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

Meskó N. Kowal M. Láng A. Kocsor F. Bandi S.A. Putz A. Sorokowski P. Frederick D.A. García F.E. Aguilar L.A. Studzinska A. Tan C.-S. Gjoneska B. Milfont T.L. Topcu Bulut M. Grigoryev D. Aavik T. Boussena M. Mattiassi A.D.A. Afhami R. Amin R. Baiocco R. Brahim H. Can A.R. Carneiro J. Çetinkaya H. Chubinidze D. Deschrijver E. Don Y. Dubrov D. Duyar I. Jovic M. Kamburidis J.A. Khan F. Khun-Inkeeree H. Koso-Drljevic M. Lacko D. Massar K. Morelli M. Natividade J.C. Nyhus E.K. Park J.H. Pazhoohi F. Pirtskhalava E. Ponnet K. Prokop P. Šakan D. Tulyakul S. Wang A.H. Aquino S.D. Atamtürk D.D. Burduli N. Chirumbolo A. Dural S. Etchezahar E. Ghahraman Moharrampour N. Aczel B. Kozma L. Lins S. Manunta E. Marot T. Mebarak M. Miroshnik K.G. Misetic K. Papadatou-Pastou M. Bakos B. Sahli F.Z. Singh S. Solak Ç. Volkodav T. Wlodarczyk A. Akello G. Argyrides M. Çoker O. Galasinska K. Gómez Yepes T. Kobylarek A. Landa-Blanco M. Mayorga M. Özener B. Pacquing M.C.T. Reyes M.E.S. Şahin A. Tamayo-Agudelo W. Topanova G. Toplu-Demirtaş E. Türkan B.N. Zumárraga-Espinosa M. Grassini S. Antfolk J. Cornec C. Pisanski K. Stöckli S. Eder S.J. Han H.
February 2024 Springer

Archives of Sexual Behavior
2024 #53 Issue 2 811 - 837 pp.

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.

Cross-cultural comparison , Human mating , Resources for sex , Sugar relationships

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Institute of Psychology, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Pécs, Pecs, 7624, Hungary
IDN Human Being Lab, University of Wrocław, Wrocław, Poland
Institute of Psychology, University of Wrocław, Wrocław, Poland
Crean College of Health and Behavioral Sciences, Chapman University, Orange, CA, United States
Departamento de Psiquiatría y Salud Mental, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Concepción, Concepción, Chile
School of Psychology, Central University of Venezuela, Caracas, Venezuela
Departament of Humanities, Icam, Toulouse, France
Department of Psychology and Counselling, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman, Kampar, Malaysia
Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts, Skopje, North Macedonia
School of Psychology, University of Waikato, Tauranga, New Zealand
Clinical Addiction Research Unit, Lund University, Malmö, Sweden
Center for Sociocultural Research, HSE University, Moscow, Russian Federation
Institute of Psychology, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
Departement of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Mohamed Lamine Debaghine, University Setif2, Setif, Algeria
Department of Education, Languages, Interculture, Literatures and Psychology, University of Florence, Florence, Italy
Department of Art Studies, Tarbiat Modares University, Tehran, Iran
Department of Professional Psychology, Bahria University, Islamabad, Pakistan
Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
Idepartment of Sociologie, University of Ibn Tofail, Kenitra, Morocco
Department of Anthropology, Hatay Mustafa Kemal University, Hatay, Turkey
Department of Social Psychology, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
Department of Psychology, Yaşar University, İzmir, Turkey
Psychological Set Research and Correction Center, Tbilisi State Medical University, Tbilisi, Georgia
Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
School of Psychology, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia
School of Education, Universiti Utara Malaysia, Kedah, Malaysia
HSE University, Moscow, Russian Federation
Department of Anthropology, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey
Department of Marketing Management and Public Relations, Faculty of Organizational Sciences, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
Department of General, Experimental and Genetic Psychology, Sofia University, Sofia, Bulgaria
Institute of Education & Research, Women University Mardan, Mardan, Pakistan
Psychology and Counselling, Prince of Songkla University, Pattani, Thailand
Department of Psychology, University of Sarajevo, Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Interdisciplinary Research Team on Internet and Society, Faculty of Social Studies, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
Work and Social Psychology, Maastricht University, Maastricht, Netherlands
Department of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology, and Health Studies, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
Department of Psychology, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Department of Management, University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway
Department of Child and Family Studies, Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea
Department of Psychology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada
Department of Psychology, Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, Tbilisi, Georgia
Faculty of Social Sciences, Imec-Mict-Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
Department of Environmental Ecology and Landscape Management, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia
Institute of Zoology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia
Department of Psychology, Faculty of Legal and Business Studies Dr Lazar Vrkatić, Union University, Novi Sad, Serbia
Department of Health and Physical Education, Thaksin University, Songkhla, Thailand
Political Science, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV, United States
Department of Psychology, University of Georgia, Tbilisi, Georgia
Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
Department of Psychology, Izmir University of Economics, İzmir, Turkey
Education Universidad Internacional de Valencia, Valencia, Spain
Ciipme Conicet, Buenos Aires, Argentina
School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia
Institute of Psychology, ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
Division of Psychology, School of Education and Social Sciences, University of the West of Scotland, Paisley, Scotland, United Kingdom
Departament of Psychology, University of Porto, Porto, Portugal
CLLE, Université de Toulouse, Toulouse, France
Department of Administration, Getúlio Vargas Foundation, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Department of Psychology, Universidad del Norte, Puerto Colombia, Colombia
Department of Psychology, Saint Petersburg State University, Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation
Department of Primary Education, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Athens, Greece
ELTE Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary
Institute of Sports Professions, Ibn Tofail University, Kenitra, Morocco
Department of Psychology, Manisa Celal Bayar University, Manisa, Turkey
Department of Pedagogy and Psychology, Kuban State University, Krasnodar, Russian Federation
Escuela de Psicología, Universidad Católica del Norte, Antofagasta, Chile
Mental Health, Gulu University, Gulu, Uganda
Department of Psychology, Neapolis University Pafos, Paphos, Cyprus
Department of Psychology, Pamukkale University, Denizli, Turkey
Department of Psychology, Center For Research On Biological Basis of Social Behavior, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Warsaw, Poland
Department of Education, International University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain
Institute of Pedagogy, University of Wrocław, Wrocław, Poland
School of Psychological Sciences, National Autonomous University of Honduras, Tegucigalpa, Honduras
Escuela de Psicología, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador-Ambato, Ambato, Ecuador
Department of Psychology, University of Santo Tomas, Manila, Philippines
Faculty of Psychology, Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia, Medellín, Colombia
Department of Theoretical and Practical Psychology, Kazakh National Women’s Pedagogical University, Almaty, Kazakhstan
Department of Psychological Counseling and Guidance, Mef University, Istanbul, Turkey
Carrera de Psicología, Universidad Politécnica Salesiana, Quito, Ecuador
Department of Psychosocial Science, University of Bergen, Bergen, Norway
Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience Lab, University of Stavanger, Stavanger, Norway
Faculty of Arts, Psychology and Theology, Åbo Akademi University, Turku, Finland
ENES Bioacoustics Research Lab, CRNL, CNRS, Insern, University of Saint-Etienne, Saint-Etienne, France
Department of Business Administration, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Department of Neurosciences and Developmental Biology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
Educational Psychology Program, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, United States

