Defining sexual relationships in college students: Impact on attitudes, behaviors, and beliefs

College students have unique experiences when developing partnerships. Often, defining a relationship can be complicated, and many times, perception of a relationship is different between partners. This is why condom use is so important, particularly with those who tend to be serial monogamists, such as college students. The purpose of this study is to investigate the differences in decisions and attitudes depending on relationship type. We surveyed 368 college students at a Southeastern university using an anonymous questionnaire related to sexual behaviors. The majority of the participants were female (75.0%) and white (80.9%). Of those who have had sexual intercourse, students defined their relationships as: in a monogamous relationship (57.2%); not in a monogamous relationship but has a main partner (9.7%); I have sex, but do not have a regular partner (9.7%); I have a few regular partners, but not in a relationships (3.9%); I am not currently having sex (19.5%). Among the different partnerships, there were statistically significant differences between gender (p=0.004), communication comfort (p<0.001), worry in contracting STIs (p<0.001), alcohol usually influencing sex (p<0.001), condom at last encounter (p=0.021), how often condoms are used (p=0.009), frequency of drug (p=0.001) and alcohol use (p=0.010) during sex, and binge drinking (p=0.050). Because college students are at risk for STIs and are less likely to use condoms, programs centered around communication of between partners should be of particular interest to sexual health educators. Further, research should focus on issues of concurrent partnerships and the risks of these relationships for all involved.