News Finding: The researchers found that students who engaged in casual sex reported higher overall wellbeing.
Paper Finding: Hierarchical linear models (HLM) indicated that after controlling for demographics, higher sociosexuality was linked to a significantly higher likelihood of engaging in weekly casual sex, odds ratio (OR) ¼ 2.31 [1.84, 2.89], p < .001; the interaction with gender was not significant, OR ¼ 0.91 [0.74, 1.13].
News Context: Overall, 42 percent of the participants reported having casual sex. The researchers found that students who engaged in casual sex reported higher overall wellbeing. They also reported having less stress and better emotional health.
Paper Context: Average proportion of weeks with casual sex was .09 (SD ¼ .18) per participant; 44% of those with at least one casual sex week reported only one such week (ranging 1-9 weeks). Hierarchical linear models (HLM) indicated that after controlling for demographics, higher sociosexuality was linked to a significantly higher likelihood of engaging in weekly casual sex, odds ratio (OR) ¼ 2.31 [1.84, 2.89], p < .001; the interaction with gender was not significant, OR ¼ 0.91 [0.74, 1.13]. Only 16% of those scoring below the median on sociosexuality engaged in casual sex over the 12 weeks compared to 55% of those scoring above the median.