Sexual Narcissism and Hypersexuality Relate to Sexual Coercion in Hookups among U.S. University Students

• Published in: Archives of sexual behavior Vol. 52; no. 6; pp. 2577 - 2588
• Main Authors: Basting, Evan J., Barrett, Maya E., Garner, Alisa R., Florimbio, Autumn Rae, Sullivan, Jacqueline A., Medenblik, Alyssa M., Stuart, Gregory L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.08.2023; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Behavioral Science and Psychology; College campuses; Condoms; Gender differences; Narcissism; Original Paper; Psychology; Public Health; Rape; Sex crimes; Sexual Behavior; Social Sciences; University students; United States > US; Sexual violence; Compulsive sexual behavior; Risk factors; Perpetration; Unwanted sex
• ISSN: 0004-0002; 1573-2800; 1573-2800
• DOI: 10.1007/s10508-023-02580-z

Sexual violence remains a prevalent issue on college campuses. Sexual coercion, a form of sexual violence, is frequently employed within casual sexual encounters (i.e., hookups). The present study investigated hypersexuality and sexual narcissism as unique predictors of sexual coercion and examined whether there were gender differences in these associations. Participants ( N  = 793, ages 18–25) were undergraduate students at a large southeastern university who have: (1) engaged in sexual activity within the past six months and (2) had at least one prior hookup experience. Respondents completed surveys online assessing levels of sexual narcissism, hypersexuality, and sexual coercion perpetration in hookups. Participants primarily identified as female (71.7%), White (84.2%), and heterosexual (86.6%), with an average of 9.77 sexual engagements per month. Bivariate correlations and independent samples t -tests were conducted to examine associations between and gender differences across study variables, respectively. We assessed the factor structure of study variables using confirmatory factor analysis and tested hypotheses using structural equation modeling. Compared to women, men scored higher on sexual exploitation and all hypersexuality subscales. After establishing good-fitting measurement models, we found that both sexual narcissism and hypersexuality predicted increased sexual coercion perpetration and that gender did not moderate these associations. Study findings demonstrated that sexual narcissism and hypersexuality are risk factors for sexual coercion perpetration in hookups across gender. Although associations were consistent across gender, men may report higher levels of sexual coercion perpetration risk factors. Future researchers could focus on gender differences in the etiology of sexual coercion risk factors.