Reality Television Shows Focusing on Sexual Relationships and College Students’ Engagement in One-Night Stands: A Replication Report

Somer Schaffer; Samantha M. Jones; Malvika DCosta; Megan Lindloff; Lorne Campbell

doi:10.15626/MP.2025.4708

Authors

Somer Schaffer The University of Western Ontario
Samantha M. Jones The University of Western Ontario https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4884-8831 (unauthenticated)
Malvika DCosta The University of Western Ontario https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2518-6262 (unauthenticated)
Megan Lindloff The University of Western Ontario https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7775-819X (unauthenticated)
Lorne Campbell The University of Western Ontario https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9071-4845 (unauthenticated)

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15626/MP.2025.4708

Keywords:

reality television, sexual behaviors, one-night stands, replication, open science

Abstract

The present study is a close replication and extension of the research conducted by Fogel and Kovalenko (2013) on the association between viewing reality television (TV) and engaging in one-night stands among college students. Using an online survey, a total of 686 Canadian university students provided comprehensive data on their reality TV consumption patterns, sexual attitudes, motivations, and behaviors. Our results replicated several findings from Fogel and Kovalenko (2013), such that participants who reported engaging in one-night stands within the past year demonstrated higher scores on measures of sexual empowerment, sexual permissiveness, and perceived realism of the reality show content. Demographic factors such as ethnicity and relationship status were also associated with one-night stand engagement. Additionally, compared to viewers of dating reality TV, viewers of sexual reality TV reported stronger parasocial connections, greater interest in characters, and perceived the show as more realistic. Our results suggest that while reality TV consumption is associated with one-night stand engagement, there are additional factors associated with this outcome and the causal relationship cannot yet be established. We conclude that a broader perspective is needed when assessing reality TV viewership that includes individual and contextual factors.

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