Understanding the experiences of females’ who engage in hook up culture

Abstract

Hooking up can be defined as the act of kissing, touching, oral sex, or sexual intercourse with little to no expectation of forming an emotional connection or romantic relationship of any kind (Kooyman, Pierce, & Zavadil, 2011). Hook up culture has many positive and negative consequences to female’s perception of self. While many studies have clearly outlined the consequences that hook up culture can have on an individual, few studies have explored how female’s experiences in hook up culture affect their sense of self. The purpose of this study was to develop a model for understanding the impact of hook up culture on self-identity. Purposive sampling was used to recruit 5 female participants who took part in an open-ended interview. Following the interviews, the data were transcribed and a grounded theory approach was used to develop a model using open, axial and selective coding methods as described by Corbin and Strauss (1998). By constantly comparing codes and categories a model of hook up self-identity was formed. The Hook Up Self Identity Model presents four stages that participants described as being part of their journey to recognizing the effect hook up culture has had on their sense of self: Engagement stage, Assessment of Risks and Benefits stage, Reflection stage and Impact of Reflection stage. Throughout each stage themes emerged that were essential to understanding how hook up culture has affected their sense of self. The Reflection stage is the central category of this model where participants were able to recognize that through a process of self-exploration, hook up culture overall has affected their sense of self in a positive manner.