Effect of sexual sensation seeking, the third person effect and gender on online sexual activity among university students

  Objective  To examine the status quo of online sexual activities (OSAs) and to explore predictive factors and the influence of sexual sensation seeking (SSS), the third person effect (TPE) and gender on OSAs among college students in China.

  Methods  We conducted an on-line questionnaire survey among 808 students recruited with cluster random sampling at 6 universities in 3 cities of Fujian province between September and December 2016. Sexual Sensation Seeking Scale (SSSS), Questionnaire of Online Sexual Activities, and a self-designed scale for TPE were used in the survey.

  Results  Among all the students, 79.58% (643/808) reported experiencing at least one type of OSAs and the male students reported a higher frequency of all types of OSAs than the female students (1.92 ± 1.04 vs. 1.38 ± 0.65, F = 70.88, d = 0.63, P < 0.001). Structural equation model analysis revealed that SSS significantly predicted OSAs and the correlation between SSS and OSAs was moderated by TPE among the students. The fitting indexes for the established model were all within the acceptable range (χ² = 257.75, df = 33, comparative-fit index CFI = 0.93, Tucker-Lewis index TLI = 0.89, Akaike information criterion AIC = 18 128.07, Bayesian information criterion BIC = 18 292.38, root mean square error of approximation RMSEA = 0.092 95% confidence interval: 0.082 – 0.102. Among the students scored with high TPE, SSS demonstrated a predictive effect on OSAs significantly (β = 0.82, t = 5.26; P < 0.001); but among the students scored with low TPE, the predictive effect of SSS on OSAs was not significant (β = – 0.09, t = 1.17; P > 0.05). Multi-group invariance test revealed a gender difference in path coefficients of the TPE moderating model and the moderating effect of TPE on the predictive effect of SSS on OSAs and the interaction between SSS and OSAs are significantly higher among the girl students than among the boy students.

  Conclusion  Among university students in Fujian province, China, online sexual activity is prevalent; the effect of sexual sensation seeking on online sexual activity is moderated by the third person effect and there is a gender difference in the moderating effect.