IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/dem/demres/v37y2017i60.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Dating across and hooking 'up': Status and relationship formation at an elite liberal arts university

Author

Listed:
  • Kristine Kilanski

    (Independent researcher)

  • David McClendon

    (Children at Risk)

Abstract

Background: Demographic research on assortative mating underplays the role of social status in shaping partnering behavior, yet qualitative research suggests social status is critical in shaping partner desirability and structuring opportunities for partners to meet. Objective: This study investigates how social status of sororities and fraternities shapes relationship formation between women and men on a college campus. Methods: We draw on data from an online survey of sorority women at an elite liberal arts university about their romantic and sexual lives. Results: While status homophily is the dominant pattern in romantic relationships (dating 'across'), sorority women up and down the status hierarchy are more likely to hook 'up' with high-status fraternity men. Concern about status is also associated with dating and hooking ‘up’ the status hierarchy. Conclusions: Social status shapes the desirability of potential romantic and hookup partners and opportunities for potential partners to meet. Results also highlight gender differences in the operation of social status in cross-sex relationship formation. Contribution: This study furthers our understanding of how social status influences romantic relationships on college campuses.

Suggested Citation

  • Kristine Kilanski & David McClendon, 2017. "Dating across and hooking 'up': Status and relationship formation at an elite liberal arts university," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 37(60), pages 1917-1932.
    • Handle: RePEc:dem:demres:v:37:y:2017:i:60
    DOI: 10.4054/DemRes.2017.37.60
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.demographic-research.org/volumes/vol37/60/37-60.pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.4054/DemRes.2017.37.60?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Paula England & Jonathan Bearak, 2014. "The sexual double standard and gender differences in attitudes toward casual sex among U.S. university students," Demographic Research, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research, Rostock, Germany, vol. 30(46), pages 1327-1338.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Ana María Iregui-Bohórquez & Ligia Alba Melo-Becerra & María Teresa Ramírez-Giraldo, 2019. "Is there a relationship between schooling and risky health behaviors in Colombia?," Revista Cuadernos de Economia, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, FCE, CID, vol. 38(77), pages 365-395, July.
    2. Hae Won Kim & Yeon Hee Kim & Saem Yi Kang & Eun Ju Lee & Jung Lim Lee & Youngji Kim, 2021. "Gender Differences in Sexual Information Needs and Relating Factors in Cancer Patients: A Cross-Sectional Survey," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(7), pages 1-12, April.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    assortative mating; young adulthood; gender inequalities; social status; United States of America;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J1 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics
    • Z0 - Other Special Topics - - General

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:dem:demres:v:37:y:2017:i:60. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Editorial Office (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.demogr.mpg.de/ .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.