An international online survey found that women regret one-night stands more often than men, and this difference is strongly related to their ability to reach orgasm. Furthermore, participants were more likely to report regret at higher levels of intoxication. The paper was published in. Archives of sexual behavior.
A casual sexual relationship or experience, commonly known as a hookup, is an intimate relationship that involves sexual activity that does not result in a long-term romantic partnership. These dynamics have been most frequently investigated among North American college students, who experience casual sex so frequently that some authors consider such experiences to be an important part of college culture.
But in recent decades, these sexual behaviors have become more common, thanks to online apps specifically designed to find casual sex partners. Nevertheless, social and cultural attitudes towards casual sex vary widely from society to society.
People commonly enter into casual sexual relationships for physical gratification, exploration, and companionship, without expectations of exclusivity. Casual sexual experiences may include one-time encounters or ongoing arrangements.
Emotional outcomes vary, with some people remaining isolated and others developing feelings for casual partners. But while many people enjoy these encounters, many regret it after having casual sex. Historically, psychological research has shown that this regret is significantly more common among women.
Study authors Christina Sagioglu and Maximilian Dick conducted a study to explore factors that could explain these gender differences. They were particularly interested in seeing how participants evaluated their most recent one-night stand (defined as a single sexual encounter between people with no expectation of an ongoing romantic or sexual relationship thereafter).
Study participants consisted of 1,075 people who reported having had at least one one-night stand in their lives. The study authors recruited individuals with such experience by posting invitations on various online forums looking for them. 651 of the participants were female, with an average age of 25 years. In terms of nationality, 349 participants were German, 348 were Austrian, and the rest were from the United States, Italy, and the United Kingdom. The survey was available in German and English.
The survey asked participants to report the total number of one-night stands they had, the date of their most recent one-night stand, the status of their relationship at the time, and the sexual activity they engaged in (including having oral sex, receiving oral sex, vaginal sex, and anal sex). We also asked for details about the occurrence of the one-night stand (e.g., after a date, after a party, or a chance encounter), previous relationships with the partner (e.g., met on the same day, dating partner, distant acquaintance, or ex-partner), and the partner’s gender.
Participants also reported whether they were under the influence of psychoactive substances at the time and how strong the effects were. They rated their experiences with recent one-night stands, reporting sexual satisfaction, regret, worries about pregnancy, physical disgust with the event, degree of pressure they felt to participate in it, and moral concerns. The final part of the survey included a personality assessment (10-item personality inventory).
They found that almost 79% of women and 77% of men reported being single at the time of their last one-night stand. Only 6.2% of women and 12.4% of men said they were in a relationship, and 13.1% of women and 10.1% of men said they had recently broken up.
Seventy-five percent of participants reported being under the influence of psychoactive substances when they decided to have a one-night stand. For 99% of participants, that substance was alcohol. However, 17% of participants reported taking cannabis, 3% reported taking cocaine, 2% reported taking MDMA, and 1% reported taking amphetamines.
More than half of the study participants reported meeting their one-night stand partner that same day, and 34% said they had known each other for some time. 20% of participants reported having had 10 or more one-night stands in their lives.
Contrary to popular belief, most participants rated their one-night stands either neutrally or positively, and overall levels of regret were generally low. 47% of participants reported no regrets at all.
However, as expected, women tended to report stronger regret than men, but only during one-night stands between opposite sexes.
When the one-night stand was of the same sex, there was no difference in regret between men and women. The researchers note that this finding challenges the evolutionary theory that women are biologically hardwired to regret casual sex. If that were true, women would regret the encounter no matter who they slept with. Rather, this finding suggests that the higher regret experienced by women is caused by the specific dynamics of heterosexual interactions.
Further analysis revealed that sexual satisfaction was the strongest mediator of the heterosexual regret gap. Specifically, the biggest driver of this gap was whether the participants reached orgasm during the sexual encounter. Men who encountered heterosexuality had much higher orgasms and satisfaction, so they had fewer regrets. Women who experienced heterosexual encounters reported much lower satisfaction and orgasm rates, and higher levels of regret.
Other factors that increase women’s regret in heterosexual encounters include feeling subtly pressured to participate in sexual activity (decision heteronomy), worrying about their reputation, and being intoxicated.
Interestingly, researchers found that alcohol had a “U-shaped” effect on regret. Although drinking a small amount of alcohol did not cause as much regret, drinking a large amount significantly increased regret for both men and women. This is likely because heavy drinking impairs sexual performance and decision-making ability.
“The results show that enhancing the quality of the experience through mutual satisfaction and autonomous decision-making offers the most promising path to increasing positive outcomes of a single sexual encounter,” the study authors concluded.
This study contributes to scientific understanding of the psychological processes associated with serendipitous sexual encounters. However, the data used in the study were collected using retrospective self-reports, leaving room for reporting bias and poor recall to influence the results. Furthermore, the study’s cross-sectional design does not allow definitive causal inferences to be drawn from the results.
The paper, “Gender gap in one-night stand regrets: Evidence from heterosexual and same-sex encounters,” was authored by Christina Sagioglou and Maximilian Dick.
