Was it (or will it be) good for you? Expectations and experiences of first coitus among emerging adults

Men and women have different expectations and experiences of first coitus. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to investigate expectations and experiences of first coitus. Using a college sample, we compared first coital affective reactions of sexually experienced individuals (i.e., individuals who have engaged in first coitus) with the anticipated first coital affective reactions of sexually inexperienced individuals (i.e., individuals who have not engaged in first coitus). Results indicated that inexperienced women, in general, anticipated more negative first coital affective reactions than men. Similarly, experienced women generally reported more negative first coital affective reactions than their male counterparts. Moreover, anticipated first coital affective reactions among inexperienced individuals were found to be more positive than the reported first coital affective reactions of experienced individuals. The largest discrepancy was associated with romance such that expectations of romance were greater than experiences of romance among both men and women.