Swedish or American heterosexual college youth: Who is more permissive (original) (raw)
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Cross-cultural analysis of students' sexual standards
Archives of Sexual Behavior, 1978
Our purpose was to investigate, cross-culturally, university students' premarital sexual standards. A number of predictions were derived from the work of Christensen, Reiss, and Burr. Data were collected via selfladministered questionnaires from over 1100 English-speaking respondents in five "cultures" (four countriesJ. These cultural contexts had a strong effect on the attitudes and behavior of individual respondents. As predicted, the difference in the standards held by males and females was small in highly permissive societies. Negative consequences of premarital intercourse {i.e., guilt) were reported by the highest proportion of sexually experienced respondents in the most restrictive society. An unsuccessful effort was made to predict how the correlation between permissiveness and such variables as religiosity wouM change in different cultures. Across all five cultures, greater courtship participation, less religiosity, greater physical attractiveness, and spending less time with one's family were associated with greater permissiveness. Finally, students from high-status backgrounds were generally more permissive.
A repeated survey of sexual behavior among female university students in Sweden
Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica, 2012
Objective: To investigate sexual behavior and use of contraceptives among female university students in 2009, and compare the results with surveys from 1999 and 2004. Design: Comparative, repeated cross-sectional surveys. Setting: A Student Health Centre in Sweden. Population: Female university students (n=350). Methods: Multiple-choice waiting-room questionnaire. Main outcome measures: Number of sexual partners, sexually transmitted diseases, contraceptive methods. Results: Mean age was 23.5 years and 57% (n=198) had a stable relationship. Almost all, 99% (n=345), had had intercourse, 97% (n=328) had received and 94% (n=328) had given oral sex. The mean number of sexual partners had increased to 11.0, compared with 7.4 in 2004 and 5.4 in 1999.
Archives of Sexual Behavior, 1996
The study of the sexual permissiveness of young adults has been a popular topic in sociology and social psychology, especially since the empirical and theoretical work of Reiss. We extended previous research on premarital sexual standards by examining the degree of sexual permissiveness and the endorsement of the traditional double standard in a large sample of young adults in the United States (N = 1043). In addition, comparative data were collected from young adults in two other countries: Russia (N = 401) and Japan (N = 223). American subjects expressed more acceptance of premarital sex than did the Russian and Japanese subjects. Men were more sexually permissive than women in the U.S. and in Russia but not in Japan. The degree to which the double standard was endorsed also depended on culture and gender. Russian subjects were more likely to endorse the double standard than Japanese and American subjects. However, American men were most likely to endorse the traditional double standard concerning sex early in the dating relationship.
Sexual behavior and sexually transmitted diseases among Swedish university students
Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica, 1991
Students at Uppsala University. Sweden, were interviewed about their sexual behavior, their knowledge of and attitudes to sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and related issues. The purpose of the study was to ascertain trends in behavior and attitudes as an indication of the likely risk of the spread of STDs, in particular AIDS, among students. Results revealed that change of partner was commonplace. A significant number of students had suffered from an STD. Students' claims that their own sexual practices, and those of others, had changed as a result of the AIDS epidemic, proved to be unsubstantiated in their behavior. Although contraceptive use was high, condom use with change of partner was infrequent. Alcohol played a significant role in impairing judgement. Despite a reasonably sound knowledge of STDs, the students exhibited a high degree of risk‐taking behavior. The study has highlighted the dichotomy between knowledge and practice in student sexual behavior. Notable was...
Acta obstetricia et gynecologica Scandinavica, 2015
To study female students' sexual and contraceptive behavior and compare these results with earlier surveys. Comparative, repeated cross-sectional surveys, started in 1989 and repeated every fifth year. Contraceptive counseling delivered at a Student Health Center in Sweden. Female university students (n = 359). Multiple-choice waiting-room questionnaire. Sexual and contraceptive behavior. In 1989, age at first intercourse was 17.6 years vs. 16.7 years in 2014, number of lifetime sexual partners was 4.0 vs. 12.1 in 2014, and number of sexual partners during the previous 12 months was 1.0 vs. 2.8 in 2014. Condom use during first intercourse with the latest partner decreased from 49% to 41% (n = 172 in 2009 vs. n = 148 in 2014: p < 0.001), and experience of anal sex increased from 39% to 46% (n = 136 in 2009 vs. n = 165 in 2014: p = 0.038), and 25% (n = 41 in 2014) always used a condom during anal sex. A total of 70% (n = 251) made use of pornography, and 48% (n = 121) considere...
