Sexual Aggression and Motives for Sex Among Young Adult Men

The majority of sexual violence perpetrators are men and, therefore it is important to examine factors that contribute to sexual aggression behaviors among men. Motives for engaging in sex is an under-investigated factor that may contribute to sexual aggression. We examined the association between six motives for sex (self-affirmation, coping, enhancement, peer approval, partner approval, and intimacy) and sexual aggression in young adult men in the United States over a four-week time span. Participants (N = 733) were men between 18 and 35 years of age, recruited from CloudResearch to complete three surveys: baseline, 2-week follow-up, and 4-week follow-up. We conducted negative binomial hurdle regression models to examine the association between sex motives and sexual aggression. Results showed that coping and self-affirmation motives at baseline predicted likelihood of sexual aggression at 2- and 4-week follow-up. Intimacy, peer approval, partner approval, and enhancement sex motives were not associated with sexual aggression at 2- or 4-week follow-up. Motives for sex, specifically coping and self-affirmation, may play a role in the engagement in sexual aggression. Findings contribute to our knowledge of why men engage in sexual aggression and may be useful in the identification of individuals who are at increased risk for perpetrating sexual aggression.