ABSTRACT
Hooking up has caught the attention of the American public. Academic research on the motivations for, and the consequences of, sexual hook-up behavior has also proliferated among scholars in a wide range of disciplines. Most of the research to date has focused on the occurrence of sexual hookups among emerging adults, individuals between the ages of 18 and 25 years, who are in the developmental transition stage between adolescence and young adulthood. While age of sexual maturation is becoming younger, Americans are also delaying first marriage and first childbirth, further increasing the opportunities to hook up. Casual sex poses considerable potential risks, including the possibility of emotional trauma, sexually transmitted infections, unwanted pregnancy, relationship violence, and intoxication-related harm. The sex drive is characterized by the craving for sexual gratification. The sex drive most likely evolved principally to motivate individuals to seek sexual union with a range of potential mates.
