Exploring Attitudes Toward “Sugar Relationships” Across 87 Countries: A Global Perspective on Exchanges of Resources for Sex and Companionship

Journal article

Norbert Meskó, M. Kowal, András Láng, Ferenc Kocsor, S. Bandi, Ádám Putz, Pitor Sorokowski, David A. Frederick, Felipe E García, Leonardo A. Aguilar, A. Studzinska, Chee-Seng Tan, B. Gjoneska, T. Milfont, Merve Topcu Bulut, D. Grigoryev, T. Aavik, Mahmoud Boussena, Alan D. A. Mattiassi, Reza Afhami, Rizwana Amin, R. Baiocco, Hamdaoui Brahim, Ali R Can, J. Carneiro, Hakan Çetinkaya, Dimitri Chubinidze, Eliane Deschrijver, Yahya Don, D. Dubrov, I. Duyar, Marija Jovic, Julia Kamburidis, Farah Khan, Hareesol Khun-inkeeree, Maida Koso-Drljević, David Lacko, K. Massar, Mara Morelli, J. Natividade, E. Nyhus, Ju Hee Park, Farid Pazhoohi, Ekaterine Pirtskhalava, Koen Ponnet, P. Prokop, D. Šakan, Singha Tulyakul, Austin H Wang, S. D. Aquino, Derya Atamtürk, Nana Burduli, A. Chirumbolo, S. Dural, Edgardo Etchezahar, Nasim Ghahraman Moharrampour, B. Aczél, Luca Kozma, Samuel Lins, E. Manunta, T. Marot, Moisés Mebarak, Kirill G. Miroshnik, Katarina Mišetić, M. Papadatou-Pastou, Bence Bakos, Fatima Zahra Sahli, Sangeeta Singh, Çağlar Solak, Tatiana Volkodav, Anna Włodarczyk, G. Akello, M. Argyrides, Ogeday Çoker, Katarzyna Galasinska, Talía Gómez Yepes, Aleksander Kobylarek, Miguel Landa-Blanco, Marlon Mayorga, Barış Özener, M. C. T. Pacquing, M. E. S. Reyes, Ayşegül Şahin, William Tamayo-Agudelo, Gulmira Topanova, Ezgi Toplu-Demirtaş, B. N. Türkan, Marcos Zumárraga-Espinosa, Simone Grassini, J. Antfolk, C. Cornec, K. Pisanski, S. Stöckli, S. Eder, Hyemin Han
Archives of Sexual Behavior, 2023

Semantic Scholar DOI PubMedCentral PubMed

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APA Click to copy
Meskó, N., Kowal, M., Láng, A., Kocsor, F., Bandi, S., Putz, Á., … Han, H. (2023). Exploring Attitudes Toward “Sugar Relationships” Across 87 Countries: A Global Perspective on Exchanges of Resources for Sex and Companionship. Archives of Sexual Behavior.

Chicago/Turabian Click to copy
Meskó, Norbert, M. Kowal, András Láng, Ferenc Kocsor, S. Bandi, Ádám Putz, Pitor Sorokowski, et al. “Exploring Attitudes Toward ‘Sugar Relationships’ Across 87 Countries: A Global Perspective on Exchanges of Resources for Sex and Companionship.” Archives of Sexual Behavior (2023).

MLA Click to copy
Meskó, Norbert, et al. “Exploring Attitudes Toward ‘Sugar Relationships’ Across 87 Countries: A Global Perspective on Exchanges of Resources for Sex and Companionship.” Archives of Sexual Behavior, 2023.

