Emotional Responses To Casual Sex Experiences: The Roles Of Sexual Motives And Romantic Attachment Styles Thomas B. Pearson B.Sc, University of Northern British Columbia, 2004 Thesis Submitted In Partial Fulfillment Of The Requirements For The Degree Of Master Of Science in Psychology The University Of Northern British Columbia June 2007 © Thomas B. Pearson, 2007 1*1 Library and Archives Canada Bibliotheque et Archives Canada Published Heritage Branch Direction du Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Canada 395, rue Wellington Ottawa ON K1A0N4 Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-48824-9 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-48824-9 NOTICE: The author has granted a nonexclusive license allowing Library and Archives Canada to reproduce, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, communicate to the public by telecommunication or on the Internet, loan, distribute and sell theses worldwide, for commercial or noncommercial purposes, in microform, paper, electronic and/or any other formats. AVIS: L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public par telecommunication ou par Plntemet, prefer, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou autres formats. The author retains copyright ownership and moral rights in this thesis. Neither the thesis nor substantial extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's permission. L'auteur conserve la propriete du droit d'auteur et des droits moraux qui protege cette these. Ni la these ni des extraits substantiels de celle-ci ne doivent etre imprimes ou autrement reproduits sans son autorisation. In compliance with the Canadian Privacy Act some supporting forms may have been removed from this thesis. Conformement a la loi canadienne sur la protection de la vie privee, quelques formulaires secondaires ont ete enleves de cette these. While these forms may be included in the document page count, their removal does not represent any loss of content from the thesis. Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu manquant. Canada ABSTRACT This thesis examined casual sex motivations and styles of adult romantic attachment as individual difference factors related to young adults' post-casual sex emotional well-being. Phase 1 of this thesis focused on the development of an approach and avoidance casual sex motivations scale. The results yielded five distinct casual sex motivations (pleasure, establish an intimate connection, avoid an intimate connection, self-affirmation, and coping/stress relief). Phase 2 explored the relationships between the styles of adult romantic attachment, casual sex motivations, and post-casual sex emotional responses. The patterns of correlations between the casual sex motivations and post-casual sex emotional responses were found to differ across two hypothetical casual sex scenarios. The casual sex motivations were found to be differentially related to the styles of adult romantic attachment. Overall, the findings were in support of existing theories on motivation and emotion and adult attachment. 111 TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract iii Table of Contents iv List of Tables vi List of Figures vii Acknowledgements viii INTRODUCTION 1 Conceptualizing "Casual Sex" 3 Emotional Responses to the Experience of Casual Sex 4 Individual Differences in Casual Sex Motivations 6 Individual Differences in Adult Romantic Attachment 13 Summary of Objectives and Hypotheses 27 Addressing Research Design Issues 32 METHOD 35 Participants 35 Procedure 39 Measures 39 RESULTS 43 Overview of Analyses 43 Phase 1: Analyses of the Casual Sex Motives Scale 45 Phase 2: Preliminary Analyses 48 Phase 2: Analyses of the Predictive Links between Attachment Styles, Motives and Emotions 53 iv DISCUSSION 58 The Structure of the Casual Sex Motives Scale 59 Casual Sex Motives and Post-Casual Sex Emotional Responses 62 Casual Sex Motives and Adult Attachment Styles 69 Theoretical Implications of the Current Study 74 Limitations of the Current Study 77 Recommendations for Future Research 79 Summary and Conclusions 80 REFERENCES 84 APPENDICES A. Study Information Page 96 B. Study Debriefing Page 98 C. Demographics Questionnaire 99 D. Sexual History Questionnaire 100 E. Relationship Styles Questionnaire 101 F. Casual Sex Motives Scale 103 G. Emotional Responses to Hypothetical Casual Sex Scenarios 105 H. Source Tables for the ANOVAs and MANOVAs 107 v LIST OF TABLES 1. Demographic Characteristics for the Sample 36 2. Casual Sex History for the Sample 38 3. Factor Pattern Matrix for the Casual Sex Motives Scale 46 4. Means, Standard Deviations, and Associations between the Casual Sex Motives 49 5. Post-Casual Sex Emotional Responses as a Function of Casual Sex Scenario 50 6. Styles of Adult Romantic Attachment and Casual Sex Motives as a Function of Gender 52 7. Associations between the Casual Sex Motives and Post-Casual Sex Emotional Responses by Casual Sex Scenario and Gender 55 8. Associations between the Styles of Adult Romantic Attachment and Casual Sex Motives by Gender 57 VI LIST OF FIGURES 1. Schematic model of the casual sex motives within Cooper et al.'s (1998) sexual motivation framework. 9 2. Schematic model of Carver and Scheier's (1998) theory of motivation and emotion. 11 3. Schematic representation of the dimensions underlying the styles of adult attachment. 22 4. Heuristic model of adult romantic attachment styles and casual sex motives predicting post-casual sex emotional well-being vn 28 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT The completion of this thesis would not have been possible without the contributions of various individuals, including Dr. Robin Milhausen, Jos Wentland and Michael Vemon, who provided me with valuable information on conducting online research studies, Julie Taubman, who programmed the respective thesis survey, Randy Agulli, Carol Queen, Josey Vogels, and Dr. John Krantz, who agreed to post my survey on their respective websites, Dr. Paul Siakaluk and Dr. Shannon Wagner, who provided me with detailed and constructive feedback in a timely fashion, and the University of Northern British Columbia and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council, who provided me with financial support. Appreciation is also extended to my supervisor, Dr. Sherry Beaumont, who gave me the opportunity to research a topic on sexuality, dedicated a plethora of hours on the conceptualization and fine tuning of this thesis, and always believed in my abilities despite the fact, that at times, I struggled with the process of conducting a thesis. I would like to convey gratitude to my parents Halcyone Guppy and Robert Pearson, as well as, my step-parents, Rick Britney and Liz Pearson, for supporting me in a variety of ways over my academic career. Finally, recognition is given to my friends and past partners for inspiring me to research the association between casual sex and well-being. Your willingness to share your own feelings and stories, as well as those of others, makes this thesis more than just a conglomeration of words, tables, and graphs; they ground this thesis in the reality of young adults' sexual lives. viii Emotional Responses to Casual Sex Experiences: The Roles of Sexual Motives and Romantic Attachment Styles INTRODUCTION It has been well established in the literature that many young adults engage in "casual" sex (i.e., short-term sexual encounters; Paul & Hayes, 2002). For instance, prevalence rates indicate that as many as 84% of young adults have participated in casual sex, and the vast majority (91.5%) have experienced multiple casual sex encounters (Paul & Hayes). With such a high prevalence of causal sex, researchers have recently focused on examining the question of why young adults engage in this type of sexual behavior (Regan & Dreyer, 1999). In fact, engaging in casual sex is typically considered a "risky" behavior due to the potential for health-related consequences, such as sexually transmitted diseases (Levinson, Jaccard, & Beamer, 1995). Nevertheless, there has been little attention given to how young adults' emotional well-being is impacted by casual sex encounters (Paul, McManus, & Hayes, 2000). The objective of this thesis was to address this gap in the literature by focusing on individual differences in the emotional outcomes related to the experience of casual sex. With up to 78% of casual sex encounters not evolving beyond the initial encounter (Paul et al., 2000), individual difference factors may put some young adults at risk for negative emotional consequences associated with a casual sex experience. Two potential sources of individual differences were examined in this thesis: differences in motivations to engage in casual sex and differences in romantic attachment styles. For example, recent research indicates that many young adults engage in casual sex with an underlying motivation to initiate a romantic relationship (Regan & Dreyer, 1999; Traeen 2 & Sorensen, 2000) or to find love (Rosenthal, Gifford, & Moore, 1998). On the other hand, it appears that some young adults are motivated to engage in casual sex in an attempt to avoid the emotional closeness associated with romantic relationships (Paul et al., 2000; Traeen & Sorensen). To the extent that a casual sex encounter meets the goal of approaching or avoiding an intimate relationship, young adults' emotional well-being may be differentially impacted. At present, however, there have been no attempts to examine whether disparity in casual sex motivations are related to young adults' postcasual sex emotional responses. According to adult attachment theory (Bartholomew, 1990; Bartholomew & Horowitz, 1991; Hazen & Shaver, 1987; Shaver & Hazen, 1988), individual differences in the capacity and desire to form intimate relationships can be conceptualized as representing varying styles of adult romantic attachment. For example, disparities in styles of adult romantic attachment are related to different dating patterns, romantic relationship involvement, and preferences for promiscuous behaviors (Brennan & Shaver, 1995; Brennan, Clark, & Shaver, 1998; Feeney, Noller, & Patty, 1993). Based on past findings, it seems that differences in styles of adult romantic attachment can explain why young adults may be more or less inclined to engage in casual sex in order to establish or avoid the development of an intimate relationship. Therefore, styles of adult romantic attachment can be viewed as another individual difference factor that may be related to young adults' post-casual sex emotional well-being. With past research placing an emphasis on the physical consequences of casual sex, there have been numerous efforts to use health-based models to systematically explain the attitudinal and behavioral processes that influence young adults' casual sex 3 behavior (e.g., Maticka-Tyndale, Herold, & Mewhinney, 1998; Maticka-Tyndale, Herold, & Opperman, 2003). Nevertheless, there have been no parallel attempts to systematically examine the factors that may predict young adults' emotional well-being following a casual sex experience. This thesis attempted to address this limitation in the literature by examining whether young adults' emotional responses to hypothetical post-casual sex experiences are related to individual differences in casual sexual motivations and styles of adult romantic attachment. This thesis integrated theories of adult attachment (Bartholomew, 1990; Bartholomew & Horowitz, 1991) and sexual motivation (Cooper, Shapiro, & Powers, 1998) to provide an individual difference framework with which to understand the emotional responses that are elicited by a hypothetical casual sex encounter. The following review of these theoretical writings, as well as related research, provides the necessary background literature to provide a systematic conceptualization of how young adults' emotional responses to the experience of casual sex are related to casual sex motivations and styles of romantically relating to others. Conceptualizing "Casual Sex" Although on the surface the concept of casual sex appears relatively simple, the reality is more complex, in that the concept has a multitude of potential meanings (Weaver & Herold, 2000). For instance, past researchers have defined casual sex in terms of different sexual behaviors (e.g., sexual intercourse; Carroll, Volke, & Hyde, 1985), the temporal period of the sexual encounter (e.g., one-night stand; Paul & Hayes, 2002), and the level of emotional investment between the two casual partners (Weaver & Herold). In terms of this thesis, casual sex was operationalized as a one-night stand that involved sexual intercourse. The choice to focus on sexual intercourse was based on a recent study 4 showing that individuals anticipate stronger emotional reactions to a one-night stand scenario that involves sexual intercourse in comparison to a scenario that involves noncoital behaviors (de Graaf & Sandfort, 2004). Recognizing that casual sex is a highly individualized experience, this thesis focused on what can be considered as "typical" one-night stand scenarios. A recent study (Paul & Hayes, 2002) on the phenomenology of casual sex indicates that young adults rarely discuss a future meeting during or after a casual sex encounter and that the majority of the time the encounter ends with one person leaving. For some young adults, however, a typical casual sex scenario involves interpersonal communication and the possibility of seeing the partner again. For example, it was not entirely uncommon for young adults to have talked about a future meeting during and after casual sex (Paul & Hayes). Although this thesis did not directly measure participants' reactions to postcasual sex experiences immediately after a one-night stand, this thesis indirectly measured participants' self-reported emotional responses to two different hypothetical casual sex scenarios: (a) a one night stand that ends without the two young adults having discussed seeing each other again; and, (b) a one night stand that ends with the young adults communicating about seeing each other again. Emotional Responses to the Experience of Casual Sex Subsequent to the experience of casual sex, young adults have been found to report a variety of negative, positive, and mixed emotions (Traeen & Sorensen, 2000). Specifically, the negative emotions that are reported after a casual sex encounter are: regret, anxiety, confusion, discomfort, guilt, anger, and emotional vulnerability (de Graaf & Sandfort, 2004; Herold & Mewhinney, 1993; Paul & Hayes, 2002; Townsend, 1995). 5 Conversely, the positive emotions that have been reported after casual sex include: happy, satisfied, safe/secure, proud, and emotionally connected (Carroll et al., 1985; Paul & Hayes). Finally, mixed emotions may take the form of feeling attached to the casual partner while simultaneously experiencing anxiety over the newfound feelings of closeness (Traeen & Sorensen). Although it has been shown that a breadth of emotions are elicited after the experience of casual sex, there is very little context with which to understand post-casual sex emotional responses. For example, Paul and Hayes (2002) found that specific emotions (e.g., guilt or happiness) were tied to young adults' best and worst casual sex experiences. Moreover, de Graaf and Sandfort (2004) established that young adults experienced negative and positive emotions in response to a hypothetical scenario that depicted being rejected by a casual sex partner. Building upon the existing research, this thesis further elaborated on how the interpersonal circumstances (i.e., communication or no communication about a future date) surrounding the cessation of casual sex encounters are associated with the onset of a variety of emotions. Overall, it is evident that there has been a lack of systematic investigation of the impact of different casual sex experiences on young adults' emotional well-being. What can be taken from the literature on casual sex, however, is that the emotional impact of casual sex is not the same for every young adult. To try to determine why casual sex experiences have a differential impact on young adults' emotional well-being, this thesis explored the role of individual differences in casual sex motivations and styles of adult romantic attachment. 6 Individual Differences in Casual Sex Motivations To begin to understand why young adults have differing emotional responses to a sexual encounter, recent research indicates that it is important to consider the role of sexual motivations (Cooper et al., 1998; Impett, Peplau, & Gable, 2005). Despite the fact that pleasure is cited as the dominant motive for engaging in casual sex (e.g., Regan & Dreyer, 1999), other casual sex motivations include: increasing one's self-esteem, coping with negative moods, luring in a romantic partner, enhancing one's social status, avoiding being in a committed relationship, meeting new people, evading feelings of emotional vulnerability, and gaining sexual experience (Grello, Walsh, & Harper, 2006; Paul et al., 2000; Regan & Dreyer; Traeen & Soresen, 2000; Weaver & Herold, 2000). Recognizing that there are a multitude of motivations underlying casual sex behavior, and that young adults may have more than one motive for engaging in casual sex, this thesis focused on the five specific motives (pleasure, to establish an intimate connection, to avoid an intimate connection, to cope with negative feelings or relieve stress, and to experience self-affirmation) that can be conceptually derived from a combination of the research findings, as well as the theoretical framework for general sexual motives developed by Cooper et al. (1998). Specifically, the pleasure motive was conceptualized as the desire to engage in casual sex in order to experience physical and psychological gratification. The "establish an intimate connection" motive was conceptualized as the desire to start a romantic relationship with, and feel psychologically connected to, a casual sex partner; whereas, the "avoid an intimate connection" motive was conceptualized as the desire to elude a romantic relationship and feelings of psychological connectedness by engaging in casual sex. The self-affirmation motive was conceptualized as the desire to engage in casual sex to alleviate low feelings of desirability and self-worth, and the coping/stress relief motive was conceptualized as the desire to engage in casual sex in order to relieve negative psychological states (e.g., Paul & Hayes, 2002; Regan & Dreyer, 1999; Weaver & Herold, 2000). Although previous research has not provided a theoretical framework specifically for casual sex motives, this thesis relied upon the theoretical framework on general sexual motivations developed by Cooper et al. (1998). These researchers posited that motives for sexual intercourse can be understood in terms of: (a) whether the sexual act is motivated by the desire to achieve pleasurable outcomes or by the desire to avoid negative outcomes; and, (b) whether the sexual act is mostly internal and self-focused or whether it is mostly external and social-focused. The former criterion refers to the distinction between approach and avoidance motives and the latter refers to the distinction between agency and communality. Agency reflects a sense of self that is expressed through a variety of means (e.g., self-assertion), whereas communality reflects having concern for others and the desire to become involved in an intimate union (Bakan, 1966). Placing the approach-avoidance and agency-communion dimensions in a two-dimensional space, Cooper et al. classified sexual motives into the following four categories: (a) approach self-focused motives; (b) avoidance self-focused motives; (c) approach other-focused motives; and, (d) avoidant other-focused motives. Following Cooper et al.'s (1998) classification