Premarital Sexual Standards and Sociosexuality: Gender, Ethnicity, and Cohort Differences
In this article, we present results from a‘‘cohort-longitudinal’’ analysis of sexual attitudes and behaviors based on a large sample of young adults (N = 7,777) obtained from a university setting over a 23-year period. We investigated gender, ethnicity, and cohort differences in sexual permissive- ness, endorsement of the double standard, and sociosexuality. Compared to women, men had more permissive attitudes, par- ticularly about sex in casual relationships, endorsed the double standard to a greater degree, and had a more unrestricted socio- sexuality. Black men were generally more permissive than White, Hispanic, and Asian men, whereas ethnic differences were not found among women. Participants from the 1995–1999 cohort were slightly less permissive than those from the 1990–1994 and 2005–2012 cohorts. Although prior meta-analytic studies (e.g., Petersen & Hyde, 2010) found reduced gender differences in sexuality over time, our cohort analyses suggest that gender differences in sexual permissiveness have not changed over the past two decades among college students.
Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica, 2006
Background. The aim of this study was to perform a repeated cross-sectional study of female university students' sexual and contraceptive behavior, as well as experiences of pornography and sexual harassment and compare the findings with those from earlier studies. Methods. Waiting-room questionnaires to female university students (n 0/315) visiting a Student Health Centre in Sweden. Similar investigations had been performed earlier, which enabled comparisons. Results. Almost all women (98%) had experienced intercourse and giving oral sex (94%). Condoms were most often used at first intercourse (72%) and combined oral contraceptives at latest intercourse (67%). The ever use of emergency contraceptive pills had increased from 22% to 52% over five years and there was a tendency towards more risk-taking behavior with more sexual partners (mean 5.4 in 1999 and mean 7.4 in 2004), more experience of first-date intercourse without a condom (37 Á45%), and more self-reported sexually transmitted infections (14 Á21%). The proportion of women who had undergone an abortion remained stable (6%) and fewer women reported ever being sexually harassed in 2004 compared to 1999. Conclusions. In conclusion, contraceptive use remained stable over time, but there was a trend towards more risky sexual behavior with more sexual partners, more unprotected first-date intercourse, and more self-reported sexually transmitted infections. Induced abortions, however, had not increased, but the use of emergency contraceptive pills had more than doubled in the five years between 1999 and 2004.
Sex Differences in Sexual Desires and Attitudes in Norwegian Samples
Despite highly replicable predictable differences between the sexes on various sexual desires and attitudes, critics of evolutionary perspectives argue against the biological origins of such differences, highlighting cultural explanations. Critics suggest that there are no cross-cultural evolutionary predictable, systematic differences. Eagly and Wood (1999) suggest that in egalitarian cultures sex differences will be small or disappear. We tested whether Trivers’ (1972) Parental Investment Theory and Buss and Schmitt’s (1993) Sexual Strategies Theory predicted sex differences in sexuality within samples of students (N=1072) in egalitarian Norway. We expected similar interest in long-term relationships, but that females seek short-term partners less than males. Furthermore, males were expected to have less restricted sociosexuality, fantasize more, take more initiative to sex and be less satisfied with frequency of sex. The predictions were supported in the evolutionarily-predicted directions. Clinical consequences of claiming there are no sex differences in sexuality, when indeed they exist, are discussed. Keywords: sex desire; sex differences; Norway
Emerging Adolescent Sexuality: A Comparison of American and Dutch College Women's Experiences
International Journal of Sexual Health, 2010
The United States has the highest rates of teen pregnancy, births, and abortions of all industrialized countries. On the contrary, The Netherlands has the lowest rates. Using qualitative and quantitative methods, this retrospective study investigated American and Dutch college women's sexual behavior, attitudes, and comfort to better understand the factors that lead to the disparity between these two countries. Survey results revealed that the American sample experienced sexual behaviors at a younger age and with more partners, whereas the Dutch sample showed a better use of contraceptives during high school, more talk with their parents, and greater sexuality education. Several distinctly different themes emerged between the U.S. and Dutch women from the in-depth interviews. Themes about U.S. girls included: driven by hormones and peers; unprepared; satisfying him; and uncomfortable and silent parents. Some themes about Dutch girls were: motivated by love; control of my own body; parents as supporters and educators; and books at young ages. Implications for what the United States could be doing to promote sexual health are discussed.
Sexual socialization and motives for intercourse among Norwegian adolescents
Archives of Sexual Behavior, 1996
The impact of gender differences in sexual socialization on early sexual experiences among Norwegian adolescents is discussed. The material comprises a stratified sample of 920 adolescents ages 16-20 years in a Norwegian county. Data were collected by means of questionnaires. Of the respondents, 55.5% were girls and 44.5% were boys. 52.3% of girls and 41.4% of the boys had coital experience. The most common reasons for having had the first sexual intercourse were being in love, curiosity or excitement, and sexual arousal. Findings from a discriminant analysis showed that emotional reasons were more important to girls, whereas boys seemed more practical in sexual matters. More boys than girls reported that the reason for having had their most recent intercourse was that the partner wanted it. This indicates that if girls do not want sex, boys seldom use pressure. Girls set the premises for sexual interaction but are not as sexually skilled as boys.