Hookups 101
Prof conducts relationship study
Posted on February 18, 2008
Four years ago JMU faculty member Aimee Brickner was discussing the stages of relationship development with her Interpersonal Communication class. While talking about the beginning stages of dating, Brickner asked her students if their dating experiences were consistent with the stages they discussed for the course. Most of the class replied with a resounding “no.”
Intrigued by her class’s reaction, Brickner started conducting a study about college dating and how it was affected by the hookup scene. She has been surveying GCOM classes for four years.
Though her study is not yet complete, current research indicates that some students are opting for casual sex as a way to avoid the responsibilities and time commitments that come with relationships or dating. Her studies have shown that about 26.7 percent of JMU students engage in one-night stands, twice as many as the national average. Though some JMU students did report being in relationships, most turned out to be short-lived.
“I’m not at all surprised,” Brickner said. “My concern is what happens when college students enter the real world and are ill-equipped for entering and maintaining a long-term relationship.”
All of Brickner’s respondents reported a desire to be married or in a serious relationship within the next 10-15 years. She worries that men accustomed to the college hookup scene will be especially likely to struggle with this transition.
“Because of the maturation process, it would seem that women would be more capable of making a smoother transition into a long term monogamous relationship,” Brickner said. “But men will likely struggle when they go from sleeping with a lot of women to being with one.”
The hookup scene may be fun for some but it does not appeal to the entire student body. Sophomore Mandi Reeder, a self-described Christian, has chosen to abstain from sex until marriage. Though she originally believed her values would make dating at JMU difficult, she has been dating sophomore Josh Althouse for almost five months now.
“I didn’t think I would be able to find a guy who held those same values,” Reeder said. “I was lucky to find Josh who not only has those same values, but is attracted to me because I have them too.”
Due to their schedules, Reeder and Althouse were unable to celebrate Valentine’s Day Thursday, but they plan on making up for it during the weekend.
“We are going to spend time alone this weekend, just the two of us and I think that’s what the holiday should be about,” Althouse said.
Though Valentine’s Day tends to be embraced more by those in relationships, freshman Nicole Carter is currently single and not sweating it.
“I think that there is someone out there for everyone, you just have to wait until you find that person or until they find you,” Carter said. “I know a lot of people who are in relationships and I also know a lot who are single. I don’t really think it’s a big issue though because college isn’t necessarily about finding your husband or significant other, it’s about having fun.”