scheme, for this thesis, pleasure was conceptualized as an approach self-focused motive; whereas, self-affirmation and coping were conceptualized as avoidant self-focused motives. Similar to Cooper et al.'s intimacy motive the desire to establish an intimate connection was considered an 8 approach social-focused motive; however, novel to this thesis, was the conceptualization of the desire to avoid an intimate connection as an avoidance social-focused motive (see Figure 1). Measurement of casual sex motives. Despite the significant advances in the measurement of sexual motives in general (Cooper et al., 1998; Hill & Preston, 1996), there have been no parallel attempts to construct a measure of casual sex motives. Addressing the lack of measurement tools, this thesis sought to create a scale of casual sex motives. Based on the presented sexual motivation framework (Cooper et al.) and the factor structure of current sexual motive measures (Cooper et al.; Hill & Preston), it was hypothesized that the pleasure, self-affirmation, coping/stress relief, establish an intimate connection, and avoid an intimate connection motives would each represent a distinct casual sex motivation. Examining the factor structure of the casual sex motives construct allowed for the exploration of the associations between casual sex motives and postcasual sex emotional responses. Linking casual sex motives and emotional responses. In recent years, researchers have investigated the predictive relationships between the approach and avoidance sexual motives and aspects of personal and interpersonal well-being. For instance, Impett and associates (Impett, 2002; Impett et al., 2005) found that approach motives for sexual intercourse (e.g., to enhance feelings of intimacy) were positively related to subjective well-being and positive affect; whereas, avoidance motives for sexual intercourse (e.g., evade a loss of partner interest) were positively related to negative affect. Together, these were the first studies to show that approach and avoidance sexual motives are important Figure 1. Schematic model of the casual sex motives within Cooper et al.'s (1998) sexual motivation framework. Self S elf-Affirmation Pleasure Coping/stress Relief Avoidance Approach Avoid an Intimate Connection Establish an Intimate Connection Other 10 to consider when focusing on differences in psychological well-being within the context of intimate relationships. Despite the recent efforts of Impett and associates (Impett, 2002; Impett et al., 2005), there are still a number of remaining questions that need to be explored. For example, although it is known that approach sexual motives are positively associated with emotional well-being, and the opposite is true for avoidance sexual motives, it is not known how young adult's emotional well-being is affected when approach and avoidance sexual motives are thwarted. It has been theorized, however, that there are a range of emotions for each of the approach and avoidance motivational systems (Carver, 2001; Carver & Scheier, 1998; Higgins, 1997). In terms of the approach system, pleasurerelated emotions occur in response to the obtainment of an approach-focused goal (e.g., establishing an intimate connection with your partner) and dejected-related emotions occur in response to a failure to obtain an approach-focused goal (e.g., not establishing an intimate connection with your partner). Conversely, within the avoidance system, successfully avoiding an aversive outcome (e.g., not getting your partner angry) leads to quiescent-related emotions and a failure to avoid an aversive outcome (e.g., getting your partner angry) leads to agitated-related emotions (see Figure 2). Therefore, this thesis sought to examine how the approach and avoidance casual sex motives, in combination with different hypothetical casual sex outcomes, were related to different patterns of postcasual sex emotional responses. Integrating the literature on motivation and emotion (Carver & Scheier, 1986; 1990; 1998) and sexual motives (Cooper et al., 1998), the following hypotheses were created surrounding the associations between the approach and avoidance casual sex 11 Figure 2. Schematic model of Carver and Scheier's (1998) theory on motivation and emotion. Approach System Doing well Pleasure Avoidance System Doing well (Neutral) Doing poorly Dejection Quiescence (Neutral) Doing poorly Agitation 12 motivations and the post-casual sex emotional responses. Focusing on the approachbased casual sex motives, it was hypothesized that the pleasure motive would be positively associated with post-casual sex feelings of pleasure for both hypothetical casual sex scenarios. That is, both hypothetical scenarios depict the experience of physical gratification, and therefore, young adults who place a greater importance on the pleasure motive should be more likely to perceive that they would experience increased post-casual sex feelings of pleasure. Moreover, it was hypothesized that the establish an intimate connection motive should be positively associated with post-casual sex feelings of pleasure for the scenario that depicts communication about a future date and postcasual sex feelings of dejection for the scenario that depicts no communication about a future date. Specifically, the scenario that depicts communication about a future date may imply a path towards intimacy fulfillment, and as a result, young adults who place a greater importance on the establish an intimate connection motive should anticipate that they would experience increased post-casual sex feelings of pleasure. Alternatively, the scenario that depicts no communication about a future date may imply the lack of intimacy fulfillment, and consequently, young adults who place a higher importance on the establish an intimate connection motive should anticipate that they would experience increased post-casual sex feelings of dejection. Turning to the avoidance motives, it was hypothesized that the motive of avoid an intimate connection should be positively associated with post-casual sex feelings of agitation in response to the scenario that depicts communication about a future date and positively associated with post-casual sex feelings of quiescence for the scenario that depicts no communication about a future date. That is, the scenario that depicts 13 communication about a future date may imply a threat to the evasion of intimacy, and therefore, young adults who place a greater importance on the avoid intimate connection motive should perceive that they would experience increased post-casual sex feelings of agitation. In contrast, the scenario that depicts no communication about a future date may imply the successful avoidance of intimacy, and accordingly, young adults who place a greater importance on the avoid an intimate connection motive should perceive that they would experience increased post-casual sex feelings of quiescence. Finally, it was hypothesized that the motives of coping/stress relief and self-affirmation should be positively associated with post-casual sex feelings of quiescence after both the hypothetical casual sex scenarios. The rational for these hypotheses was that young adults who place a greater importance on the coping/stress relief and self-affirmation motives may perceive the casual sex scenarios as involving the relief of negative psychological states and enhanced self-confidence, and as a result, anticipate an increase in post-casual sex feelings of quiescence. Individual Differences in Styles of Adult Romantic Attachment Previous research indicates that styles of adult romantic attachment are associated with theoretically predictable patterns of sexual motives, behaviors, and feelings (Brennan et al., 1998; Schachner & Shaver, 2005; Schmitt, 2005; Tracey, Shaver, Albino, & Cooper, 2003), in which differential relationships are indicative of the disparate needs for, and ways of obtaining, feelings of felt security. Integrating theory on adult attachment (Bartholomew, 1990; Bartholomew & Horowitz, 1991; Hazen & Shaver, 1987; Shaver & Hazen, 1988) and findings on adult attachment and sexuality (e.g., Schachner & Shaver, 2004), the following section introduces the premise that variations 14 in styles of adult romantic attachment are related to casual sex motivations and postcasual sex emotional reactions. Because the adult attachment literature is grounded in early writings on child-parent attachment, this section will first provide a general review of attachment theory from both the normative and individual difference perspectives. The normative aspects of attachment. Based on his early work that focused on how children responded to the separation and loss of a caregiver, Bowlby (1969/1982; 1973; 1980) developed his theory of child-parent attachment. Attachment, as surmised by Bowlby, refers to the "strong disposition to seek proximity to, and contact with, a specific figure and to do so in certain situations" (p. 372). Proximity seeking behavior, otherwise called attachment behavior, is theorized to be regulated within an innate motivational system called the attachment behavioral system, which has evolved to promote the safety and survival of the infant (Bartholomew, 1990; Bowlby, 1969/1982; Cassidy, 1999; Fraley & Shaver, 2000; Lopez & Brennan, 2000). Within the attachment behavioral system, behavior is thought to be governed by way of a homeostatic control system that maintains the continuing "set goal" of physical proximity to a caregiver (Bowlby, 1969/1982; Fraley & Shaver). Specifically, the activation of the attachment system is thought to be sensitive to internal conditions of the child (e.g., tired, ill, cold), the spatial distance of the caregiver, and other environmental stimuli (e.g., loud noise), in which these conditions impel an infant to establish contact with their caregiver (Bartholomew; Bowlby, 1969/1982; Bremerton, 1985; Feeney & Noller, 1996). In turn, contact with the caregiver represents protection for the child, terminating the activation of the attachment behavioral system, and therefore, attachment behavior (Bowlby, 1980; Cassidy; Hazen & Shaver, 1994b). 15 Over time, with the formation of the child-caregiver bond and the increasing cognitive development of the child, the function of the attachment behavioral system is not just to keep the child in close proximity to his or her caregiver, but also to provide a continuous sense of felt security (Bartholomew, 1990; Bremerton, 1985; Cassidy, 1999; Collins & Feeney, 2004; Collins & Read, 1990; Sroufe & Waters, 1977). In particular, through repeated interactions and the coordination of reciprocal behavioral patterns, the caregiver comes to represent a safe haven (source of comfort and security) and a secure base from which the child can explore the physical and social environment (Bretherton; Hazen & Ziefman, 1999; Sroufe & Waters). To the extent that a child can depend on a caregiver to regulate his or her distress and be a source of security and support will impact the quality of the child-parent relationship (Bartholomew, 1993; Bowlby, 1969/1982). Beginnings of different styles of attachment. In a seminal observational study, Ainsworth, Blebar, Waters, and Wall (1978) identified distinct patterns of attachment behaviors among children, which were differentially linked to patterns of caregiver sensitivity and responsiveness. Examining children's reactions to separation from, and reunion with, their caregivers, Ainsworth et al. classified children as being either secure, anxious-ambivalent, or avoidant. Secure children displayed minimal protest in their mother's absence, were inviting to their mothers upon return, were accepting of comfort when distressed, and used their mothers as a secure base from which to explore. Anxiousambivalent children showed protest behaviors in the absence of their mothers, were distressed upon their mother's return, displayed resistance to their mother's efforts to comfort, and were unable to use their mothers as a secure base. Finally, avoidant children 16 expressed little distress in their mother's absence and seemed to ignore their mothers when present. These individual differences in style of attachment are thought to underlie variations in the mental representation of attachment, in which children's perceptions of their caregivers as available and supportive are of central importance (Main, Kaplan, & Cassidy, 1985). According to Bowlby's (1973) hypothesis, early child-caregiver relationships provide the basis for the development of internal working models of attachment that revolve around the following beliefs: (a) whether or not the attachment figure is judged to be the sort of person who in general responds to calls for support and protection [and] (b) whether or not the self is judged to be the sort of person towards whom anyone, and the attachment figure in particular, is likely to respond in a helpful way (p. 238). The former concerns the working model of other, which involves the beliefs and expectations about whether the attachment figure is perceived as being emotionally available and supportive; whereas, the latter concerns the working model of self, or the belief that one is worthy of affection and care (Bartholomew & Horowitz, 1991; Collins & Feeney, 2004). It is generally accepted that the relationship between these two working models is self-in-relation-to-other; that is, to understand the working model of self you must also take into consideration the working model of other (Bartholomew, 1990; 1997; Bretherton, 1985). As a whole, the working models of self and other have been conceptualized as cognitive-affective-motivational schemas that serve to guide an individual's thoughts, perceptions, and feelings in a way that facilitates expectations about future interpersonal encounters, and in doing so, allows individuals to adjust their 17 behavior accordingly (Bowlby 1969; Bretherton & Munholland, 1999; Collins & Feeney; Hazen & Shaver, 1994a; Pietromonaco & Barrett, 2000). Once internalized, working models tend to be relatively stable over time, because they work automatically and unconsciously, and are resistant to the accommodation of new information (Bartholomew, 1993; Bretherton; Fraley & Shaver, 2000; Main et al., 1985). Therefore, early attachment relationships serve as a template for subsequent relationships outside of family (Bartholomew, 1993; 1997), influencing how individuals express and regulate their need for felt security (Bretherton). Adult attachment. Although Bowlby was primarily concerned with attachment in infants and children, he did proclaim that attachments are formed "from the cradle to the grave" (Bowlby, 1969/1982, p. 208). Individual differences in styles of attachment were also thought to be carried forward from infancy, childhood, and adolescence (Bowlby, 1973). While attachment researchers never suggest that attachment styles are impervious to change (Bartholomew, Kwong, & Hart, 2001), there is indirect support for continuity between childhood and adulthood classifications. A number of studies have shown that adults' styles of attachment paralleled their retrospective accounts of their own experiences with attachment figures as a child (Collins & Read, 1990; Feeney & Noller, 1990; Hazen & Shaver, 1987; Kobak & Screery, 1988; Main et al., 1985). However, despite these findings, as well as others that suggest moderate levels of continuity across childhood, adolescence, young adulthood (given a stable environment; see Allen & Land, 1999; Allen, McElhaney, Kuperminc, & Jodl, 2004; Waters, Merrick, Treboux, Crowell, & Albersheim, 2000), and adulthood (Klohnen & John, 1998), there is no direct support for a link between childhood and adulthood styles of attachment (see Crowell, Fraley, & 18 Shaver, 1999). Nonetheless, independent of the issue of continuity in attachment styles from childhood to adulthood, adults will have a number of ingrained strategies (i.e., ways of seeking support, reducing feelings of distress, increasing feelings of security) for regulating their attachment needs, which in part, will be the result of early interactions with attachment figures (Collins & Feeney, 2004; Feeney & Noller). Adult romantic attachment. The empirical leap from childhood to adulthood attachment classifications was made with Hazen and Shaver's (1987) influential study on romantic love. To measure adult romantic attachment, Hazen and Shaver devised a forced choice self-report measure that was equivalent to Ainsworth et al. (1978) secure, anxiousambivalent, and avoidant attachment classifications. Participants were asked to read three short paragraphs pertaining to each of the adult attachment styles and to indicate which paragraph best described their feelings. Hazen and Shaver found that adults with a secure attachment style reported that they were easy to get to know, that others were goodhearted, and perceived their most important love relationship as a happy and trusting union. Alternatively, adults with an avoidant style of attachment reported a tendency to fear intimacy, were untrusting of others, thought that love seldom lasts, and stated that they were happy not being involved in romantic relationship. Finally, adults with an anxious-ambivalent style of attachment reported that love involves obsession, that it is easy to fall in love, and had self-doubts over whether others were less able and willing to commit to a relationship. Overall, Hazen and Shaver's study was the first to show that adults with different styles of romantic attachment entertained dissimilar beliefs about love, the availability and trustworthiness of romantic partners, and their own love worthiness. 