Guess What? Casual Sex Won’t Make You Go Insane

Many cling to the notion that casual sex must be damaging. Recent research — and a little historical perspective and common sense — shows otherwise.

Casual sex: even the phrase sounds a little suspect. And its connections to STDs, unplanned pregnancy, depression, and even alcoholism? Well, those are just a given, discussed endlessly by pundits, and in books with titles like, Hooking Up: Sex, Dating and Relationships on Campus, Hooked: New Science on How Casual Sex is Affecting Our Children, and even, Unhooked: How Young Women Pursue Sex, Delay Love and Lose at Both. Add to this the unrelentingly dire warnings about “premarital” sex given by abstinence programs and many religious groups, and it can be hard to make a case for any kind of non-monogamous-non-matrimonial-non-procreative intimacy. But what if the links between casual sex (an ill-defined term, which seems to refer to anything from a one-night stand to sex between committed domestic partners) and the troubles of the world aren’t as straightforward as people would have you believe?

Some recent research makes this seem pretty likely. Last week, for example, researchers from the University of Minnesota announced the findings of a study looking at the effect of casual sex on young adults. After studying 1,311 sexually active 18- to 24-year-olds, researchers were somewhat surprised to discover that, “young adults engaging in casual sexual encounters do not appear to be at increased risk for harmful psychological outcomes as compared to sexually active young adults in more committed relationships.” And back in 2007, another study at the same institution found that despite what many people believe, non-marital sex doesn’t negatively affect a teen’s mental health or make a young person more prone to depression.

Full Story Guess What? Casual Sex Won’t Make You Go Insane | Sex and Relationships | AlterNet.

Post to Twitter

Share

Filed Under: Wellness

RSSComments (0)

Trackback URL

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

  • Thom’s Blog
    Thom plus logo
      The oligarchs openly talking about a coup d'état in America?
     

    Multi-millionaire lobbyist Grover Norquist is calling for the impeachment of President Obama. In an interview with the right-wing National Journal - Norquist warned that if President Obama wins re-election and decides to let the Bush tax cuts for the top 2% expire at the end of the year - then Republicans will "have enough votes in the Senate in 2014 to impeach [him]."
     
    What does that mean? It means that the super rich in America - and their political operatives like Norquist in Washington, DC - have now compared a tiny tax increase on the wealthy to high crimes and treason - the only Constitutional basis Congress can use to impeach a President. It sounds like the oligarchs are now openly talking about a coup d'état in America.
     
    -Thom
     
    (Do you think will try it? Tell us here.)
  • LEGALIZE Democracy

    " We the corporations" On January 21, 2010, with its ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, the Supreme Court ruled that corporations are persons, entitled by the U.S. Constitution to buy elections and run our government. __________

    MOVE to AMEND

    a project of the CAMPAIGN TO LEGALIZE Democracy

    Help end Corporate personhood