Sources of Learning about Sexual Choking and Their Associations with Perceived Safety and Risk: Findings from a U.S. College Campus-Representative Survey

Sexual choking has become prevalent among young U.S. adults. Little is known about how people learn about this sexual practice.

Data are from a 2021 campus-representative confidential online survey of 4254 students at a large public U.S. university. We aimed to examine (a) where students had first learned about choking; (b) where they had learned the most about choking; (c) their perceptions of choking; and (d) how sources of learning were associated with perceptions of choking.

The top three sources of having first learned about choking were friends (35.1%), pornography (34.5%), and sexual partners (30.1%). Students reported learning the most about choking from partners (30.7%), friends (28.8%), and pornographic videos (25.1%). Most participants (88.9%) agreed/strongly agreed that people could die from being choked during sex, yet 37.5% endorsed choking as safe and half (49.6%) reported knowing how to engage in choking safely. Those who had learned the most about choking from other people more often agreed that choking was safe and that they know how to engage in choking safely. Those who had learned the most from media sources more often agreed with the importance of verbal consent, safe gestures, and being sober when engaging in choking.

Young adults report learning about choking from varied sources which have implications for their perceptions of choking and its health consequences.

Findings have implications for sexuality educators (e.g., providing fact-based information about sexual choking to college students) and clinicians, who might consider anticipatory guidance on choking.