19 Since Hazen and Shaver's (1987) study on adult romantic attachment, there have been two programs of research that have operationalized adult attachment somewhat differently. First, Bartholomew (1990) proposed an expanded model of Hazen and Shaver's adult attachment classification scheme based on the notion that there are two distinct types of avoidant attachment. Adults with an avoidant style of attachment, as described by Hazen and Shaver, were thought to be more representative of an avoidantfearful attachment style, in that they avoid intimacy due to the fear of rejection (Bartholomew, 1997). Conversely, Main et al.'s (1985) description of an avoidant style of attachment was thought to represent adults who dismiss or detach themselves from close relations with others, and therefore, can be labeled as avoidant-dismissing (Bartholomew). Based on the incongruent styles of avoidant attachment, Bartholomew and Horowitz (1991) devised a novel way of classifying adult attachment styles. Borrowing from Bowlby's (1973) notion of working models, Bartholomew and Horowitz theorized that adult attachment styles vary based on the valence (i.e., positive and negative) of the two dimensions of self and other. The valence of the self dimension is thought to represent the degree to which individuals depend on others for self-validation and feelings of worthiness (Bartholomew, 1990; 1993; Bartholomew & Horowitz). Those with a positive internal representation of the self are thought to be confident in terms of their self-worth and lovability; whereas, those with a negative self are thought to experience anxiety over their feelings of lower self-worth and lovability. Conversely, the valence of the other dimension is thought to represent the degree to which individuals avoid others based on the expectation and belief that others are supportive and responsive. Individuals with an internalized negative view of others are thought to avoid close interpersonal relationships and those with a positive internalized view of others seek out close interpersonal relationships (Bartholomew, 1990; 1993; Bartholomew & Shaver, 1998). Of note, the self and other dimensions have been found to be separate dimensions that vary independently; however, different configurations of the self and other dimensions represent qualitatively different styles of attachment (Bartholomew & Horowitz). Combining the self-other dimensions in a two-dimensional space, Bartholomew and Horowitz (1991) hypothesized four prototypical styles of adult attachment. Specifically, secure individuals should be low on dependence and avoidance (positive self and other respectively), preoccupied individuals should be high on dependence and low on avoidance (negative self and positive other), fearful individuals should be high on dependence and high on avoidance (negative self and other), and finally, dismissing individuals should be low on dependency and high on avoidance (positive self and negative other). Each of these four styles is thought to represent a theoretical ideal, with variations in the degree to which individuals match the dimensions of the exact prototypes (Griffin & Bartholomew, 1994b). In contrast to Bartholomew's self-other approach to attachment, Shaver and associates (e.g., Fraley & Shaver, 1998; 2000; Mikulincer & Shaver, 2005; Shaver & Mikulincer, 2002) have argued that the underlying structure of adult attachment involves the dimensions of anxiousness and avoidance. The anxiety dimension relates to concern over being rejected and abandoned and involves variations in "checking and assessing attachment related goals such as the attachment figure's physiological and psychological 21 proximity, availability, and responsiveness" (Fraley & Shaver, 1998, p. 143). Alternatively, the avoidance dimension characterizes differences in the type of interpersonal behavioral strategies (i.e., seeking or avoiding close relationships) that individuals are motivated to use in order to reduce feelings of anxiety (Brennan, et al., 1998; Mikulincer & Shaver; Mikulincer, Shaver, & Pereg, 2003). Anxiousness and avoidance are hypothesized to represent two distinct components in which individuals vary; however, the avoidant and anxious dimensions can be combined to form Bartholomew and Horowitz's attachment styles (see Brennan et al.). For example, a secure individual would be low in avoidance and anxiety, a preoccupied would be low on avoidance and high on anxiety, a fearful individual would be high on avoidance and anxiety, and a dismissing individual would be high on avoidance and low on anxiety. Hence, the underlying organization of attachment can be viewed as either distinct dimensions of anxiousness and avoidance, or a combination of the two. Despite the two conceptualizations of the organization of adult attachment, it is generally accepted that self-other dimensions and the anxious-avoidant dimensions can be considered as the same two factors (Griffin & Bartholomew, 1994b; see Figure 3). Past research has shown that Bartholomew and Horowitz's secure and fearful prototypes of attachment anchor the anxiety dimension, whereas, the preoccupied and dismissing prototypes anchor the avoidance dimension (Bartholomew & Shaver, 1998; Brennan et al, 1998; Brennan, Shaver, & Tobey, 1991; Griffin & Bartholomew, 1994b). Therefore, the underlying dimensions of attachment can be described in terms of either the affective and behavioral names of anxiety and avoidance or the cognitive representational names of model of self and model of other (Crowell et al., 1999). 22 Figure 3. Schematic representation of the dimensions underlying the styles of adult attachment. Model of Self (Anxiety) Positive (Low) Negative (High) (J, Secure Preoccupied > \\ O o o S3 «J CO o > < OH O \\ • \\ • \\ • \\ / • *s SH S3 4= • • o >\ \ > bO • • • Dismissing * \s \ \\ / X \\ \ X \\ \ Fearful 23 Although there appears to be conceptual similarity between Bartholomew's selfother dimensions and Shaver's anxiety-avoidance dimensions, Bartholomew cautions researchers regarding the measurement of attachment styles based on a simple dimensional approach, due in part to considerable research evidence revealing problems with interpreting the results of dimensional measures of adult attachment. Difficulties with interpreting findings based on attachment-related dimensions highlights Griffin and Bartholomew's (1994b) view that the two attachment dimensions in themselves are not enough to understand the emerging characteristics of the prototypical styles of attachment. Hence, to avoid the psychometric limitations of using categorical measures and the interpretation difficulties surrounding dimensional measures, this thesis utilized Griffin and Bartholomew's continuous measure of the four adult attachment prototypes (i.e., secure, dismissing, preoccupied, and fearful). Styles of adult romantic attachment, underlying needs, and casual sex motivations. Although it is has been noted that the link between adult attachment and sexuality has not been extensively investigated (Bogaert & Sadava, 2002), there is some evidence that sexual behavior is motivated by the desire to fulfill underlying attachment needs (e.g., Schachner & Shaver, 2004). For instance, a secure style of attachment is characterized by the ability to depend on others while not fearing abandonment, being involved in committed relationships marked by feelings of independence, trust, and emotional intimacy, and the desire to engage in intimate behaviors within the confines of romantic relationships (Bartholomew & Horowitz, 1991; Bogaert & Sadava; Brennan et al., 1998; Collins & Read, 1990). Attachment security and comfortableness with intimacy translates into the desire to engage in sexual intercourse to express feelings of love and 24 commitment and not to regulate negative feeling states (Schachner & Shaver; Tracey et al., 2003). Moreover, attachment security is related to less accepting attitudes towards sexual permissiveness and sex without closeness and commitment (Brennan et al.; Feeney et al., 1993). Based on the existing findings, it was hypothesized that the secure style of attachment would be unrelated to the use of casual sex to establish or avoid an intimate connection. Furthermore, attachment security was hypothesized to be negatively associated with the motives of self-affirmation and coping/stress relief. Similar to those with a secure style of attachment, individuals with a preoccupied style of attachment are comfortable with becoming close to others and desire to engage in intimate behaviors within the confines of a romantic relationship (Bartholomew & Horowitz, 1991; Brennan et al., 1998). However, individuals with a preoccupied style of attachment view themselves as somewhat unlovable, which translates into being overly dependent on others, an incessant desire to be involved in romantic relationships, and continuous involvement in unstable romantic relationships (Bartholomew, 1997; Bartholomew & Horowitz; Collins & Read, 1990; Hazen & Shaver, 1987). Uncertainty surrounding a partner's availability and the strong need for closeness leads individuals with a preoccupied style of attachment or higher levels of attachment anxiety to engage in sexual intercourse for self-affirmation, coping, and intimacy-related reasons (Davis, Shaver, & Vernon, 2004; Schachner & Shaver, 2004). Moreover, higher levels of attachment anxiety is associated with a greater likelihood of engaging in indiscriminate or permissive sexual behavior, especially among females (Feeney, Peterson, Gallois, & Terry, 2000; Gentzler & Kerns, 2004). Taken together, it was posited that the preoccupied style of attachment would be positively associated with the motives of 25 establish an intimate connection, self-affirmation, and coping/stress relief. It was also hypothesized that the preoccupied style of attachment would be negatively associated with the avoid an intimate connection motive. In contrast to those with a preoccupied style of attachment, individuals with a dismissing style of attachment typically view themselves as lovable and worthy of care; yet, based on their history of being rejected by attachment figures, these individuals do not believe that others will be available and caring (Bartholomew & Horowitz, 1991; Bartholomew & Shaver, 1998; Collins & Feeney, 2004). Despite their history of being rejected, individuals with a dismissing style of attachment maintain a positive sense of self-worth by defensively denying their attachment needs and devaluing close relationships; thereby, placing an emphasis on independence and autonomy (Bartholomew, 1990; 1997; Bartholomew & Horowitz, 1991). Within romantic relationships, individuals with a dismissive style of attachment do not desire high levels of commitment and prefer not to engage in affectionate behaviors (Brennan et al., 1998; Fraley & Shaver, 1998; Simpson, Rholes, Orina, & Grich, 2002). Self-reliance, discomfort with intimacy and the devaluation of committed relationships means that individuals with a dismissing style of attachment or higher levels of attachment avoidance do not engage in sexual intercourse in order to express feelings of intimacy, experience self-affirmation, or cope with negative feeling states (Davis et al., 2004; Schachner & Shaver, 2004). Instead, individuals with a dismissing style of attachment prefer to engage in short-term sexual encounters that allow them to avoid feelings of emotional and romantic commitment (Schachner & Shaver; Schmitt, 2005). Hence, it was hypothesized that the dismissing style of attachment would be positively associated with 26 the avoid an intimate connection motive and unrelated to the self-affirmation and coping/stress-relief motives. Moreover, it was also posited that the dismissing style of attachment would be negatively associated with the establish an intimate connection motive. Finally, individuals with a fearful style of attachment believe that they are unlovable and expect that attachment figures will be unresponsive, uncaring, and unavailable (Bartholomew, 1997; Bartholomew et al., 2001; Collins & Feeney, 2004). A fearful style of attachment is associated with an approach-avoidance conflict when it comes to close relationships; desperately wanting intimacy and closeness with a partner but avoiding romantic relationships out of being rejected (Bartholomew, 1990; 1993; 1997). Individuals with a fearful style of attachment report the desire to engage in affectionate touching (Brennan et al., 1998), but at the same time, do not like to engage in self-disclosure and are uncomfortable providing support (Mikulincer & Nachshon, 1991; Simpson, Rholes, & Nelligan, 1992). In terms of sexual behavior, the approach-conflict is marked by the fact that higher levels of attachment anxiety are associated with a greater desire to engage in sexual intercourse for self-affirming, coping, and intimacy-related reasons; whereas, higher levels of attachment avoidance are associated with engaging in sexual intercourse for intimacy-avoidance reasons (Davis et al., 2004; Schachner & Shaver, 2004). Considering the existing findings, it was hypothesized that the fearful style of attachment would be positively associated with the motives of avoid intimate connection, establish an intimate connection, self-affirmation and coping/stress relief. Styles of adult attachment and post-casual sex emotional responses. To date, there has been little research on the relationships between styles of attachment and post-coital responses. Focusing on emotional reactions to sexual intercourse in general, Brennan et al. (1998) found that individuals with a fearful and preoccupied style of attachment experienced greater negative emotions after sexual intercourse than individuals with a secure and dismissing style of attachment. Conversely, individuals with a secure, preoccupied, and fearful style of attachment reported greater positive emotions after sexual intercourse in comparison to individuals with a dismissing style of attachment. In related research (Gentzler & Kerns, 2004), individuals with higher levels of attachment anxiety and avoidance were also more likely to experience negative affect over previous sexual encounters. Finally, among adolescents, individuals with a secure style of attachment were more likely to express greater positive affect over their most recent sexual encounter in comparison to individuals with a preoccupied and fearful style of attachment (Tracey et al., 2003). Although the existing literature suggests that styles of adult attachment are related to post-coital emotional responses, it was not an objective of this thesis to explore the associations between styles of adult attachment and post-casual sex emotional responses. Nevertheless, the link between styles of adult attachment and post-casual sex emotional responses is relevant to this thesis in that it adds a further conceptualization of how styles of adult attachment, as an individual factor, are related to young adults' emotional well-being following the experience of casual sex. Summary of Objectives and Hypotheses Based on an integration of the existing literature on casual sex (e.g., Paul & Hayes, 2002), sexual motives (Cooper et al., 1998), and adult romantic attachment (e.g., Schachner & Shaver, 2004), Figure 4 represents a heuristic model that guides the hypotheses regarding predictive links between post-casual sex emotional responses and 28 Figure 4. Heuristic model of styles of adult romantic attachment and casual sex motives predicting post-casual sex emotional well-being. 29 individual differences in casual sex motives and styles of adult romantic attachment. Hypothesized links within the heuristic model posit that styles of adult romantic attachment predispose young adult's to endorse certain motivations for casual sex, which in turn, predict their post-casual sex emotional responses. Moreover, styles of adult romantic attachment are hypothesized to directly influence young adults' post-casual sex emotional responses. To begin to explore the hypothesized links presented in the heuristic model, the following study addressed two overarching objectives. The goal for Phase 1 of this thesis was to examine the underlying structure of the casual sex motives construct. Drawing from the results of Phase 1, the goal for Phase 2 was to examine the relationships between the styles of adult attachment, casual sex motives, and post-casual sex emotional responses. Phase 1 - Measurement of casual sex motives. The first objective of this thesis was to explore whether the newly created Casual Sex Motives Scale (CSMS) captures the underlying approach motivational domains of pleasure and establish an intimate connection, and the avoidance motivation domains of avoid an intimate connection, selfaffirmation, and stress relief/coping. Based on the casual sex literature (e.g., Paul & Hayes, 2002), theory on sexual motives (Cooper et al., 1998), and the factor structure of existing sexual motives measures (Cooper et al.; Hill & Preston, 1996), it was hypothesized that the factor structure underlying the casual sex motives measure would be represented by the following five distinct motivations: pleasure, establish an intimate connection, avoid an intimate connection, self-affirmation, and coping/stress relief. Phase 2 - Predictive links between emotions, motives and attachment styles. The specific objective for Phase 2 was: (a) to examine if the approach and avoidance casual sex motives, in combination with the outcome of the hypothetical casual sex scenarios, are related to pleasurable, quiescent, dejected, and agitated post-casual sex emotional responses; and, (b) to examine the relationships between the styles of adult attachment (secure, fearful, preoccupied, and dismissing) and approach and avoidance casual sex motives. Casual sex motives and post-casual sex emotions. Based on a combination of the research findings on casual sex motives (e.g., Regan & Dreyer, 1999) and theories on motivation and emotion (e.g., Carver & Scheier, 1998), the following hypotheses (as indicated on pages 12 and 13) were developed for the links between the casual sex motives and the post-casual sex emotional responses: 1. The casual sex motive of pleasure will be positively associated with anticipated post-casual sex feelings of pleasure in response to both casual sex scenarios. 2. The casual sex motive of establish an intimate connection with be positively associated with anticipated post-casual sex feelings of pleasure for the scenario that depicts communication about a future date and anticipated postcasual sex feelings of dejection for the scenario that depicts no communication about a future date. 3. The casual sex motive of avoid an intimate connection will be positively associated with anticipated post-casual sex feelings of agitation for the scenario that depicts communication about a future date and anticipated post- 31 casual sex feelings of quiescence for the scenario that depicts no communication about a future date. 4. The casual sex motives of self-affirmation and coping/stress relief with be positively associated with anticipated post-casual sex feelings of quiescence for both casual sex scenarios. Styles of adult romantic attachment and casual sex motives. Bringing together existing research on adult attachment and sexuality (e.g., Davis et al., 2004), the following hypotheses (as posed on pages 23 to 26) were developed surrounding the links between the styles of adult romantic attachment and the casual sex motives: 1. The dismissing style of attachment will be positively associated with the motive of avoid an intimate connection, negatively associated with the motive of establish an intimate connection, and unrelated to the motives of coping/stress relief and self-affirmation. 2. The fearful style of attachment will be positively associated with the motives of avoid an intimate connection, coping/stress relief, establish an intimate connection, and self-affirmation. 3. The preoccupied style of attachment will be positively associated with the motives of coping/stress relief, establish an intimate connection, and selfaffirmation and negatively associated with the motive of avoid an intimate connection. 4. The secure style of attachment will be negatively associated with the motives of self-affirmation and coping/stress relief and unrelated to the motives of establish and avoid an intimate connection. Addressing Research Design Issues The role of gender. Although adult attachment theory (e.g., Bartholomew & Horowitz, 1991) does not posit that men and women should differ in their motivational, behavioral, and affective propensities, past research has shown that gender differences emerge when exploring the link between styles of adult attachment and sexuality. For instance, lower amounts of sexual intercourse have been linked to a fearful style of attachment among women and a preoccupied style of attachment among men (Feeney et al., 1993). Greater negative affect over the experience of sexual intercourse has also been associated with a fearful style of attachment among women but not men (Gentzler & Kerns, 2004). Finally, unlike men, women who endorse a fearful or preoccupied style of attachment are more likely to report a greater interest in short-term mating (Schmitt, 2005). The existing research on sexuality also indicates that gender is an important variable to consider when examining sexual motives. Specifically, females typically report greater romantic, emotional, and intimacy-related motives for sexual intercourse; whereas, males typically report greater self-enhancing (e.g., increase peer status) and pleasure-related motives for engaging in sexual intercourse (Carroll et al., 1985; Cooper et al., 1998; Sprague & Quadagno, 1989; Traeen & Sorensen, 2000). Taken together, this thesis examined the effect of gender on styles of adult attachment and casual sex motives in order to determine whether patterns of relationships between styles of adult attachment, casual sex motives, and post-casual sex emotional responses needed to be explored separately by gender. 