Sexual initiation in ongoing heterosexual dating relationships

Previous researchers have commonly assumed that sexual initiation is the first step taken by one partner to express desire for sexual activity. Some researchers have further assumed that sexual initiation occurs prior to any sexual activity or any other sexual communication. This investigation used qualitative and quantitative methods to develop a detailed description of initiation in heterosexual dating relationships and to examine the appropriateness of assumptions within initiation research. Respondents most commonly described initiation as a mutual process that involved both partners, included multiple acts, overlapped with the sexual interaction, and followed some intimate communication or activities. Mutual initiation in the context of ongoing sexual communication may represent a departure from traditional gender role scripts regarding initiation. Previous studies have typically given respondents two options: Sex was initiated either by themselves or by their partner. When participants in this study were given multiple options to describe who initiated a specific recent sexual interaction, gender differences in initiation behavior were small and nonsignificant. However, when only initiations by a single partner were considered, the data were based upon a retrospective report of initiation behavior over the entire relationship, and respondents were prompted to compare themselves to their partner, gender differences in initiation behavior were evident. This underscores the importance of the methods utilized in initiation research.