Dissertations - 2017

SEE YA..." MOTIVATIONS, ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIORS OF HETEROSEXUAL ADULT MEN AND WOMEN ABOUT SEX WITHOUT COMMITMENT

Simão, Juliana B.

Advisor: Profª. Drª Liliana Liviano Wahba
Key Words: sex without commitment, casual sex, contemporaneity, Analytical Psychology.

This paper aimed at clarifying what heterosexual men and women understand by sex without commitment. Motivations, attitudes and behaviors associated with this practice were considered as categories of analysis representative of the phenomenon. The theoretical basis is that of Analytical Psychology. The quantitative method was used. The research instrument was a self-completion questionnaire distributed and applied via the internet. The study was attended by 74 women and 61 men aged between 30 and 50 years old, that have completed at least the high school and belong to the social middle class. The analysis of the results showed that, in respect to sex without commitment, men and women share the desire for encounter and pleasure. However, women expectations for the continuity of the relationship differ significantly from those of men. Men tend to seek only transitory relationships significantly more than women. The female participants, in turn, have demonstrated an ambivalence regarding the experience of sex without commitment by stating that they do not create expectations of a stable relationship and at the same time responding that even in casual sex they seek affection sharing and the continuity of the relationship. In addition, the responses of the female group showed a significantly greater involvement with the partner than the male group. The presence of a double standard with respect to social expectations related to each gender was identified. However, even if some traditional roles remain, the results showed adults that signal a change in gender relations favorable to the free expression of a sexuality modulated according to the expectations of contemporaneity.