33 University samples as representative of the young adult cohort. Examining the literature on casual sex, it is probably easier to note the research that has not used a university sample (e.g., de Graaf & Sandfort, 2004; Rosenthal et al., 1998; Traeen & Sorensen, 2000) in comparison to the research that has used such a convenience sample (e.g., Paul & Hayes, 2002; Regan & Dreyer, 1999; Weaver & Herold, 2000). A limitation of using a university sample is that it may provide a limited view of how the phenomenon of casual sex is represented among the developmental cohort of young adults. For instance, research that has used a university-based sample seems to typically have a mean age around 19-20 years old (e.g., Paul & Hayes, 2002; Regan & Dreyer, 1999), in which the age range can be restricted to as little as 18-23 years old (Paul & Hayes). In light of this limitation, this thesis sought to capture a more representative sample of young adults by recruiting a demographically diverse group of participants via an Internet-based study. Method of data collection. As a research tool, the Internet is becoming an emerging medium for behavioral researchers, especially for those who study sexuality and relationships (Gosling, Vazire, Srivastava, & John, 2004; Pittenger, 2003; Whitty, 2004). The Internet may be particularly advantageous when investigating aspects of sexuality, in that individuals feel more comfortable reporting personal information while online, which may lead to individuals to respond in a more honest manner (Pealer, Weiler, Pigg, Miller, & Dorman, 2001). Additionally, the internet may provide a more comfortable atmosphere to discuss aspects of sexuality because individuals are able to do so in a private and anonymous environment (e.g., one's personal residence; Burgess, Donnelly, Dillard, & Davis, 2001). Other more general benefits of collecting data by way of the internet include: the opportunity to gather data quickly and inexpensively, the 34 ability to sample from a large, heterogeneous population, the ease in which participants are able to withdrawal from the research study (i.e., exit out of the survey), the reduction of erroneous or unacceptable data (e.g., multiple responses to one question), and the elimination of human error during data entry (i.e., able to export raw data straight into statistical software; Burgess et al.; Gosling et al.; Pealer et al.; Pittenger). It is important to note, however, that there are a number of potential disadvantages associated with conducting an Internet-based survey. For example, data is not collected in a controlled setting (e.g., laboratory), in which there is a chance that individuals may voluntarily participate in an online study despite the fact that they do not meet a specified age criterion. Additionally, individuals may fill out an online survey in the presence of romantic partners or friends, which could increase the likelihood of biased or dishonest responses. Finally, there is the chance that individuals have more than one email address or have access to more than one computer, making it difficult to track multiple survey submissions by one individual. Despite these potential limitations, an Internet-based survey was deemed to be an appropriate way to collect participant responses based on the advantages of conducting online research and the sensitive content of this thesis. 35 METHOD Participants The participants for this study were sexually experienced young adult (18 to 39 years old) men and women who fully or partially (e.g., bisexual) endorsed a heterosexual orientation. Between the dates of October 29th and December 22nd of 2006, participants were recruited to fill out the Internet-based survey via the following sources: (1) message boards on romantic and sexuality-based Internet sites (e.g., www.talksexwithsue.com); (2) messages boards associated with Internet search engines (e.g., Google); (3) University of Northern British Columbia (UNBC) undergraduate psychology classes; (4) posters and display boards around UNBC; and, (5) through word of mouth. Recruitment source statistics are provided in Table 1. Of the 1,234 participants who visited the online study, 522 participants completed all the survey questionnaires. Ten participants were removed because they were either younger, or older, than the specified age range of 18 to 39 years old. Seventeen participants were removed because they failed to specify either their age (15 participants) or their gender (2 participants). Moreover, 26 participants were removed because they either specified a homosexual orientation (21 participants) or did not specify their sexual orientation (5 participants). Finally, 39 participants were removed because they were either virgins (24 participants) or did not specify their sexual intercourse history (15 participants). Overall, the participant sample was composed of 430 participants. Participant demographics and casual sex history are provided in Table 1 and Table 2, respectively. Table 1 Demographic Characteristics for the Sample Descriptor Frequency Percent Age (Overall) Gender Men Women 125 305 29.1% 70.9% Ethnicity* Caucasian First-Nations African-American East-Indian Asian Hispanic Other 336 5 18 7 14 21 27 78.1% 1.0% 4.2% 1.6% 3.3% 4.9% 6.3% Parental Education Level* Less than grade 12 Grade 12 diploma Some post-secondary/trade A bachelor degree A master degree A doctoral degree Other 23 72 162 112 39 21 0 5.3% 16.7% 37.7% 26.0% 9.1% 4.9% 0.0% Occupation* Employed full-time Employed part-time Student Unemployed Disabled Other 134 31 232 11 4 9 31.2% 7.2% 54.0% 2.6% 0.9% 2.1% Current Relationship Status Looking to date Not interested in dating 98 22 22.8% 5.1% M SD 33.13 5.06 Table Continues 37 Table 1 (continued). Descriptor Frequency Percent Casually dating Dating one person Engaged Married Divorced/separated 64 170 23 39 4 14.9% 39.5% 5.3% 9.1% 0.9% Sexual Orientation* Heterosexual Bisexual Unsure 351 61 18 76.7% 14.2% 4.2% Heard about the Survey* Advertisements at UNBC Sue Johanson's website Josey Vogel's website Center for Sex and Culture website Hanover's research webpage Internet search engines Word of mouth Other 61 86 40 15 42 26 60 98 14.2% 20.0% 9.3% 3.5% 9.8% 6.0% 14.0% 22.8% Note. N = 430 * Denotes that percentages do not equal 100 due to missing data M SD 38 Table 2 Casual Sex History for the Sample Men Overall Women Types of casual sex experience N % N % N % One-night stand involving sexual intercourse* Yes No 291 138 67.7 32.1 93 32 74.4 25.6 198 106 65.1 34.9 One-night stand involving non-coital behavior* Yes No 238 191 55.3 44.4 80 45 64.0 36.0 158 146 51.8 47.9 One-night stand that evolved into romantic relationship* Yes No 165 262 38.4 60.9 49 76 39.2 60.8 116 186 38.0 61.6 Casual sex fling Yes No 318 112 74.0 26.0 88 37 70.4 29.6 230 75 75.4 24.6 One-night stand involving no communication about a future date* Yes No 208 197 48.4 45.8 65 51 52.0 40.8 143 146 46.9 47.9 One-night stand involving communication about a future date* Yes No 234 139 54.4 32.3 67 35 53.6 28.0 167 104 54.8 34.1 Note. N= 430, 125 men and 305 women. * Denotes that percentages do not equal 100 due to missing data. Procedure Online survey design. Data for this thesis were collected via an Internet survey. To develop the survey and make it accessible to individuals on the Internet, PsychData, an online survey company, was paid to program the survey, create an Internet-based survey link, and house the data in a secure database. Potential participants who followed the Internet survey link were first presented with the Study Information Page that described the study and any associated ethical considerations (see Appendix A). If the decision was made to participate in the study, individuals advanced to the next page and were presented with one of the two counterbalanced versions of the survey questionnaires. After filling out the survey, all participants were presented with an Information Debriefing Page that described the purpose of the study (see Appendix B). In addition, participants were provided with information surrounding relevant casual sex studies (e.g., Regan & Dreyer, 1999) and links to romantic and sexuality-based Internet sites. All participants voluntarily participated in the online survey and did not receive compensation for their time. Measures Participants were asked to complete general demographic and sexual history questionnaires (see Appendix C and D, respectively) along with the following self-report questionnaires designed to measure the relevant constructs. Styles of adult romantic attachment. Prototypical styles of romantic attachment were measured using an adapted version of Griffin and Bartholomew's (1994b) Relationship Styles Questionnaire (RSQ). The 30 RSQ items were revised to describe feelings, beliefs, and perceptions about romantic relationships instead of close relationships (see Appendix E). As an example, the item "I am comfortable with depending on others" was changed to "I am comfortable with depending on romantic partners." To derive scores for the secure, dismissing, preoccupied, and fearful styles of attachment, mean scores were calculated based on participants' ratings along a 5-point Likert scale (1 = very much unlike me to 5 = very much like me). Internal consistency ratings varied from .39 to .76 across the four attachment prototypes, which are in line with previous studies (DiTommaso, Brannen-McNulty, Ross, & Burgess, 2003; Griffin & Bartholomew, 1994b; Ognibene & Collins, 1998). The low internal consistencies are thought to be due to the fact that two orthogonal dimensions (model of self and model of other) are being combined to create the 4 attachment styles and not the psychometric properties of the RSQ (Griffin & Bartholomew; Ognibene & Collins). Test-retest reliability of the RSQ indicates moderate stability in the attachment styles over an eight month period (Scharfe & Bartholomew, 1994). Casual sex motivations. To develop the CSMS, items were constructed for each of the five casual sex motivational domains: pleasure, self-affirmation, coping/stress relief, establish an intimate connection, and avoid an intimate connection (see Appendix F). Item construction was based upon Hill and Preston's Affective and Motivational Orientation Related to Erotic Arousal Questionnaire (AMORE), Cooper et al.'s (1998) Sexual Motives Scale, Prager and Buhrmester's (1998) Need Fulfillment Inventory, and previous studies that have focused on motivations for casual sex and sexual intercourse (e.g., Regan & Dreyer, 1999). Six items were developed for the Pleasure subscale that reflected the desire to experience physical and psychological gratification (e.g., To relieve my sexual urges when I am feeling horny). Five items were developed for the 41 Self-Affirmation subscale that reflected the desire to affirm, or increase feelings of, selfworth (e.g., To increase my level of self-confidence). Six items were developed for the Coping/stress Relief subscale that reflected the desire to reduce negative feelings and stress (e.g., To feel better when I am unhappy). Ten items were developed for the Establish an Intimate Connection subscale that reflected the desire to start a romantic relationship with, and feel psychologically connected to, a casual sex partner (e.g., To express my need for a romantic relationship). Ten items were also developed for the Avoid an Intimate Connection subscale that reflected the desire to elude a romantic relationship and feelings of psychological connectedness by engaging in casual sex (e.g., To engage in a spontaneous act that has a low possibility of developing into a relationship). Participants were asked to rate the importance of the 37 one-night stand motivational items along a 5-point Likert scale (1 = unimportant to 5 = important). Emotional responses to the casual sex scenarios. To measure emotional reactions to "typical" one-night stand interpersonal outcomes, two vignettes were constructed based upon de Graaf and Sandfort's (2004) hypothetical one-night stand scenario (see Appendix G). After reading each hypothetical scenario, participants' rated 12 emotions along a 7-point Likert scale (1 = very unlikely to 7 = to very likely). Following Carver and Scheier's (1990b; 1998) theory of motivation and emotion, the 12 emotions were grouped into the following four categories: dejected, agitated, quiescent, and pleasurable. The dejected post-one-night stand emotions included sadness, rejected, and discouragement. The agitated post-one-night stand emotions included threatened, uneasy, and on edge. The quiescence-related emotions included calm, relaxed, and relieved. Finally, pleasurable-related emotions included excitement, joyful, and fulfilled. The emotions in each category were summed in order to get a score for the four anticipated post-casual sex responses. Internal consistencies for the hypothetical scenario that depicted no communication about a future date between partners were: .87 for dejected emotions, .73 for agitated emotions, .81 for quiescent emotions, and .85 for pleasurable emotions. For the hypothetical scenario that depicted communication about a future date between partners, the internal consistencies were: .86 for dejected emotions, .74 for agitated emotions, .78 for quiescent emotions, and .85 for pleasurable emotions. 43 RESULTS Overview of Analyses All data from the questionnaires were copied directly from an Excel spreadsheet into SPSS, Version 14. The data were then screened for potential problems with normality, linearity, homoscedasticity, outliers, and missing values. Inspection of the variable histograms indicated the variables were reasonably normally distributed (i.e., skewness and kurtosis values were close to 0). To assess departures from linearity and homoscedasticity, a number of bivariate scatterplots were conducted. The scatterplots revealed no curvilinear relationships and where relationships between variables existed, they appeared linear. After conducting boxplots to identify potential outliers, two participants were removed due to their extreme scores on the dejected emotional response variable (the future date scenario). Missing data among participants was minimal and there was no indication that the data were missing in a non-random fashion. The mean substitution method was used to replace missing values within the data (Tabachnick & Fidell, 2001). To test the proposed hypotheses for this study, several types of statistical analyses were conducted. Provided below is an overview of the different statistical analyses that were employed over the two phases of this study. Phase 1: Analyses of the casual sex motives scale. To test the hypothesis that the underlying structure of the CSMS is represented by the motives of pleasure, establish an intimate connection, avoid an intimate connection, self-affirmation, and coping/stress relief, exploratory factor analyses were conducted using the maximum likelihood extraction method with an oblique (direct oblimin) rotation. Phase 2: Preliminary analyses. The purpose of the preliminary analyses were: (a) to address whether participants perceived emotional responses (i.e., dejected, agitated, pleasurable, and quiescent) varied as a function of the two hypothetical casual sex scenarios; and, (b) to determine if the patterns of relationships among styles of attachment, casual sex motives, and post-casual sex emotional responses should be explored separately by gender. The question of scenario manipulation was addressed by conducting a repeated measure analysis of variance (ANOVA) and examining the interaction between the hypothetical scenarios and post-casual sex emotional responses. Alternatively, the question of whether patterns of associations should be explored separately for each gender was addressed by conducting two multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVA). Of relevance to the MANOVA analyses was whether there were gender differences in scores on the romantic attachment style and casual sex motives scales. The significance criterion for univariate and multivariate tests was set to an alpha of .05. When univariate tests were conducted to follow up multivariate effects, the Bonferroni procedure was used to control for Type I errors. The univariate interaction was followed up by conducting pairwise comparisons for simple effects using Tukey's Honestly Significant Difference (HSD) test. Phase 2: Analyses of the predictive links between styles of adult romantic attachment, motives, and emotions. To test the hypothesized relationships between the styles of adult romantic attachment, casual sex motives, and post-casual sex emotional responses, a series of two-tailed bivariate correlations were conducted. In order to control for Type I errors the significance criterion was set at an alpha level of .01. 45 Phase 1: Analyses of the Casual Sex Motives Scale To test the underlying structure of the 37 casual sex motive items, exploratory factor analyses were conducted using the maximum likelihood extraction procedure with an oblique rotation. Following the guidelines outlined by Tabachnick and Fidell (2001), factor analysis was deemed to be the appropriate data reduction technique based on the fact that the goal of Phase 1 was to derive a theoretically driven scale of casual sex motives. An oblique rotation was chosen based on the initial factor analysis indicating that a number of factors were correlated at a level greater than .32 (Tabachnick & Fidell). Solution factors were accepted if the eigenvalue was equal to, or greater than, one. Following Comrey and Lee's (1992) guidelines for interpreting factor loadings, items that did not load on to a factor at the .45 level (considered fair due to 20% overlapping variance) were removed from the data reduction process (as cited in Tabachnick & Fidell). The initial factor analysis yielded a six factor solution that accounted for 57.41% of the variance. Inspection of the factor loadings lead to the removal of four items: one establish an intimate connection item, one self-affirmation item, and two avoid an intimate connection items. A subsequent factor analysis was conducted and yielded a 5 factor solution that accounted for 57.22% of the variance. Inspection of the factor loadings suggested a clean solution (i.e., no non-loading items, no double loading items, and no single item factors), with all the items loading at a level greater than .45 (see Table 3 for item descriptions and loadings). Communalities ranged from .35 to .84, indicating that the factor structure was adequately capturing the variance among the 46 Table 3 Factor Pattern Matrix for the CSMS Factors Casual sex motive items Establish an Intimate Connection (a = .95) To begin a relationship that will allow me to feel warm and cared for. To develop a romantic relationship that will provide me with companionship. To find a romantic partner that I can share personal aspects of myself with. To find a romantic partner that will allow me to feel understood. To develop feelings of connectedness with a potential romantic partner. To find a romantic partner in which I can relate to on a one-to-one level. To start a relationship that will make me feel appreciated and desired. To express my need for a romantic relationship. To show my partner I am interested in getting to know them further. Avoid an Intimate Connection (a = .88) To reduce the chance that I will become romantically interested in my partner. To elude any feelings of being obligated to establish a relationship. To reduce the chance that my partner will become romantically interested in me. To avoid feelings of dependence that comes with being involved in a romantic relationship. To avoid the emotional vulnerability that comes from being in a long-term relationship. To avoid romantic relationships in which there is a possibility I will be hurt. 1 2 3 4 5 .92 -.06 .10 .01 .10 .89 -.01 .02 -.04 .04 .88 -.02 .06 .00 .03 .86 -.02 .08 -.03 .11 .84 .00 .04 .05 -.03 .82 -.03 -.01 .04 -.10 .78 -.09 -.14 -.05 .02 .65 .63 .01 .13 -.15 -.01 -.09 .05 .05 -.10 .07 .74 .02 -.08 .05 .00 .73 .07 .14 -.06 .06 .72 -.05 -.04 -.02 -.05 .70 .03 .04 .17 -.11 .67 -.05 .05 .01 -.01 .65 -.10 -.11 .13 Table continues 47 Table 3 (continued). Factors Casual sex motive items To get physically close to a partner without the expectations of romantic commitment. To have sexual intercourse and to be able to escape the my partner's presence. Self-Affirmation (a = .84) To reassure myself that others find me to be a desirable person. To reassure myself that others find me to be an attractive person. To feel that others find me to be an intriguing person. To increase my level of self-confidence. Pleasure (a = .83) To satisfy my need for sexual stimulation. To experience the thrill that comes from being involved in a new sexual encounter. To experience the excitement that comes from being adventurous with my sexuality. To relive my sexual urges when I am feeling horny. To fulfill a sexual fantasy. To experience physical gratification. Coping/Stress Relief (a = .86) To cheer myself up when things in my life are not going well. To lift my mood when I am experience loneliness. To forget about my problems for a short period of time. To temporarily relieve the amount of stress in my life. To feel better when I am unhappy. To help me deal with a disappointment that I have experienced. Note. N = 428. .20 .57 -.02 .24 .03 .07 .57 .04 .03 .01 -.00 -.01 -.81 .07 -.01 -.04 -.03 -.76 .01 .21 .17 .17 -.54 .07 .03 .11 -.03 -.51 .19 .17 .00 -.11 .06 .78 .20 -.02 .09 -.08 .68 -.08 -.02 .07 -.13 .67 -.06 -.03 .07 .02 -.03 .15 -.05 -.09 .15 -.11 .60 .58 .58 .09 -.04 .07 .10 .07 .07 .06 .85 .04 -.05 -.18 .10 .66 .03 .08 -.12 .09 .60 .04 .11 .07 .25 .57 .10 .03 .04 .24 -.16 -.17 -.08 -.15 .54 .48 casual sex motive items (Tabachmck & Fidell, 2001). Preliminary descriptive data for the casual sex motivation domains are provided in Table 4. Based on the results from the final factor analysis, mean scores were calculated for the five casual sex motivational domains. Subsequently, the mean scores for the casual sex motivational domains were used to test hypotheses in Phase 2 of this study. Phase 2: Preliminary Analyses Source tables for the ANOVAs and MANOVAs can be found in Appendix H. Scenario manipulation check. A 2 (scenario) x 4 (post-casual sex emotions) repeated measures ANOVA was conducted to test for an interaction between the hypothetical casual sex scenarios and the post-casual sex responses. Initial examination of the analysis indicated that the sphericity assumption was not assumed (p < .001); therefore, the Greenhouse-Geisser correction was applied. The ANOVA yielded a significant interaction between the hypothetical casual scenarios and the post-casual sex emotional responses, F (1.61, 685.69) = 263.14, r\ = .38. Table 5 provides the descriptive statistics for the post-casual sex emotional responses within each hypothetical casual sex scenario. The significant interaction was followed up by comparing the means of each postcasual sex emotional response across the two hypothetical casual sex scenarios. Post hoc comparisons indicated that the hypothetical casual sex scenario that depicted no communication about a future date elicited significantly greater dejected {M = 11.26, SD = 4.91) and agitated (M = 10.15, SD = 4.25) responses in comparison to the hypothetical scenario that depicted communication about a future date (M = 6.65, SD = 3.80; M = 8.52, SD = 3.99, respectively). Conversely, the hypothetical scenario that depicted 2.56 2.34 3.17 3.78 2.83 1. Establish an intimate connection 2. Avoid an intimate connection 3. Self-affirmation 4. Pleasure 5. Cope/stress relief Note.N=42S. **p<. 001 (two-tailed). M Casual sex motives 1.04 .93 1.04 .86 1.00 SD Averages 1 .07 — 28** 27** — .01 .38** .36** Motive Intercorrelations Means, Standard Deviations, and Associations between the Casual Sex Motives Table 4 .23** .48** .62** 37** Table 5 Post-Casual Sex Emotional Responses as a Function of Casual Sex Scenario No Future Date Scenario Future Date Scenario Post-casual sex emotional responses M SD M SD Dejected emotions Agitated emotions Pleasurable emotions Quiescence emotions 11.26a 10.15a 10.48a 11.07a 4.91 4.25 4.25 4.08 6.65 8.52 14.12 12.61 3.80 3.99 4.05 3.96 Note.N=42S. a p<.0125; b p<.01; c p = .01. 53 multivariate effect of gender, F (5,422) = 5.51, rj2 = .06. Table 6 provides the descriptive statistics for the casual sex motives for each gender. The significant multivariate effect of gender was followed up at the univariate level for each of the casual sex motives. Using the Bonferroni procedure, the significance criterion for the ANOVAs was set at .01. The results of the ANOVAs revealed significant effects of gender for the pleasure motive, F (1,426) = 9.04, r| = .02 and for the establish an intimate connection motive, F (1, 426) = 6.69, r| 2 = .02. The gender effect was not significant for the coping/stress relief, self-affirmation, and avoidance of an intimate connection motives. Post-hoc contrasts indicated that the men reported significantly higher scores on the pleasure motive (M = 3.98, SD = .84) and establish an intimate connection motive (M = 2.76, SD = 1.00) in comparison to the women (M = 3.70, SD = .86; M = 2.48, SD = 1.04). Phase 2: Analyses of the Predictive Links between Styles of Adult Attachment, Motives, and Emotions Results from the preliminary analyses indicated that gender has a significant effect on the endorsement of the secure and fearful styles of attachment, as well as for the casual sex motives of pleasure and establish an intimate connection. As a result, the hypothesized relationships between styles of attachment, casual sex motives, and postcasual sex emotional responses were investigated separately for each gender. Casual sex motives and post-casual sex emotional responses. In general, support was found for the predicted relationships between the casual sex motives and post-casual 54 sex emotional responses (see Table 7). Both men's and women's endorsement of the establish an intimate connection motive was significantly and positively correlated with feelings of dejection for the scenario depicting no communication about a future date. Nevertheless, for the scenario that depicted communication about a future date, only men's endorsement of the establish an intimate connection motive was positively and significantly correlated with feelings of pleasure.x Men's and women's endorsement of the avoid an intimate connection motive was significantly and positively correlate with post-casual sex emotions of quiescence for the scenario that depicted no communication about a future date. However, for the scenario that depicted communication about a future date, there was a lack of support for the positive correlation between the avoid an intimate connection motive and feelings of quiescence. Men's and women's endorsement of the pleasure motive was significantly and positively correlated with pleasure emotions for the scenario that depicted no communication about a future date. However, for the scenario that depicted communication about a future date, only women's endorsement of the pleasure motive was significantly and positively correlated with feelings of pleasure. 2 Finally, for both scenarios, men's and women's endorsement of the self-affirmation and coping/stress relief motives were not related to feelings of quiescence. For the women, the positive relationship between the establish an intimate connection motive and feelings of pleasure was significant at an alpha level of .05. For the men, the positive relationship between the pleasure motive and feelings of pleasure was significant at an alpha level of .05. 3 For the women, the positive relationship between the coping/stress relief motive and feelings of quiescence was significant at an alpha level of .05. .24** .10 -.01 -.04 -.04 -.13 29** .16 No Date Scenario Dejected emotions Agitated emotions Pleasurable emotions Quiescent emotions Date Scenario Dejected emotions Agitated emotions Pleasurable emotions Quiescent emotions .18* .02 .13f .07 .22** .17** .02 -.02 Women Note. N = 428, 305 women and 123 men. ** p < .001; * p < .01 (two-tailed); V < - 05 - Men Emotional responses Establish Intimacy .14 .15 -.05 .04 -.16 -.12 .29** .33** Men .09 .11 -.02 .09 -.16** -.15* 23** .38** Women Avoid Intimacy -.24* -.10 .19* .16 -.28* -.22T 32** .27* Men -.25** -.16* .34** .25** -.20** __27** .37** .38** Women Pleasure -.10 .00 .21 f .06 .04 -.03 .25* .18 Men .05 .09 .13 t .02 .14** .09 -.02 -.03 Women Self-Affirmation .06 .12 .09 .03 .10 .04 .12 .14 Men .08 .08 .12 .06 .07 .07 .16* .12f Women Coping/stress Relief Associations among the Casual Sex Motives and Post-Casual Sex Emotional Responses by Casual Sex Scenario and Gender Table 7 55 56 Styles of adult attachment and casual sex motives. Overall, support was found for the predicted associations between the styles of adult attachment and casual sex motivations (see Table 8). First, men's and women's secure attachment style ratings were significantly and negatively correlated with the self-affirmation and coping/stress relief motives and unrelated to the motive of establish an intimate relationship. 4 Contrary to predictions, men's and women's secure attachment style ratings were significantly and negatively correlated with the motive of avoid an intimate connection. Second, men's and women's fearful attachment style ratings were significantly and positively correlated with the avoid an intimate connection motive. However, only women's fearful attachment style ratings were significantly and positively correlated with the self-affirmation and coping/stress relief motives. 5 There was a lack of support for a positive correlation between the fearful attachment style ratings and the establish an intimate connection motive. Third, men's and women's preoccupied attachment style ratings were significantly and positively correlated with the establish an intimate connection motive. However, only women's preoccupied attachment style ratings were significantly and positively correlated with the self-affirmation and coping/stress relief motives, and significantly and negatively correlated with the avoid an intimate connection motive. Finally, men and women's dismissing attachment style ratings were significantly and positively correlated with the avoidance motive and unrelated to the coping/stress relief and self-affirmation motives. Moreover, women's dismissing attachment style ratings were significantly and negatively correlated with the establish an intimate connection motive. 4 For the men, secure attachment style ratings were significantly correlated with the self-affirmation motive at an alpha level of .05. 5 For the men, fearful attachment style ratings were significantly correlated with the coping/stress relief motive at an alpha level of .05. .05 -.26** -.06 -.18' -.30* Establish an intimate connection Avoid an intimate connection Pleasure Self-affirmation Coping/stress relief Note. N = 428, 305 women and 123 men. ** p < .001; * p < .01 (two-tailed); fp < .05. Men Casual sex motives -.04 -.30** -.08 -.18* -.18* Women Secure -.06 .40** .02 .15 .18f Men -.01 .40** .16* .15* .21** Women Fearful .24* -.05 -.09 .14 .10 Men .28** -.20** -.12* .24** .20** Women Preoccupied Associations between the Styles of Adult Romantic Attachment and Casual Sex Motives by Gender Table 8 -.12 .27* .19+ .05 -.01 Men -.17* 37#* 29** -.03 -.01 Women Dismissing 58 DISCUSSION The purpose of this study was to determine whether styles of adult romantic attachment and casual sex motives are individual difference factors that can help explain why the experience of casual sex has a differential impact on young adults' emotional well-being. To begin to explore the relationships among styles of adult romantic attachment, casual sex motives, and post-casual sex emotional responses, this study examined the following two research questions: (a) are there distinct approach and avoidance motivational domains captured by the CSMS?; and, (b) are approach and avoidance casual sex motives related to post-casual sex emotional responses and styles of adult romantic attachment? Hypotheses relevant to these two objectives were addressed within two Phases of analyses. Specifically, analyses in Phase 1 addressed the hypothesis that the CSMS captures the casual sex motives of pleasure, establish an intimate connection, avoid an intimate connection, self-affirmation, and coping/stress relief. Analyses in Phase 2 of this thesis addressed the hypothesis that the approach and avoidance casual sex motives, in combination with hypothetical casual sex outcomes, will be related to young adults' disparate post-casual sex emotional responses. Moreover, Phase 2 also addressed the hypothesis that the approach and avoidance casual sex motives will be differentially related to the styles of adult romantic attachment. Overall, support was found for the underlying structure of the CSMS and for the relationships between styles of adult romantic attachment, casual sex motives, and post-casual sex emotional responses. 6 The following sections will discuss the support garnered for each specific hypothesis. 6 There are instances when the relationships between the styles of adult attachment, casual sex motivations, and postcasual sex emotional responses are of similar magnitude for both men and women, yet gender differences emerge in terms of whether associations reach statistical significance. In such cases, gender differences should be interpreted cautiously due to the lack of power to detect significant associations for the men's sample. 59 The Structure of the CSMS Considering the literature on casual sex (e.g., Regan & Dreyer, 1999), theory on sexual motives (Cooper et al., 1998), and the factor structure of existing sexual motives measures (Cooper et al.; Hill & Preston, 1996), it was hypothesized that the CSMS would be represented by the following five approach and avoidance motivations: pleasure, establish an intimate connection, avoid an intimate connection, self-affirmation, and coping/stress relief. Results of the factor analysis revealed support for the existence of the five hypothesized casual sex motivations. Inspection of the associations among the casual sex motives indicated that the casual sex motives are relatively independent of each other. An exception, however, was the moderate to strong relationship between the selfaffirmation and coping/stress relief casual sex motives. Based on existing research (see Cooper et al.), a moderate to strong correlation would be expected between the selfaffirmation and coping/stress relief casual sex motives, in that both casual sex motives are theorized to be avoidant-based and self-focused. Although the motives of pleasure, self-affirmation, and coping/stress relief have been previously established as motivations underlying sexual intercourse (Cooper et al., 1998) and casual sex behavior (Paul & Hayes, 2002; Regan & Dreyer, 1999; Weaver & Herold, 2000), this study introduced, and found support for, two intimacy-based casual sex motives: the desire to establish an intimate connection and the desire to avoid an intimate connection. The motive of establishing an intimate connection represents an integration of the previous literature which suggests that some young adults engage in casual sex with the motivations to find love (Rosenthal et al., 1998), experience psychological closeness (Rokach, 1998), and lure in a potential romantic partner (Regan 60 & Dreyer; Traeen & Sorensen, 2000). On the other hand, the avoid an intimate connection motive represents an integration of the research that suggests young adults who have a fear of intimacy desire lower levels of emotional intimacy in a relationship, are less likely to be involved in a committed relationship, and are more likely to engage in casual sex (Paul et al., 2000; Thelen, Vander Wal, Thomas, & Harmon, 2000). Initial analyses surrounding the importance of the casual sex motivations were found to be consistent with the existing research on casual sex. For instance, the casual sex motive of pleasure received the highest endorsement (see means in Table 5), which supports the previous literature that indicates pleasure is the prominent reason behind casual sex behavior (Regan & Dreyer, 1999; Weaver & Herold, 2000). Moreover, in light of the fact that self-esteem has been frequently discussed within the context of casual sex (e.g., Herold & Mewhinney, 1993; Paul et al., 2000; Schmitt, 2005), it is not surprising that the self-affirmation motive was given the second highest endorsement. Finally, the coping/stress relief motive, along with the motives of establish and avoid an intimate connection, were rated as being lower in importance. The lower ratings of importance are in line with previous research that reports that individuals are less likely to engage in casual sex for coping and intimacy-related reasons (Regan & Dreyer). In terms of the gender differences on the casual sex motives, the preliminary analyses revealed some expected and unexpected findings that are worthy of further discussion. Specifically, the men were found to place a greater importance on the casual sex motives of pleasure and establish an intimate connection in comparison to the women (see means in Table 7). The finding that men are more likely to endorse a pleasure motive for casual sex supports the existing literature on sexual motivation (e.g., Carroll et al., 61 1985; Cooper et al., 1998; Hill & Preston, 1996). To explain why men tend to endorse higher levels of the pleasure motive in comparison to women, previous research (e.g., Regan & Dreyer, 1999) often refers to the role of socio-cultural influences on men's and women's sexuality. According to Simon and Gagnon (1986), men and women are socialized to attach specific meanings to their sexual activities. Within Western cultures, the process of sexual socialization often means that men and women form sexual scripts that follow stereotyped gender roles (Gagnon & Simon, 1973, p.71). That is, women's sexual behavior should be motivated by the desire for love, closeness, and commitment; whereas, men's sexual behavior should be motivated by sexual pleasure or the achievement of sexual prowess (Paul & Hayes, 2002; Traeen & Sorensen, 2000). Hence, sexual socialization seems to be one possible explanation for why the men placed a greater importance on the pleasure casual sex motive in comparison to the women. The other gender difference that warrants discussion is that the men placed a higher importance on the casual sex motive of establish an intimate connection in comparison to the women. Men's greater emphasis on establishing an intimate connection via casual sex does not seem to fit with the existing research that indicates women endorse higher levels of intimacy-based sexual motivations (Browning, Hatfield, Kessler, & Levine, 2000; Carroll et al., 1985; Cooper et al., 1998; Hill & Preston, 1996). A possible explanation for the novel finding is participant age. The mean age of participants was 33, which is substantially higher than the mean age of previous studies that focused on sexual motives (e.g., 21 years old; Cooper et al.). According to past research (Sprague & Quadagno, 1989), gender differences in sexual motivation can fluctuate across young adulthood, with the potential for men and women to reverse their 62 endorsement of stereotypical sexual motives. For example, Sprague and Quadagno found that up until their early-thirties, women placed a higher value on the sexual motives of expressing love and closeness; whereas, the trend reversed around the age of 35, with men placing a higher value on the sexual motives of expressing love and closeness. Therefore, the results from this study are