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Home / American Journal of Health Behavior, Volume 28, Number 4

Religiosity and Sexual Responsibility: Relationships of Choice

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Objective: To determine the current influence of women's religiosity upon their sexual attitudes and behavior, including feelings of guilt.

Method: An anonymous questionnaire was administered to 535 female undergraduates at a Midwestern university.

Results: Higher degrees of religiosity were associated with negative attitudes toward nonprocreative sexual activities, guilt towards masturbation, less likelihood of engaging in sexual intercourse, and fewer sex partners if sexually experienced. No significant differences were found regarding religiosity and physiological or psychological sexual satisfaction.

Conclusion: Religiosity appears related to sexual attitudes and behavior of college women, but not physiological or psychological sexual satisfaction.

Keywords: college religiosity; college women's sexuality; sexual behavior; sexual guilt

Document Type: Research Article

Affiliations: 1: Department of Sociology, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Eau Claire, WI. 2: Professor Emerita, Family and Child Studies, Texas State University-San Marcos, San Marcos, TX. 3: RSA, Inc., Lakewood, CO.

Publication date: 01 July 2004

More about this publication?

  • The American Journal of Health Behavior seeks to improve the quality of life through multidisciplinary health efforts in fostering a better understanding of the multidimensional nature of both individuals and social systems as they relate to health behaviors.

    The Journal aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the impact of personal attributes, personality characteristics, behavior patterns, social structure, and processes on health maintenance, health restoration, and health improvement; to disseminate knowledge of holistic, multidisciplinary approaches to designing and implementing effective health programs; and to showcase health behavior analysis skills that have been proven to affect health improvement and recovery.

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