“Hookups,” or uncommitted sexual encounters, are becoming progressively more engrained in popular culture, reflecting both evolved sexual predilections and changing social and sexual scripts. Hook-up activities may include a wide range of sexual behaviors, such as kissing, oral sex, and penetrative intercourse. However, these encounters often transpire without any promise of, or desire for, a more traditional romantic relationship. A review of the literature suggests that these encounters are becoming increasingly normative among adolescents and young adults in North America, representing a marked shift in openness and acceptance of uncommitted sex. We reviewed the current literature on sexual hookups and considered the multiple forces influencing hookup culture, using examples from popular culture to place hooking up in context. We argue that contemporary hookup culture is best understood as the convergence of evolutionary and social forces during the developmental period of emerging adulthood. We suggest that researchers must consider both evolutionary mechanisms and social processes, and be considerate of the contemporary popular cultural climate in which hookups occur, in order to provide a comprehensive and synergistic biopsychosocial view of “casual sex” among emerging adults today.

Study results demonstrate a significant initial step in documenting the efficacy of the Matrix approach. Although the superiority of the Matrix approach over TAU was not maintained at the post-treatment timepoints, the in-treatment benefit is an important demonstration of empirical support for this psychosocial treatment approach.

Hook-up behavior consists of sexual activity between uncommitted individuals. "Hooking up" has become pervasive among young adults, particularly on college campuses in the United States, despite inherent emotional, physical, social and health risks. A total of 507 undergraduate students were surveyed to assess the prevalence of, and motivations for, hook-up behavior. Of those students, 64% reported having ever engaged in a hook-up. Of those who had hooked up, 51% had done so with the intention of initiating a traditional romantic relationship; there were no sex differences. Contrary to established notions of uncommitted sexual activity as an evolved behavioral strategy, results are discussed from a synergistic biopsychosocial perspective that situates this complex sexual behavior at the intersection of evolution, basic biology, psychology, and novel cultural factors. A decreasing average age at menarche and increasing age of mother at first birth has created a window of sexually mature but pre-reproductive life that is historically unprecedented in its duration. We suggest this time window, paired with evolved neural correlates of sexual and reproductive behavior, greater acceptance of the social sexualization of youth, and characteristics of the modern collegiate environment, results in the increasing prevalence of hook-ups.

Study findings provide solid evidence of efficacy for CM and CBT. Although the effect of CM is significantly greater during treatment, CBT appears to produce comparable long-term outcomes. There was no evidence of an additive effect for the 2 treatments in the CM + CBT group.

This study suggests that CM is an efficacious treatment for reducing stimulant use and is superior during treatment to a CBT approach. CM is useful in engaging substance abusers, retaining them in treatment and helping them achieve abstinence from stimulant use. CBT also reduces drug use from baseline levels and produces comparable outcomes on all measures at follow-up.