consistent with Sprague and Quadagno's findings that men in their mid-thirties are more likely than women to endorse intimacybased sexual motives. Whereas Sprague and Quadagno (1989) did not speculate on why this switch in sexual motives occurs, evolutionary theory provides a possible explanation. According to Sexual Strategies Theory (Buss & Schmitt, 1993), a man's desire to be in a committed romantic relationship may increase with age as the focus shifts from searching for reproductively fit women to capitalizing on one woman's reproductive fitness for a lifetime. It is possible, then, that men were more likely to endorse the establish an intimate connection motive because it reflects their underlying desire to be in a committed relationship that will provide them with the opportunity for long-term reproductive success. Hence, it appears that during their early thirties, men and women similarly use short-term mating strategies in order to lure in a potential romantic mate, which is in stark contrast to women's dominant use of this strategy in the early stages of young adulthood (see Regan & Dreyer, 1999). Casual Sex Motives and Post-Casual Sex Emotional Responses Incorporating theory on sexual motives (e.g., Cooper et al., 1998) and motivation and emotion (e.g., Carver & Scheier, 1998), this thesis sought to examine if approach and avoidance casual sex motivations are one individual difference factor that is related to 63 young adults' disparate post-casual sex emotional responses (i.e., dejected, agitated, pleasurable, and quiescent emotions). Moreover, recognizing that previous research (e.g., Impett et al., 2005; Paul & Hayes, 2002) has studied post-coital emotional well-being in the absence of any sort of interpersonal context, this thesis examined post-casual sex emotional responses to two novel hypothetical casual sex scenarios: (a) a one-night stand scenario that ends with no communication about a future date; and, (b) a one-night stand scenario that ends with communication about a future date. Considering each hypothetical casual sex scenario, hypotheses were developed surrounding the links between the approach and avoidance casual sex motives and post-casual sex emotional responses. The following section discusses the support found for those hypotheses. The pleasure motive. For each hypothetical casual sex scenario, it was hypothesized that the pleasure motive would be positively associated with post-casual sex feelings of pleasure. The results of the correlation analyses supported the predicted associations for the scenario that depicted no communication about a future date. However, for the scenario that depicted communication about a future date, support was found for the hypothesized relationship for women, but not for men. Hence, it appears that women who placed a higher level of importance on the pleasure motive were more likely to perceive that they would experience greater post-casual sex feelings of pleasure, regardless of the interpersonal outcome of the one-night stand encounter. It is possible, then, that woman's anticipated feelings of pleasure were based on the depiction of sexual intercourse, or physical gratification, in each of the one-night stand scenarios. The notion that physical gratification results in pleasurable emotions is supported by the existing literature on casual sex (Paul & Hayes, 2002; Regan & Dreyer, 1999; Rosenthal et al., 1998) and theories on motivation and emotion (e.g., Carver & Scheier, 1998; Higgins, 1997). An unexpected finding was that men's endorsement of the pleasure motive was not significantly associated with post-casual sex pleasure emotions in response to the scenario that depicted communication about a future date. A potential explanation for the nonsignificant association is that men seem to be aware of when they are engaging in sexual intercourse for intimate or romantic reasons and when they are engaging in sexual intercourse for pleasure reasons (Regan & Dreyer, 1999; Rosenthal et al., 1998; Seal & Ehrardt, 2003; Traeen & Sorensen, 2000). Due to this motive differentiation, it is possible that the men who placed a higher importance on the pleasure motive would only be concerned about experiencing physical gratification during a one-night stand encounter. If tenable, then reading about a one-night stand encounter that involves physical gratification, but also a partner-driven discussion about future romantic obligations, may have led men to feel uncertain or neutral about their anticipated postcasual sex feelings of pleasure. Men's ambivalence surrounding their post-casual sex feelings of pleasure may be based on the conflicted perception that their own physical needs were fulfilled but that their partner's interpersonal needs were not fulfilled. The establish an intimate connection motive. The hypotheses generated were that the intimacy motive would be positively associated with feelings of dejection for the scenario that depicted no communication about a future date and with feelings of pleasure for the scenario that depicted communication about a future date. The results of the correlation analyses revealed support for these predicted relationships for the men but not the women. Specifically, for the communication scenario, women's endorsement of the 65 establish an intimate connection motive was not significantly correlated with anticipated post-casual sex feelings of pleasure. Nevertheless, the patterns of correlations suggest that the no date scenario implied the lack of intimacy fulfillment, and therefore, the individuals who placed a higher level of importance on the establish an intimate connection motive may be more likely to predict that they would experience feelings of dejection after casual sex. Conversely, it appears that the future date scenario implied the potential for intimacy fulfillment, and as a result, men who endorsed the intimacy motive may be more likely to predict that they would experience feelings of pleasure following casual sex. The patterns of relationships are consistent with Carver and Scheier's (1998) theory that achieved and thwarted approach-based motives are related to the experience of pleasurable and dejected emotions, respectively. Similarly, the findings extend Impett and associates (Impett, 2002; Impett et al., 2005) work on sexual motives and emotional well-being by showing that that sex-based approach motives are not always associated with an increase in emotional well-being; that is, when approach sexual motives are thwarted, young adults can experience a decrease in post-coital emotional well-being. The avoid an intimate connection motive. It was hypothesized that the avoidance motive would be positively associated with feelings of quiescence for the scenario that depicted no communication about a future date and with feelings of agitation for the scenario that depicted communication about a future date. The results of the correlation analyses revealed support for the hypothesized relationships for the scenario that depicted no communication about a future date; however, for the scenario that depicted communication about a future date, the predicted relationships were not supported. The fact that the avoidance motive was positively related to quiescent emotions for the no communication scenario suggests that the men and women anticipated feeling positive because they would be more likely to be successful in avoiding a future intimate connection. A finding that warrants discussion is that men's and women's endorsement of the avoid an intimate connection motive was not significantly associated with post-casual sex feelings of agitation in response to the scenario that depicted communication about a future date. A potential explanation for the nonsignificant association is that the men and women who endorsed the avoidance motive experienced emotional ambivalence when presented with the scenario that depicted a potential future date. For instance, previous research (Paul & Hayes, 2002; Regan & Dreyer, 1999; Townsend, 1995) indicates that individuals who have no desire for a romantic commitment going into a casual sex encounter tend to feel mixed emotions (e.g., anxiety and excitement) at the cessation of the casual sex experience. The feelings of mixed emotions may be due to the fact that individuals who fear intimacy associate romantic commitment with feelings of emotional vulnerability; that is, with love comes the potential for experiencing hurt and rejection (Traeen & Sorensen, 2000). Support for the emotional ambivalence hypothesis comes from the finding that men's and women's endorsement of the avoid intimate connection motive was not associated with any post-casual sex emotional responses for the scenario that depicts communication about a future date. The self-affirmation motive. For each hypothetical casual sex scenario, it was hypothesized that the self-affirmation motive would be positively associated with postcasual sex feelings of quiescence. The results of the correlation analyses revealed a lack of support for the predicted associations. Of interest, however, was the gender difference 67 found for the pattern of relationships between the self-affirmation motive and post-casual sex emotional responses. Specifically, women's endorsement of the self-affirmation motive was related to anticipated feelings of dejection for the no communication scenario and anticipated feelings of pleasure for the communication scenario; a pattern of associations that was found for the intimacy-based approach motive. On the other hand, men's endorsement of self-affirmation motive was related to anticipated feelings of pleasure across both the communication and no communication scenarios; a pattern of associations that was found for the pleasure-based approach motive. A potential explanation for why women's desire for self-affirmation may actually represent an intimacy-based approach process can be found within the literature on selfverification. Research on self-verification states that individuals are motivated to seek out social feedback that is consistent with their global (Swann & Read, 1981) and contextualized self-views (e.g., self in relationships; Chen, English, & Peng, 2006). Moreover, gender seems to be one individual difference variable that influences the motivation for contextual-based feedback, with women, but not men, desiring verification of their relationship self-views (Chen et al.). Considering that women's conceptualization of their sexuality is also based on romance and commitment (Anderson & Cyranowski, 1994; Garcia, 1999), it is possible that women's endorsement of the self-affirmation motive may actually reflect the desire to verify one's desirability and attractiveness with a potential romantic partner. Indeed, previous research supports the notion that women seek out self-affirmation from a casual sex partner who is viewed as a potential romantic mate (Regan & Dreyer, 1999). Theory on sexual scripts can also be used to explain the finding that men's endorsement of the self-affirmation motive seems to reflect an approach-focused motivational process. Specifically, men within Westernized societies are socialized to believe that sexual behavior is a way to experience pleasure and to establish or maintain their sexual prowess (Simon & Gagnon, 1986). Moreover, men's desire to affirm their sexual prowess seems to be particularly evident when considering the context of casual sex behavior (Regan & Dreyer, 1999; Rosenthal et al., 1998; Seal & Ehrhardt, 2003). As such, it is possible that men's self-affirmation motive does not reflect global evaluations of self-worth and desirability, but more specific evaluations as a competent sexual partner. If tenable, then men may approach casual sex encounters with the desire to maintain or increase their perceived level of sexual virility, and when successful, experience pleasurable emotions. The coping/stress relief motive. For each hypothetical casual sex scenario, it was hypothesized that the coping/stress relief motive would be positively associated with post-casual sex feelings of quiescence. The results of the correlation analyses revealed a lack of support for the predicted hypotheses. The lack of findings is difficult to interpret based on previous research that indicates that young adults engage in casual sex in order to cope with feelings of loneliness (Levinson et al., 1995; Regan & Dreyer, 1999; Rokach, 1998), depression (Bancroft et al., 2003; Grello et al., 2006), and stress and disappointment (Bancroft et al.). Moreover, Impett (2002) found that engaging in sexual intercourse in order to cope with upset feelings was associated with a variety of negative emotions. Nevertheless, a potential explanation for the lack of findings is that the hypothetical scenarios did not require participants to imagine that they were currently experiencing aversive psychological states or moods. It is plausible, then, that the participants were not able to consider how the experience of casual sex would relieve their existing negative psychological states. If so, it may be expected that the coping/stress relief motive would be unrelated to anticipated post-causal sex feelings of quiescence. Casual Sex Motives and Styles of Adult Romantic Attachment The existing literature on adult attachment and sexuality indicates that casual sex may be one type of behavioral strategy that is used to meet underlying attachment needs (e.g., Brennan & Shaver, 1995). Moreover, recent findings suggests that motives for sexual intercourse are reflective of underlying attachment needs, and that variations in sexual motives are associated with attachment-related differences (Davis et al., 1994). Integrating the literature on adult attachment and sexuality, this thesis sought to examine if approach and avoidance casual sex motivations are differentially related to styles of adult romantic attachment. The following section discusses the support found for the hypothesized associations between the approach and avoidance casual sex motives and the styles of adult romantic attachment. The secure style of adult attachment. The hypotheses generated were that the secure style of attachment would be negatively associated with the motives of coping/stress relief and self-affirmation and unrelated to the motives of establish, and avoid, an intimate connection. Results of the correlation analyses supported the predicted associations. An exception, however, was that men's secure attachment style ratings were not related to the self-affirmation motive. Moreover, an unexpected finding was that the secure style of attachment was negatively associated with the avoid an intimate connection motive. Overall, the patterns of correlations are consistent with previous studies (e.g., Schachner & Shaver, 2004) that have shown that individuals with a secure style of attachment do not engage in sexual intercourse to relieve negative psychological states or to avoid feelings of emotional closeness. Considering the characteristic profile associated with the secure style of attachment, it is not surprising that support was found for the predicted relationships surrounding the casual sex motives. For example, individuals with a secure style of attachment are self-confident, are able to depend on others, and are comfortable with being close with others (Bartholomew, 1990; 1997; Bartholomew & Horowitz, 1991; Hazen & Shaver, 1987; Cassidy, 1999; Collins & Read, 1990). Moreover, individuals with a secure style of attachment are able to maintain romantic relationships, prefer to engage in intimate behaviors within the confines of a committed relationship, and experience positive affect after engaging in sexual intercourse with a partner (Bogaert & Sadava, 2002; Brennan et al., 1998; Feeney et al., 2003; Tracey et al., 2003). Therefore, higher levels of attachment security seems to translate into a lower likelihood that casual sex will be used as a strategy to regulate negative psychological states (e.g., stress or low self-confidence) or to satisfy intimacy-related needs. The fearful style of adult attachment. The hypotheses generated were that the fearful style of attachment would be positively associated with the motives of establish and avoid an intimate connection, coping/stress relief, and self-affirmation. Results of the correlation analyses revealed support for the predicted relationships for the women. For the men, support was only found for the positive association between the fearful attachment style and the avoid an intimate connection motive. Furthermore, a lack of 71 support was found for the positive association between the fearful attachment style and the establish an intimate connection motive. The patterns of associations for the women support the current literature that indicates that higher levels of attachment anxiety and avoidance are associated with a greater endorsement of the sexual motives of coping/stress relief and self-affirmation (Davis et al., 2004; Schachner & Shaver, 2004). Moreover, the patterns of relationships are also consistent with the casual sex literature that suggests that a fear of intimacy underlies casual sex behavior (Paul & Hayes, 2002; Traeen & Soresen, 2000). The supported predictions provide some support for the characteristic approachavoidance conflict that is associated with the fearful style of attachment. For instance, individuals with a fearful style of attachment are highly dependent on others for feelings of self-validation, but at the same time, avoid close relationships with others due an intense fear of rejection (Bartholomew & Horowitz, 1991; Griffin & Bartholomew, 1994a). A similar pattern of ambivalence can be seen by the positive associations between the fearful style of attachment and the motives of self-affirmation and avoid an intimate connection. However, there was a lack of support for the notion that the fearful style of attachment is associated with conflicted intimacy desires (Bartholomew, 1990; 1993; 1997), as indicated by the absent relationship between the fearful style of attachment and the establish an intimate connection. Nevertheless, the unsupported prediction is not entirely surprising considering that the fearful style of attachment is associated with lower scores on indices of warmth, intimacy, and emotional expressiveness (Bartholomew & Horowitz; Griffin & Bartholomew). Moreover, since intimacy is linked to feelings of vulnerability, individuals with a fearful style of 72 attachment tend to seek out encounters marked by low levels of commitment and emotional investment (Brennan & Shaver, 1995; Brennan et al., 1998; Schmitt, 2005). Taken together, when it comes to intimacy-related needs, it appears that individuals who rate higher on the fearful style of attachment use casual sex as a strategy to avoid, and not approach, romantic relationships. The preoccupied style of adult attachment. The hypotheses generated were that the preoccupied style of attachment would be positively associated with the motives of establish an intimate connection, coping/stress relief, and self-affirmation, and negatively associated with the motive of avoid an intimate connection. Support was found for the predicted relationships for the women. For the men, support was only found for the positive association between the preoccupied attachment style and the establish an intimate connection motive. The patterns of associations for the women support the existing literature that indicates that higher levels of attachment anxiety are associated with a greater desire to engage in sexual intercourse in order to increase feelings of selfesteem, relief negative psychological states, and experience emotional closeness (Davis et al., 1994; Schachner & Shaver, 2004). Moreover, the findings are consistent with previous research that indicates that higher levels of the preoccupied style of attachment are