Institute of Psychology
IDN Human Being Lab
Institute of Psychology
Crean College of Health and Behavioral Sciences
Departamento de Psiquiatría y Salud Mental
School of Psychology
Departament of Humanities
Department of Psychology and Counselling
Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts
School of Psychology
Clinical Addiction Research Unit
Center for Sociocultural Research
Institute of Psychology
Departement of Psychology and Educational Sciences
Department of Education
Department of Art Studies
Department of Professional Psychology
Department of Developmental and Social Psychology
Idepartment of Sociologie
Department of Anthropology
Department of Social Psychology
Department of Psychology
Psychological Set Research and Correction Center
Department of Experimental Psychology
School of Psychology
School of Psychology
School of Education
HSE University
Department of Anthropology
Department of Marketing Management and Public Relations
Department of General
Institute of Education & Research
Psychology and Counselling
Department of Psychology
Interdisciplinary Research Team on Internet and Society
Work and Social Psychology
Department of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology
Department of Psychology
Department of Management
Department of Child and Family Studies
Department of Psychology
Department of Psychology
Faculty of Social Sciences
Department of Environmental Ecology and Landscape Management
Institute of Zoology
Department of Psychology
Department of Health and Physical Education
Political Science
Department of Psychology
Department of Psychology
Department of Psychology
Education Universidad Internacional de Valencia
Ciipme Conicet
School of Psychological Sciences
Institute of Psychology
Division of Psychology
Departament of Psychology
CLLE
Department of Administration
Department of Psychology
Department of Psychology
Department of Primary Education
ELTE Eötvös Loránd University
Institute of Sports Professions
Department of Psychology
Department of Pedagogy and Psychology
Escuela de Psicología
Mental Health
Department of Psychology
Department of Psychology
Department of Psychology
Department of Education
Institute of Pedagogy
School of Psychological Sciences
Escuela de Psicología
Department of Psychology
Faculty of Psychology
Department of Theoretical and Practical Psychology
Department of Psychological Counseling and Guidance
Carrera de Psicología
Department of Psychosocial Science
Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience Lab
Faculty of Arts
ENES Bioacoustics Research Lab
Department of Business Administration
Department of Neurosciences and Developmental Biology
Educational Psychology Program

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