BibTeX Click to copy

@article{norbert2023a,
  title = {Exploring Attitudes Toward “Sugar Relationships” Across 87 Countries: A Global Perspective on Exchanges of Resources for Sex and Companionship},
  year = {2023},
  journal = {Archives of Sexual Behavior},
  author = {Meskó, Norbert and Kowal, M. and Láng, András and Kocsor, Ferenc and Bandi, S. and Putz, Ádám and Sorokowski, Pitor and Frederick, David A. and García, Felipe E and Aguilar, Leonardo A. and Studzinska, A. and Tan, Chee-Seng and Gjoneska, B. and Milfont, T. and Bulut, Merve Topcu and Grigoryev, D. and Aavik, T. and Boussena, Mahmoud and Mattiassi, Alan D. A. and Afhami, Reza and Amin, Rizwana and Baiocco, R. and Brahim, Hamdaoui and Can, Ali R and Carneiro, J. and Çetinkaya, Hakan and Chubinidze, Dimitri and Deschrijver, Eliane and Don, Yahya and Dubrov, D. and Duyar, I. and Jovic, Marija and Kamburidis, Julia and Khan, Farah and Khun-inkeeree, Hareesol and Koso-Drljević, Maida and Lacko, David and Massar, K. and Morelli, Mara and Natividade, J. and Nyhus, E. and Park, Ju Hee and Pazhoohi, Farid and Pirtskhalava, Ekaterine and Ponnet, Koen and Prokop, P. and Šakan, D. and Tulyakul, Singha and Wang, Austin H and Aquino, S. D. and Atamtürk, Derya and Burduli, Nana and Chirumbolo, A. and Dural, S. and Etchezahar, Edgardo and Moharrampour, Nasim Ghahraman and Aczél, B. and Kozma, Luca and Lins, Samuel and Manunta, E. and Marot, T. and Mebarak, Moisés and Miroshnik, Kirill G. and Mišetić, Katarina and Papadatou-Pastou, M. and Bakos, Bence and Sahli, Fatima Zahra and Singh, Sangeeta and Solak, Çağlar and Volkodav, Tatiana and Włodarczyk, Anna and Akello, G. and Argyrides, M. and Çoker, Ogeday and Galasinska, Katarzyna and Yepes, Talía Gómez and Kobylarek, Aleksander and Landa-Blanco, Miguel and Mayorga, Marlon and Özener, Barış and Pacquing, M. C. T. and Reyes, M. E. S. and Şahin, Ayşegül and Tamayo-Agudelo, William and Topanova, Gulmira and Toplu-Demirtaş, Ezgi and Türkan, B. N. and Zumárraga-Espinosa, Marcos and Grassini, Simone and Antfolk, J. and Cornec, C. and Pisanski, K. and Stöckli, S. and Eder, S. and Han, Hyemin}
}

Abstract

The current study investigates attitudes toward one form of sex for resources: the so-called sugar relationships, which often involve exchanges of resources for sex and/or companionship. The present study examined associations among attitudes toward sugar relationships and relevant variables (e.g., sex, sociosexuality, gender inequality, parasitic exposure) in 69,924 participants across 87 countries. Two self-report measures of Acceptance of Sugar Relationships (ASR) developed for younger companion providers (ASR-YWMS) and older resource providers (ASR-OMWS) were translated into 37 languages. We tested cross-sex and cross-linguistic construct equivalence, cross-cultural invariance in sex differences, and the importance of the hypothetical predictors of ASR. Both measures showed adequate psychometric properties in all languages (except the Persian version of ASR-YWMS). Results partially supported our hypotheses and were consistent with previous theoretical considerations and empirical evidence on human mating. For example, at the individual level, sociosexual orientation, traditional gender roles, and pathogen prevalence were significant predictors of both ASR-YWMS and ASR-OMWS. At the country level, gender inequality and parasite stress positively predicted the ASR-YWMS. However, being a woman negatively predicted the ASR-OMWS, but positively predicted the ASR-YWMS. At country-level, ingroup favoritism and parasite stress positively predicted the ASR-OMWS. Furthermore, significant cross-subregional differences were found in the openness to sugar relationships (both ASR-YWMS and ASR-OMWS scores) across subregions. Finally, significant differences were found between ASR-YWMS and ASR-OMWS when compared in each subregion. The ASR-YWMS was significantly higher than the ASR-OMWS in all subregions, except for Northern Africa and Western Asia.