associated with a greater endorsement of intimacy and coping-related sexual motives (Schachner & Shaver). A potential explanation for why men's preoccupied style ratings were associated with the establish an intimate connection motive, but not the avoid an intimate connection motive, is that men often play the role of "initiator" when it comes to starting romantic relationships. For instance, Clark, Shaver, and Abrahams (1999) found that men, in 73 comparison to women, were more likely to have a history of initiating romantic relationships and were more likely to initiate a romantic relationship with an attractive hypothetical partner. To the extent that hypervigilance surrounding the availability of a romantic partner is a characteristic associated with the preoccupied style of attachment (Bartholomew & Horowitz, 1991; Brennan & Shaver, 1995; Fraley & Shaver, 1998), then it is plausible that men who rate higher on the preoccupied style of attachment are more actively immersed in their romantic initiator role. Thus, the lack of association between the men's preoccupied attachment style ratings and the avoid an intimate connection motive can potentially be explained by the fact that preoccupied men may be obsessively searching for a romantic partner, even if it involves initiating a romantic relationship via indiscriminate sexual strategies. Consequently, it is possible that preoccupied men do not even consider engaging in casual sex to elude romance and intimacy. The dismissing style of adult attachment. The hypotheses generated were that the dismissing style of attachment would be positively associated with the motives of avoid an intimate connection, unrelated to the motive of self-affirmation and coping/stress relief, and negatively associated with the motive of establish an intimate connection. The results of the correlation analyses revealed support for the hypothesized relationships with the exception of men's dismissing attachment style ratings being unrelated to the motive of establish an intimate connection. The patterns of relationships are consistent with the existing literature that indicates that attachment avoidance is positively associated with the motive of avoiding emotional vulnerability, unrelated to the motive of increasing self-esteem, and negatively related to motive of feeling valued by a partner (Davis et al., 2004; Schachner & Shaver, 2004). Moreover, the findings support recent research that indicates that the dismissing style of attachment is related to engaging in casual sex in order to avoid feelings of emotional vulnerability. The patterns of associations can be interpreted in terms of the characteristics underlying the dismissing style of attachment. For instance, individuals with a dismissing style of attachment do not expect that their close companions will be available, caring, and reliable (Bartholomew & Horowitz, 1991), and as a result, do not turn to others to provide feelings of comfort and security (Simpson et al., 2002). Moreover, dismissive individuals devalue the importance of close relationships, placing an emphasis on independence (Bartholomew 1990; 1997; Bartholomew & Horowitz, 1991). Considering the existing findings, it is not surprising that the dismissing style of attachment was unrelated to the motives that portray relying on a casual partner to relieve existing negative psychological states. Nevertheless, those individuals who endorse higher levels of the dismissing attachment style do appear to use casual sex as a way to avoid feelings of emotional closeness and commitment. Theoretical Implications of the Current Study The findings from the current study have theoretical implications for the existing research on adult romantic attachment and casual sex motives. First, the patterns of relationships between the styles of adult attachment and casual sex motives are consistent with Shaver and Hazen's (1988) theory that the sexual behavioral system is affected by the attachment behavioral system. That is, the attachment behavioral system is the first behavioral system that is expressed early on in development (first year of life), and as a result, by the time the sexual behavior system becomes pertinent (around the onset of puberty), individuals already have formed an internalized style of relating to others in 75 close relationships (Shaver & Hazen). Although this temporal hypothesis has not been empirically investigated, the results from this study support the notion that attachment needs are reflected in the motivations underlying young adults' casual sex behavior. Furthermore, variations in the casual sex motives are also related to the styles of adult romantic attachment in theoretically predictable ways. It should be noted, however, that interpretations of directionality are difficult to make considering the results are based on correlations. The findings also support Bartholomew and associates (Bartholomew, 1990; Bartholomew & Horowitz, 1991) theoretical premise that styles of adult attachment are represented by positive and negative working models of self and other. For instance, the styles that are characterized by a negative working model of self (i.e., preoccupied and fearful) were positively related to the motive of self-affirmation. Moreover, the styles that are marked by a negative working model of other (i.e., dismissing and fearful) were positively related to the motive of avoid an intimate connection; whereas, the styles that are marked by a positive working model of other (i.e., secure and preoccupied) were negatively related to the motive of avoid an intimate connection. Together, the patterns of results join a larger body of literature (e.g., Griffin & Bartholomew, 1994b) that have shown support for Bartholomew and associates conception of the underlying dimensions of adult attachment. Interpretation of the associations between the casual sex motives and post-casual sex emotional responses has potential implications for the existing theory on approach and avoidance sexual motivations (Cooper et al., 1998). As an example, engaging in sexual intercourse for pleasure reasons has been conceptualized as an approach-related motivational process; that is, individuals engage in sexual intercourse with the desire to achieve the positive outcome of physical or psychological gratification (Cooper et al.). Nevertheless, it is possible that the pleasure motive also has avoidance qualities when taking into account the previous research that indicates that physical gratification results in feelings of relief (Regan & Dreyer, 1999; Rosenthal et al., 1998). Avoidance qualities associated with the pleasure motive may stem from uncomfortable feelings that are the result of experiencing high levels of sexual desire or tension. To the extent that a casual sex encounter relieves existing levels of sexual tension, it can be expected that the pleasure motive would be associated with the post-casual sex feelings of quiescence. There is support for this hypothesis in that the pleasure motive was positively related to post-casual sex feelings of quiescence across both casual sex scenarios. Hence, it is possible that some motivations for sexual intercourse reflect both approach and avoidance-processes, and not just one or the other, as conceptualized by previous sexual motive theorists (see Cooper et al.). The findings from the present study also challenge Cooper et al.'s (1998) theory that the self-affirmation motive reflects an avoidance-process, in that the self-affirmation motive was related to pleasurable and dejected emotions; affective experiences that are theorized to be related to the approach motivational system (see Carver, 2001). As such, the self-affirmation motive may be better conceptualized as the need to engage in casual sex in order to establish, maintain, or increase feelings of desirability and self-worth instead of the motivation to alleviate low feelings of desirability and self-worth. Moreover, the patterns of relationships between the casual sex motivations and postcasual sex emotional responses suggest that gender differences need to be taken into consideration when considering the meaning underlying the motivation for selfaffirmation. For women, the self-affirmation motive was positively related to feelings of dejection for the scenario that depicted no communication about a future date and feelings pleasure for the scenario depicting communication about a future date. The patterns of relationships suggest that for women, the self-affirmation motive may represent the need to verify feelings of desirability and self-worth by engaging in a shortterm sexual act with someone who is viewed as a potential romantic partner. Conversely, for men, the self-affirmation motive was positively related to feelings of pleasure across both scenarios. Hence, for men, the self-affirmation motive may reflect the need to verify feelings of sexual prowess and competence, taking into consideration that both scenarios depicted the experience of sexual intercourse. Limitations of the Current Study The current study was limited in several respects that include the nature of the sample and the content of the hypothetical scenarios. First, although this study sought to recruit a representative sample of young adults, close to 50% of the sample was composed of individuals who were 35 to 39 years old. Considering that previous studies (e.g., Paul & Hayes, 2002) on casual sex have had samples composed of individuals in the early stages of young adulthood, to some extent, the sample for the present study was more representative of individuals in the later stages of young adulthood. Although the broad age range provides the benefit of understanding casual sex across the developmental period of young adulthood, a possible limitation is that participants in the later stages of young adulthood placed a different meaning or emotional significance on the casual sex scenarios in comparison to participants who were in the early stages of 78 young adulthood. Another limitation of the sample was that in the absence of providing individuals with incentives for their participation, the recruitment of individuals may have been especially prone to volunteer bias. For example, when it comes to sexual-based studies, Wiederman (1999) found that volunteers, in comparison to nonvolunteers, were more sexually experienced, held more liberal attitudes towards sexuality, and reported higher levels of sexual esteem and sensation seeking. Considering Wiederman's findings, it is possible that the current sample represents a self-selecting group of individuals that may not be representative of the general population. Finally, there were some instances in which the strength of the correlations were similar between the men and women, however, using a more stringent alpha criterion, the associations for the men did not reach significance. With the sample being composed of 305 women and 123 men, it is reasonable to suggest that some of the gender differences in terms of significant associations were due to having reduced power for the men's analyses. Although this study expanded the current literature on young adults' affective reactions to interpersonal casual sex outcomes, there are a number of limitations associated with the developed hypothetical scenarios. For example, beyond one-night stands that involve sexual intercourse, young adults engage in many types of casual sex encounters that do not necessarily entail the engagement of coital behaviors (Regan & Dreyer, 1999; Weaver & Herold, 2000). Furthermore, because casual sex encounters are a highly individualized experiences that involve a variety of factors (e.g., use or protection or excessive intoxication; Paul & Hayes, 2002), the hypothetical scenarios were likely parsimonious depictions of real life casual sex encounters. Hence, it can be questioned as to whether participants anticipated emotional responses to the hypothetical scenario would be similar to that of real life casual sex experiences. Recommendations for Future Research Considering the exploratory nature of the current study, there are a number of recommendations that can be considered for future investigation. The first recommendation is to further explore the enduring nature of post-casual sex emotional responses. Although it is well cited that young adults experience a variety of post-casual sex emotional responses, it is not known how long these emotional experiences last. Do post-casual sex emotions dissipate over a day, a few days, or longer? Moreover, do negative post-casual sex emotional responses persist longer than positive post-casual sex emotional responses? These are important questions that should be explored in order to determine the extent to which casual sex encounters impact young adults' emotional well-being. A second recommendation is the possibility of further examination of how the emotional impact of casual sex encounters impacts young adults' psychological wellbeing. Recent research has suggested that the emotions experienced after a casual sex encounter may exacerbate into negative psychological states (e.g., depression and loneliness; de Graaf & Sandfort, 2004), yet this supposition remains to be tested. The existing research also indicates that attributions surrounding a casual sex outcome are linked to young adults' post-casual sex emotional and psychological well-being (Paul & Hayes, 2002; Rosenthal et al., 1998). To further explore the role of attributions in postcasual sex well-being, it might be fruitful to incorporate Weiner's (1985) attributional theory of motivation and emotion. Integrating Weiner's theory, young adults should experience an immediate emotional response (e.g., happiness or sadness) to the cessation of the casual sex outcome (e.g., partner not expressing the desire for a future date). Following the primary post-casual sex emotional response, young adults should seek to explain the casual sex outcome using a number of causal attributions (e.g., internal versus external). Based on the attributions made surrounding the casual sex outcome, young adults should then experience specific attribution-dependent emotional and psychological states. As an example, young adults should experience a decrease in self-esteem if they make an internal attribution for their casual partner not desiring a future date (Weiner, 1985). Hence, Weiner's theory provides a conceptual framework that can explain the emotional and cognitive processes that influence young adults' post-casual sex psychological well-being. Summary and Conclusions The purpose of this thesis was to introduce casual sex motives and styles of adult romantic attachment as individual difference factors related to young adults' post-casual sex emotional well-being. As such, attention was first given towards the exploration of the different approach and avoidance motives underlying young adults' casual sex behavior. In line with existing sexual motives scales (e.g., Cooper et al., 1998), five relatively distinct approach and avoidance casual sex motivations were discerned. Subsequently, patterns of relationships were explored between the casual sex motives and emotional responses to two different hypothetical casual sex scenarios. In support of an existing theory on motivation and emotion (Carver & Scheier, 1998), the associations between the casual sex motives and post-casual sex emotional responses were found to differ across the casual sex scenarios, with the emergence of some gender differences. 81 Patterns of relationships were also examined between the casual sex motives and styles of adult romantic attachment. Overall, the casual sex motivations were found to be differentially related to the styles of romantically relating to others in ways that are consistent with adult attachment theory (Bartholomew, 1990; Bartholomew & Horowitz, 1991). When the results for both sets of correlation analyses (i.e., inter-correlations between relationship styles and motives and between motives and emotional responses) are considered, there is preliminary evidence to support the hypothesized links proposed in the heuristic model depicted in Figure 1. That is, there are patterns of correlations which suggest that certain relationship styles may predict specific casual sex motives which in turn may predict expected emotional responses to casual sex encounters. For example, positive correlations were found between the preoccupied style and the approach motive, as well as between the approach motive and dejected emotions (for the "no date" scenario). Future research using structural equation modeling should be directed at finding more solid support for the model hypothesized in this thesis. Nevertheless, taken together, the current results suggest that this may be a viable model for considering the individual difference factors that may result in negative emotional responses to casual sex. The present findings are important for both the research literature and for more applied purposes. Possibly the most important implication of these results surrounds the issue of measurement of adult attachment. Specifically, using Griffin and Bartholomew's (1994a) continuous measure of the adult attachment prototypes, the findings from the present study clarify ambiguous results that have been found using a dimensional 82 measure of adult attachment (Davis et al., 2004; Schachner & Shaver, 2004). As an example, recent research (Davis et al.; Schachner & Shaver) has found a positive association between the attachment avoidance dimension and the sexual motives of selfaffirmation and coping/stress relief. Theoretically, these results are hard to interpret because both the fearful and dismissing styles of attachment are characterized by higher levels of attachment avoidance; yet, consideration is not given to the fact that the two styles differ in terms of the experience of attachment anxiety. The results from the present study, however, provide clarification to the existing findings by showing that a combination of high levels of attachment anxiety and avoidance (i.e., fearfully attachment style) are positively associated with the sexual motives of self-affirmation and coping/stress relief. As such, this study supports Griffin and Bartholomew's view that the two attachment dimensions in themselves are not enough to understand the emerging characteristics of the prototypical styles of attachment. Hence, in order to avoid interpretation difficulties when studying individual differences in adult attachment, researchers should consider using a continuous, rather than a dimensional, measure of adult attachment. The findings from this study add to the larger body of sexuality literature (e.g., Paul & Hayes, 2002) that suggests the majority of young adults are engaging in casual sex, and that casual sex encounters can have a negative impact on young adults' emotional well-being. 