility has not been examined within this context. In this study, 187 young, single, sexually active men from the United States completed questionnaires, projected themselves into anger-inducing and sexually arousing sexual scenarios, and indicated their intentions to perpetrate after their partner withdrew consent. ER flexibility was assessed by participants' use of different ER strategies across these two scenarios. Two-way interactions between ER flexibility and men's underlying ER difficulties and between ER flexibility and the in-the-moment ER profiles they used during the sexual situations were examined as predictors of previous sexual assault, and intentions to perpetrate, respectively. Reporting inflexible ER and high ER difficulties was associated with greater past perpetration, and those with inflexible ER who fit a "low acting with awareness, moderate others" ER profile were more likely to report intentions to perpetrate sexual assault, suggesting that ER flexibility may inhibit sexual assault perpetration. Future research should replicate these results in more sexually diverse samples and develop and evaluate ER flexibility interventions.

This study examined community perceptions of commercial sex work in Bhuka, a rural settlement in Masvingo Province, Zimbabwe, where rural sex work remains underexplored despite persistent stigma, criminalization, and moral regulation. Guided by Foucault's theory of the social construction of sexuality, we used an interpretive qualitative design to explore how power relations, cultural discourses, and social norms shape attitudes toward sex work. Data were collected through 12 in-depth interviews with sex workers (n = 6) and key informants, including village heads, nurses, and youth leaders (n = 6), as well as three focus group discussions with community members (n = 22). Data were thematically analyzed using NVivo. Findings revealed that sex work largely occurs in informal spaces and primarily serves miners, and local men. Community members commonly framed sex work as immoral, deviant, and disruptive to social order, reinforcing stigma and social exclusion. Sex workers highlighted economic hardship, unemployment, and limited livelihood opportunities as major drivers of involvement. Moral, religious, and gendered norms further intensified discrimination and restricted access to healthcare and social support. Public health concerns, safety fears, and community reputation also shaped negative perceptions. We recommend rights-based interventions integrating community education, harm reduction, gender-responsive economic empowerment and sustainable development goals.

Sexual violence is a prevalent problem within U.S. institutions of higher education (IHEs). Federal Title IX law and guidance has long required IHEs to establish policies and procedures to address sexual violence when it occurs. The goal of this review was to elucidate how IHEs respond to sexual violence in the context of Title IX. We begin with a summary of the evolving legal landscape of Title IX related to sexual violence in IHEs, including foundational case law and U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights guidance and rulemaking. Next, we conducted a mapping review of 102 peer-reviewed, empirical research articles focused on Title IX and sexual violence in IHEs at five levels of IHE social ecology, including institutional policy and data, Title IX practitioners, campus-based formal support providers, faculty/staff, and victim/survivors. Our review of this literature answered two research questions: 1) How are IHEs implementing Title IX law and guidance? and 2) How effective are those efforts at addressing sexual violence? Our summary of the evidence found that Title IX-related sexual violence response in IHEs has largely failed survivors. We also identified essential future research directions and changes needed to better support victim/survivors of campus sexual violence.