Miriam Hospital's Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine has found that there are several factors that instigate numerous casual, no-strings sexual encounters on college campuses, especially among first-year college women.

Staying away from family, being surrounded by cute guys or hormonal and physical changes during puberty leading to a surge in sexual feelings may be a few reasons for flings in college life.

However, experts have found some new reasons to add to the list. They claim that pre-college hookups and the use of marijuana also induce more sexual hook-ups among freshmen.

"Given the potential for negative emotional and physical health outcomes as a result of sexual hookups, including unplanned pregnancy and depression, it is important to identify the factors that influence hookup behavior," lead author Robyn L. Fielder, M.S., a research intern at the Miriam Hospital's Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine, said.

For the study, Fielder and her team approached 483 incoming first-year female college students and questioned them about their risk behavior, personality traits, social environment, sexual behavior, hookup attitudes and intentions, self-esteem, religious beliefs, parents' relationship status, alcohol and marijuana use, smoking, impulsivity and sensation-seeking behavior. They followed up the women after eight months.

"Our findings suggest hooking up during the first year of college is influenced by pre-college hookups, personality, behavioral intentions, the social and situational context, family background and substance use patterns - particularly marijuana use," said Fielder.

Among these reasons, pre-college hook-ups appeared to be the main cause for hooking up during freshmen year.

In addition, since majority of college freshmen are exposed to marijuana/pot for the first time and the drug is known to cause a judgment impair, it is probable that majority of female students might end up having sex with a guy.

"These findings suggest that women's hookup behavior during the first year of college may influence their hookup behavior later in college," said Fielder. "That's why the transition to college is an important time for health care professionals to provide sexual health information and resources to help women make informed choices."

Fielder also warned that it is important to consider all the factors before arriving at the conclusion.

"Focusing on any one area of influence fails to capture the complicated matrix of forces that influence young adults' relationship decisions," Fielder added.