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Prerequisites for Participating in this Survey: > You must be between the ages of 18 to 39 > You must be able to read and understand English Procedure: The survey involves responding to questions about your personal background, sexual history, romantic relationships, reasons for engaging in casual sex, and feelings after casual sex. The survey contains 149 items and should take approximately 45 minutes to complete. Confidentiality and Anonymity: As a participant, you will not be asked to provide personal identifiers (e.g., name or contact information), keeping your identity anonymous. Your responses to the survey will be automatically signed an ID number and saved to a secure database that will only be accessible to the principle investigators. The IP number that your computer is assigned while you are on the web will be recorded in an effort to prevent individuals from filling out the survey more than once. There will be no way to personally identify you as a participant by way of the ID number given to your saved responses or your computers IP address. Right to Withdrawal from Study: Your participation in the survey is completely voluntary. If you decide to participate in this study, you are free to withdraw at any time before the completion of the survey. You also have the right to skip certain questions that you do not feel comfortable answering. Withdrawing from the survey or not answering certain questions will not result in any negative consequences. Possible Benefits: You may find that answering the questions in the survey are interesting and are relatable to either your own personal experiences or someone that you know. You also may experience the satisfaction that comes from contributing to the scientific community. Potential Risks: There are no foreseeable risks in participating in this study. If you wish to talk to someone regarding issues raised as a result of being a part of this project, the following resources are available. For students at UNBC, you can contact the counseling center at 960-6369 or at counsellin g @ unbc ,ca. Participants outside of UNBC can locate mental health resources at www.cpa.ca or the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy's online mental health referral directory at www.therapistlocator.net.Of note, the CPA and AAMFT are not directly involved with this survey and have only agreed to provide information about mental health resources. 97 Use of the Data Collected: The collected data will be stored on a computer in Dr. Beaumont's locked and secure lab for five years (approximately 2012), upon which the electronic data files will be erased and any hard copies of the data will be shredded. Only the principle investigators of this study will have access to the data files. Collected data is intended to be used for a research publication and/or conference presentation. Only aggregate (all participant responses combined) scores will be reported. Contact Persons: If you have any comments, questions, or concerns about the survey or your participation, please contact Thomas Pearson at (250) 960-5853, or via email at pearsont@unbc.ca. Questions or concerns regarding this survey can also be directed to Office of Research at UNBC at (250) 9605820. Consent: Please read the following consent statements before agreeing to participate in this survey. If you do not wish to fill out this survey, please navigate away from this webpage. 1. The survey has been explained to me and I understand what my voluntary participation will involve. 2.1 understand that I am free to choose not to participate in this survey without penalty, free to withdraw from this survey at any point in time, and free to not answer any questions that make me feel uncomfortable. 3.1 understand that the information collected is strictly confidential and will not require that I provide any personal details that will identify me. I understand that collective responses from this survey may be used for a publication and/or conference presentation. 4.1 am between 18 and 39 years of age. 98 Appendix B: Survey Debriefing Page Information Debriefing Page Thank you for participating in this online survey! The survey that you have participated in is concerned with exploring whether styles of romantically relating to others (i.e., attachment style) and reasons for engaging in casual sex can help explain why casual sex has a variable impact on young adult's psychological health. According to past research, the psychological impact of a casual sex encounter is multifaceted, in which young adults experience a wide array of emotions and psychological states. To begin to understand why individuals have a variable response to the experience of sexual intercourse, recent research suggests that it is important to explore the reasons or motives for engaging in the sexual intercourse. While researchers have begun to investigate the relationship between motives for sexual intercourse in general and personal well-being, there have been no parallel attempts to explore this association within the casual sex realm. Hence, in this study we are interested in not only exploring young adult's motivations for engaging in casual sex, but how those motivations may predict different emotional responses after the experience of casual sex. A review of the literature on casual sex also indicates that not all young adults are motivated to engage in casual sex for the same reasons. As an example, some young adults are motivated to engage in casual sex to either avoid a close relationship or establish an intimate relationship. Variations in the motives that young adults endorse for sexual intercourse have been partially explained by attachment-related differences. Nevertheless, whether a young adult's internalized style of romantically relating to others is associated with different motives for casual sex has not be fully explored. Consequently, in this study we are also interested in exploring whether young adult's attachment style is also related to the reasons for why they engage in casual sex. Together, the results from this survey will be a first step towards examining potential individual difference factors that may be important when trying to understand the psychological impact of casual sex. If you would like to learn more about research on the area of casual sex you can refer to the following papers: Regan, P. C , & Dreyer, C. S. (1999). Lust? Love? Status? Young adults' motives for engaging in casual sex. Journal of Psychology and Human Sexuality, 11, 1-24. Additionally, if you are interested in learning more about sexuality, you can refer to the following informative websites: • • • www.talksexwithsue.com www.joseyvogels.com www.sexandculture.org Again, thank you for participating in this project, your contribution is greatly appreciated! If you have any comments or questions about the survey, or wish to obtain a summary of the results, please contact pearsont @ unbc .ca. A summary of the results will be available after June 2007. 99 Appendix C: Demographics Questionnaire The following personal information will be collected to help describe the sample. Please choose the statement that provides the best representation of your status. 1. Gender: Male l~l Female [~~l 2. Age: 3. Ethnicity: Caucasian O First-Nations O Asian \Z\ Hispanic Q African-American • East-Indian Q Other 4. Parental education level (dominant family provider): Less than grade 12 Q Grade 12 diploma O Some post-secondary/trade O A Bachelor degree Q A Master degree O A Doctorate degree (e.g., PhD) Q 5. Occupation: Employed full-time Q Employed part-time \Z\ Student O Disabled \Z\ Unemployed Q Unemployed Q Other \Z\ 6. Current relationship status: Looking to date O Not Interested in dating O Casually dating O Dating one person Q Engaged Q Married Q Divorced/separated Q 7. Sexual orientation: Heterosexual Q Homosexual \Z\ Bisexual \Z\ Unsure \Z1 8. How did you hear about this Survey? UNBC Advertisements for the Study Q Josey Vogels Website n Sue Johanson's Website O The Center for Sex and Culture Website [~1 Hanover College's Psychology Research Webpage O Word of Mouth/Friend • Other D Internet Search Engines f j Appendix D: Sexual History Questionnaire The following personal information will be collected to help describe the sexual history of sample. If you have not experienced sexual intercourse or any of the casual sex encounters, put "0" as your answer. Please answer in an honest manner. 1. In the Past, How Many Partners Have You Had Sexual Intercourse With? 2. In the Past, Have You Been Involved in the Following Casual Sex Scenarios: a. A One-Night Stand that Involved Sexual Intercourse Yes No How Many Times Have You Engaged in this Type of One-Night Stand? b. A One-Night Stand that Only Involved Non-Coital Sexual Behaviors Yes No How Many Times Have You Engaged in this Type of One-Night Stand? c. A Casual Sex Fling (i.e., Friends with Benefits) Yes No How Many Times Have You Been Involved in a Casual Sex Fling? 3. A One-Night Stand that Developed Into a Committed Relationship Yes No How Many Times Has a One-Night Stand Developed Into a Relationship? Appendix E: Relationship Style Questionnaire Please read the following statements and rate the extent to which you believe each statement best describes your feelings about romantic relationships. Very Much Unlike Me Somewhat Very Much Like Me Like Me 1.1 find it difficult to depend on romantic partners Q I I I I I I I I 2. It is very important to me to feel independent Q I I I I I I I I • • Q • • 4.1 want to merge completely with romantic partners Q fl l~~l l~~l l~l 5.1 worry that I will be hurt if I allow myself to become to too close to romantic partners 6.1 am comfortable without emotionally close romantic relationships Q I I I I I I I I Q I I I I I I I I Q I I I I I I I I Q l~~l l~~l l~"l l~l 9.1 worry about being alone O 1~"1 l~~l l"~I l~l 10.1 am comfortable with depending on romantic partners O O Q O L~3 11.1 often worry romantic partners don't really love me Q CH O L~H L~D 12.1 find it difficult to trust romantic partners completely Q O O Q Q 13.1 worry about romantic partners getting close to me Q Q Q Q [U 14.1 want emotionally close romantic relationships Q Q Q Q Q 15.1 am comfortable having romantic partners depend on me 16.1 worry that romantic partners don't value me as much as Q Q Q Q Q • • Q • • 17. Romantic Partners are never there when you needthem Q • D • • 18. My desire to merge completely sometimes scares romantic partnersaway O • O • • 3.1 find it easy to get emotionally close to romantic partners 7.1 am not sure that I can always depend on romantic partners to be there when I need them 8.1 want to be completely emotionally intimate with romantic partners Ivaluethem 19. It is very important to me to feel self-sufficient Q I I I I I 20.1 am nervous when a romantic partner gets close to me Q Q 2 1 . 1 often worry that romantic partners won't stay with me Q I I I 22.1 prefer not to have romantic partners depend on me Q EH E3 tZl IZI 2 3 . 1 worry about being abandoned d l~~l l~~l l~1 l~1 2 4 . 1 am somewhat uncomfortable being close to romantic partners • Q D D • • D D D D Q l~~l l~~l l~~l l~l • D D D D 2 8 . 1 worry about having romantic partners accept me O O Q \Z\ O 29. Romantic partners often want me to be closer than I feel comfortable with 30.1 find it relatively easy to get close to romantic partners • • D Q D • D O D O Q I [U I I I I l~~l I 2 5 . 1 find that romantic partners are reluctant to get as close aslwouldlike 26.1 prefer not to depend on romantic partners 2 7 . 1 know that romantic partners will be there when I need them 103 Appendix F: Casual Sex Motives Scale Please rate the importance of each of the following statements when considering reasons for why you would engage in one-night stands. Unimportant Neutral Important 1. To relieve my sexual urges when I am feelinghorny • Q • • • 2. To reassure myself that others find me to be a desirable person* • D D D D 3. To experience the excitement that comes from being adventurous with my sexuality O I I I I I I I I 4. To have sexual intercourse in the absence of feeling connected to a romantic partner Q I I I I I I I I Q l~l f~~1 f"~l f~1 6. To feel better when I am unhappy O • O O O 7. To experience physical gratification 8. To increase my level of self-confidence O \Z\ l~l f~1 f~l l~l I I I I I I I I 9. To have sexual intercourse and then be able to escape from your partner's presence I I I 5. To escape feelings that no one wants to be in a relationship with me I I I I I I I 10. To elude any feelings of being obligated to establish a relationship* I~~l l~~l l~~l l~~l l~l 11. To fulfill a sexual fantasy • D D D D 12. To show my partner that I am interested in getting to know them further 13. To find a romantic partner in which I can relate to on a one-on-one level O l~~l l~~l l~~l l~l \Z\ l~~l l~l l~l l~l \Z\ l~l l~l l~l l~l O I I I I I I I I 16. To express my need for a romantic relationship Q I I I I I I I I 17. To start a relationship that will make me feel appreciated and desired \Z\ I I I I I I I I 14. To avoid the emotional vulnerability of being in a long-term relationship 15. To experience the thrill that comes from being involved in a new sexual encounter 18. To engage in a spontaneous act that has a low possibility of developing into a relationship* Q I I I I I 19. To temporarily relieve the amount of stress in my life Q D 20. To avoid feelings of dependence that comes with being involved in a romantic relationship 2 1 . T o help me deal with a disappointment that I experienced Q \^\ I I I I I I I I Q \Z\ D \Z\ 22. To find a romantic partner that will allow me to feel understood • D Q I I I 24. T o feel good about myself • D D D D 25. T o satisfy my need for sexual stimulation Q l~~l l~~l l~~l f~l 26. To forget about my problems for a short period of time O l~~l l~~l l~~l l"~l 27. To reassure myself that other people find me attractive \Z\ f~1 f~1 l~l l~l I1 Q I I \Z\ D D I CH D 23. To find a romantic partner that I can share personal and private aspects of myself with I I I I I 28. To develop a romantic relationship that will provide me with companionship 29. To reduce the chance that my partner will become romantically interested in me O I I I I I i Q l~~l l~~l l~~l l~l 30. To avoid romantic relationships in which there is the possibility I will be hurt • D D D O l~~l l~~l l~~l l~l 32. T o cheer myself up when things in my life are not going w e l l . . . O l~~l l~~l l~~l l~l 33. To begin a relationship that will allow me to feel warm and cared for 34. To reduce the chance that I will become romantically D D D D \Z\ I I I I I 1 I I 35. T o feel that others find me to be an intriguing person* O I I I I I 1 I i 36. To get physically close to a partner without the expectations of romantic commitment 37. To lift my mood when I am experiencing loneliness O Q • O O [H I I I I I I I I D 3 1 . T o develop feelings of connectedness with a potential romantic partner interested in my partner Denotes the items that were removed during the factor analyses. D 105 Appendix G: Emotional Responses to Hypothetical Casual Sex Scenarios Scenario A Please vividly try to imagine yourself in the following one-night stand situation. After reading the situation, you will be asked to rate a number of emotions and feelings. If you are not currently single, then please try to imagine that you are single and in the following situation. Imagine you are out at the bar and you notice a person who you are attracted to and have not previously seen before. The two of you make eye contact and begin to start talking to each other. You seem to hit it off with this person and for the rest of the evening you talk and dance together. When the bar closes you discuss whether he/she wants to go back to your place of residence. At your place of residence you both have a drink and continue to get to know each other. Eventually, you start kissing and after a while you move to the bedroom to have sexual intercourse. After sex, you lie together and talk a bit before you both go to sleep. The next morning, there is some awkwardness between you and your casual partner. Before parting ways, you both express that you had a fun time last night but there is no communication about seeing each other again. The partner then says good-bye and leaves your residence. After this particular type of one-night stand experience, please rate the likelihood that you would feel the following emotions: Very Neutral Very Unlikely Likely 1.Sadness Q O O O D D O 2. Fulfilled • • • • • • • 3.0nedge • Q • • • • • 4.Relieved • D D D D D D 5.Threatened • 0 0 0 0 0 0 6. Joyful O O O O D D D 7. Discouraged D • D • • • • 8.Calm • • • • • • • 9.Uneasy D 0 0 0 0 0 0 10. Excitement O D D O O O O 11.Rejected O D D O O O O 12.Relaxed O O D O O O O Have you ever experienced a similar one-night stand scenario in which there was no communication about seeing each other at the end of the sexual encounter? Yes No. Scenario B Please vividly try to imagine yourself in the following one-night stand scenario. After reading the scenario, you will be asked to rate the likelihood that you would be experience a number of emotions. If you are not currently single, they please try to imagine that you are single in the following scenario. Imagine you are out at the bar and you notice a person who you are attracted to and have not previously seen before. The two of you make eye contact and begin to start talking to each other. You seem to hit it off with this person and for the rest of the evening you talk and dance together. When the bar closes and you discuss whether he/she wants to go back to your place of residence. At your place of residence you both have a drink and continue to get to know each other. Eventually, you start kissing and after a while you move to the bedroom to have sexual intercourse. After sex, you lie together and talk a bit before you both go to asleep. The next morning, before parting ways, your partner expresses that she/he had a fun time last night and would like to get to know you better by going out on a date. He or she writes down his or her number and then says good-bye and leaves your residence. After this particular type of one-night stand experience, please rate the likelihood that you would feel the following emotions: Very Neutral Very Unlikely Likely 1.Sadness Q 0 0 0 0 0 0 2. Fulfilled O O O O O O D 3.0nedge O 0 0 0 0 0 0 4.Relieved O D O O O O D 5.Threatened O O D O D D O 6. Joyful D O O O O O O 7. Discouraged O O O O O O O S.Calm O D O O O O O 9.Uneasy Q O D D D D O 10. Excitement O O O O O D O 11.Rejected D O O O O O O 12.Relaxed Q O O O O D D Have you ever experienced a similar one-night stand scenario in which there was communication about seeing each other again before you parted ways? Yes No 3 1.61 1.61 1.00 1281 685.69 687.88 427.00 8402.28 8402.28 8402.28 8402.28 13634.60 13634.60 13634.60 13634.60 Sphericity Assumed Greenhouse-Geisser Huynh-Feldt Lower-bound Error df Sphericity Assumed Greenhouse-Geisser Huynh-Feldt Lower-bound Type III Sum of Squares Scenario*Emotion Source 1. Repeated Measures ANOVA Source Table for the Scenario Manipulation Check 10.64 19.89 19.82 13.93 2800.76 5232.37 5215.69 8402.28 Mean Square Appendix H: MANOVA and ANOVA Source Tables 263.14 263.14 263.14 263.14 .000 .000 .000 .000 Sig. .38 .38 .38 .38 5.50 5.50 5.50 5.50 4.00 4.00 4.00 4.00 Hypothesis df 423.00 423.00 423.00 423.00 Error df 5.95 7.17 2.17 2.98 Secure Fearful Preoccupied Dismissing Secure Fearful Preoccupied Dismissing Gender Error 163.24 324.11 265.58 2220.69 Type III Sum of Squares Source 426 426 426 426 1 1 1 1 df .38 .76 .62 .52 5.95 7.17 2.17 2.98 Mean Square 15.52 9.43 3.49 5.76 F 3. ANOVA Post Hoc Source Table for the Effect of Gender on Adult Romantic Attachment Styles .05 .95 .05 .05 Gender Pillai' s Trace Wilks' Lambda Hotelling' s Trace Roy's Largest Root Value Effect 2. MANOVA Source Table for the Effect of Gender on Adult Romantic Attachment Styles .000 .002 .063 .017 Sig. .000 .000 .000 .000 Sig. .04 .02 .01 .01 n2 .05 .05 .05 .05 5.51 5.51 5.51 5.51 5.00 5.00 5.00 5.00 Hypothesis df Establish Intimacy Avoid Intimacy Pleasure Self-Affirmation Coping/stress relief Error 426 426 426 426 426 1 1 1 1 1 7.09 .64 6.61 .23 1.16 Establish Intimacy Avoid Intimacy Pleasure Self-Affirmation Coping/stress relief Gender 451.44 365.82 311.17 462.87 428.25 df Type III Sum of Squares Source 1.06 .86 .73 1.09 1.01 422.00 422.00 422.00 422.00 Error df 7.09 .64 6.61 .23 1.16 Mean Square 5. ANOVA Post Hoc Source Table for the Effect of Gender on Casual Sex Motives .06 .94 .07 .07 Gender Pillai's Trace Wilks' Lambda Hotelling's Trace Roy's Largest Root Value Effect 4. MANOVA Source Table for the Effect of Gender on Casual Sex Motives 6.69 .74 9.04 .21 1.15 F .000 .000 .000 .000 Sig. .010 .389 .003 .648 .284 Sig. .02 .00 .02 .00 .00 ri2 .06 .06 .06 .06 109