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What women think about casual sex

March 12, 2018 16:20 IST

Women have less regret if the sex was good, a study has revealed.

Casual sex: What's in it for women

In a previous survey, men and women were asked to share their views about casual sex and one night stands.

The survey revealed that 80 per cent women were happy they'd refused casual sex.

For a detailed study, the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and the University of Texas interviewed 547 Norwegian and 216 American university students.

They were all heterosexual and aged under 30 years.

The responses suggested that there was a "gender-differentiating factor" for regret after casual sex.

For women, it mattered who made the first move.

The study revealed that women feel less regret if the "partner was skilled" and they "felt sexually satisfied".

Earlier research had established that men, in general, regret casual sex much less than women. It did not matter by whether the men took the initiative.

"Women who initiate sex are likely to have at least two distinguishing qualities," says Prof David Buss from the University of Texas.

"First, they are likely to have a healthy sexual psychology, being maximally comfortable with their own sexuality.

"Second, women who initiate have maximum choice of precisely who they want to have sex with. Consequently, they have less reason to feel regret, since they've made their own choice," he added.

The results are "another reminder of the importance of women's ability to make autonomous decisions regarding their sexual behaviours," says Joy P Wyckoff from the University of Texas.

"Regret is a highly unpleasant emotion and our findings suggest that having control over their decision to engage in sex buffered women from experiencing regret," she says.

"Women have less regret if the sex was good. For men, this also plays a less important role. The underlying causes are biological," shared Mons Bendixen, an associate professor in the Department of Psychology at the NTNU.

Lead image -- a still from Jism 2 -- used for representational purposes only.

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