Frauen bereuen One-Night-Stands nur dann eher, wenn sie mit Männern schlafen. Dieser Unterschied hängt stark mit ihrer Fähigkeit zusammen, einen Orgasmus zu erreichen. Darüber hinaus äußerten sie tendenziell mehr Bedauern, wenn ihr Grad an Vergiftung höher war.

Are women more likely to regret one-night stands? Only when they sleep with men

An international online survey found that women regret one-night stands more than men and that this difference is strongly associated with their ability to achieve an orgasm. Additionally, participants tended to report more regret when their levels of intoxication were higher. The paper was published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior.

Casual sexual relationships and experiences, commonly known as hook-ups, are intimate relationships that involve sexual activity without a commitment to a long-term romantic partnership. These dynamics have most often been investigated among North American university students, who experience casual sex so frequently that such experiences are considered an essential part of college culture by some authors.

However, in recent decades, these sexual behaviors have become more common among the broader population thanks to online apps specifically designed for finding casual sex partners. In spite of this, social and cultural attitudes toward casual sex vary widely across societies.

People generally engage in casual sexual relationships for physical satisfaction, exploration, or companionship without expectations of exclusivity. Casual sexual experiences can include one-time encounters or ongoing arrangements.

Emotional outcomes can differ, with some individuals remaining detached while others develop feelings for their casual partners. But while many people enjoy these encounters, individuals often experience regret after engaging in casual sex. Historically, psychological research has shown that this regret is significantly more common among women.

Results showed that almost 79% of women and 77% of men reported being single at the time of their last one-night stand. Just 6.2% of women and 12.4% of men were in a relationship, while 13.1% of women and 10.1% of men said that they had recently broken up.

Seventy-five percent of participants reported being under the influence of psychoactive substances when making the decision to engage in the one-night stand. For 99% of those participants, the substance was alcohol. However, 17% of participants reported that they had consumed cannabis, 3% reported consuming cocaine, 2% reported MDMA, and 1% consumed amphetamines.

More than half of the study participants reported that they had met their one-night stand partner on that same day, while 34% stated that they had known them for a while. Twenty percent of participants reported having 10 or more one-night stands in their lives.

Contrary to popular belief, most participants evaluated their one-night stands neutrally or positively, and levels of overall regret were generally low. Forty-seven percent of participants reported no regret at all.

However, as expected, women tended to report stronger regret than men—but only in heterosexual one-night stands.

There were no gender differences in regret when the one-night stand was with a same-sex partner. The researchers note that this finding challenges the evolutionary theory that women are biologically hardwired to regret casual sex; if that were true, women would regret the encounters regardless of who they slept with. Instead, the finding suggests that the higher regret experienced by women is driven by the specific dynamics of heterosexual interactions.

Further analyses found that the factor most strongly mediating the regret gap between heterosexual genders was sexual satisfaction. Specifically, the strongest driver of this gap was whether the participant achieved an orgasm during the sexual encounter. Because men in heterosexual encounters had much higher rates of orgasm and satisfaction, their regret was lower. Women in heterosexual encounters reported much lower rates of satisfaction and orgasm, leading to higher regret.

Other factors that contributed to higher regret for women in heterosexual encounters included feeling subtle pressure to engage in the sex (decision heteronomy), worrying about their reputation, and intoxication.

Interestingly, researchers found that alcohol had a “U-shaped” effect on regret. A little bit of alcohol didn’t cause much regret, but getting very drunk caused a massive spike in regret for both genders, likely because heavy drinking lowers sexual performance and decision-making ability.

For those interested, here’s the link to the peer reviewed journal article:

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10508-025-03380-3

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The more intoxicated a person is the more likely they are to regret the decision regardless of gender

I think the most interesting finding in this study is that, when controlling for intoxication, women are more likely to experience regret when having sex with men than with women, and are less likely to have regret when they achieve higher sexual and orgasmic satisfaction.

Put that together: Men, take notes, or ask a friendly neighborhood lesbian for some tips so your date leaves happy!