Dating at a Distance: Does It Take a Pandemic to Challenge Campus Sexual Culture?1

Researchers agree that the predominant scripts of campus sexual culture, normalizing casual encounters with ambiguous distinctions between hookups and dating, offer contradictory risks and rewards for young adults, particularly young women. The arrival of the novel coronavirus in 2020, however, upended the lives of young adults just as they were shaping sexual and romantic careers. We ask, extending critical intersectional approaches, whether the global pandemic, like a natural experiment, might challenge troubling exclusionary as well as gendered aspects of contemporary sexual culture. In‐depth interviews with 40 "twenty‐somethings” completing undergraduate degrees at a selective university at two points over a year apart found that for most the pandemic offered a needed respite. We suggest: first, many young women used the disruption to prioritize their autonomy, with increased partner churn and detachment. Second, some sexual and racial minority participants, and the few with physical disabilities, reported the pandemic normalized their experience as outsiders, strengthening their self‐development. Finally, the more intentional dating practices one participant named "Covid consent” lessened gendered risks of sexual violence and modeled mutual respect for boundaries. While those without class privilege had less ability to enact such boundaries, pandemic challenges may point to healthier, more inclusive sexual scripts. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Sociological Forum is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)

Enhancing member engagement in a Tier 3 personality disorder service during COVID-19: evaluation of a virtual group programme.

BACKGROUND: Drop-out rates from evidence-based interventions for people with a diagnosis of personality disorder (PD) are high. The COVID-19 pandemic has likely exacerbated barriers to engagement with the introduction of virtual working. Virtual therapy has a good evidence-base for Axis I disorders, but limited research for Axis II disorders. AIMS: To investigate facilitators and barriers to engagement in a Tier 3 PD service virtual group programme. METHOD: A virtual group programme was developed in collaboration with service members, and analysed members' attendance rates over a 5-month period pre- and post-COVID-19. Thematic analysis of semi-structured telephone interviews with 38 members is reported, describing their experience of the virtual group programme. RESULTS: Attendance rates were significantly higher pre-COVID (72%) than post-COVID (50%). Thematic analysis highlighted key barriers to attendance were: practical issues, low motivation, challenges of working in a group online and feeling triggered at home. Main promoters of engagement were: feeling valued, continued sense of connection and maintaining focus on recovery. DISCUSSION: The results suggest that the pandemic has exacerbated relational and practical barriers to engagement in a Tier 3 PD service. Ways of enhancing engagement are discussed, as well as preliminary recommendation for services offering virtual therapy to people with a diagnosis of PD.