"Facebook Official," "Hooking Up," "Friends with Benefits": Decoding the Terminology, Relationship Status, and Sexual Behaviors of Female College Students to Best Target Health Needs

Objective: This study aimed to assist college healthcare providers with patient communication by determining the relationship terminology commonly used by college students. Participants: A total of 17 female college students participated in four focus groups across two Universities. Participants wer...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:American journal of sexuality education 2017-04, Vol.12 (2), p.136-147
Main Authors: Richman, Alice R., Webb, Monica C., Eicher, Lesley, Adams, Phyllis, Troutman, Jamie
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Attachment Behavior
Coding
College Students
Computer Mediated Communication
Computer Software
Females
Focus Groups
Health Behavior
Health Personnel
Health Services
Interpersonal Relationship
Language Usage
Patient communication
Patients
qualitative
Qualitative Research
relationship terminology
Sexual behavior
Sexuality
Social Media
Student Attitudes
Terminology
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Summary:Objective: This study aimed to assist college healthcare providers with patient communication by determining the relationship terminology commonly used by college students. Participants: A total of 17 female college students participated in four focus groups across two Universities. Participants were primarily white (71%) and heterosexual (88%). Data collection was completed in April 2013. Methods: Focus groups were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. Transcriptions, notes, and additional discussion summaries were reviewed, coded, and analyzed using NVivo software (v10). Results: Four over-arching themes emerged from the data, each with specific attachment characteristics, sexual behavior attributes, and terminology: No Commitment, Casual Commitment, Partial Commitment, and Full Commitment. Conclusions: The results of this study support other research that identify young adult sexual terminology as vastly differing from the clinical terminology used by healthcare professionals. However, this was the first study to discuss specific terminology across the relationship spectrum.
ISSN:1554-6128
1554-6136
DOI:10.1080/15546128.2017.1298068