Let's talk about sex: The impact of relationship type on sexual communication

Research has well documented the vast hook up culture existing within the college experience. Communication is a vital facilitation tool of negotiating relationships within the hookup culture. Additionally, communication has been shown to influence actual condom use by impacting one's intentions to use condoms and the condom negotiation process. However, safe sexual practices are dependent on one's communication self-efficacy. The purpose of this study is to investigate the communication practices of sexually active students based on relationship type. We surveyed 322 college students at a Southeastern university using an anonymous questionnaire relating to sexual behaviors. The majority of the participants were female (75.6%) and White (73.0%). Overall, participants in casual relationships had lower communication self-efficacy when compared with those in monogamous relationships. Individuals in casual relationships were most comfortable discussing sexually transmitted infection prevention (49.7%), birth control (66.5%), condom use (67.1%), relationship status (50.9%), sexual orientation (54.6%), and religion (51.8%). However, not as many individuals were comfortable with discussing abstinence (46.1%), dating violence (43.6%), pregnancy decision making (42.3%), STI testing (30.9%), sexual past (34.3%), trying new things (31.5%). Because college students have a higher partnership turnover rate and are less likely to use condoms, programs should be more focused on developing more efficient communication skills in different types of relationships. Further, research should focus more on uncovering the reasons why individuals do not feel comfortable discussing certain topics within different relationships.