How Gendered Attitudes Relate to Women’s and Men’s Sexual Behaviors and Beliefs

Lefkowitz, Eva S.; Shearer, Cindy; Gillen, Meghan M.; Espinosa‐Hernández, Graciela

doi:10.1007/s12119-014-9225-6

Cited by 88 publications

(78 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Those with less permissive sexual attitudes may feel that they are in greater control of their sexual lives as a result of engaging in fewer and less risky sexual behaviors. This finding is consistent with the scholarship on the sexual double standard (Kreager et al 2016;Lefkowitz et al 2014;Rudman et al 2012).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

The Impact of Religious Commitment on Women’s Sexual Self-Esteem

Abbott

Harris

Mollen

2016

Sexuality & Culture

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Religious commitment is associated with decreased sexual activity, poor sexual satisfaction, and sexual guilt, particularly among women. The purpose of this paper was to investigate how religious commitment is related to sexual self-esteem among women. Participants included 196 female undergraduate students, 87 % of whom identified as Christian. Participants completed the Sexual Self-Esteem Inventory for Women (SSEI-W), Religious Commitment Inventory-10, Revised Religious Fundamentalism Scale, Brief Sexual Attitudes Scale, and a measure of their perception of God's view of sex. Results suggested that women with high religious commitment held more conservative sexual attitudes. Significant relationships between religious commitment and two subscales (moral judgment and attractiveness) of the SSEI-W revealed that women with high religious commitment were less likely to perceive sex as congruent with their moral values and simultaneously reported significantly greater confidence in their sexual attractiveness. A significant relationship between religious commitment and overall sexual self-esteem was found for women whose religion of origin was Catholicism, such that those with higher religious commitment reported lower sexual self-esteem. A hierarchical regression analysis revealed that high religious commitment and perception that God viewed sex negatively independently predicted lower sexual selfesteem, as related to moral judgment. Implications of the findings are provided.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 91%

The Impact of Religious Commitment on Women’s Sexual Self-Esteem

Abbott

Harris

Mollen

2016

Sexuality & Culture

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“…More recent studies have also implicated the role of gendered beliefs (versus biological sex) in differentiating outcomes (Lefkowitz, Shearer, Gillen, & Espinosa-Hernandez, 2014). However, this study was not able to explore these beliefs as they related to sexual debut.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The risks and rewards of sexual debut.

Golden¹,

Collibee²

2016

Developmental Psychology

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The sex-positive framework of sexual development hypothesizes that healthy sexual experiences can be developmentally appropriate and rewarding for adolescents despite the risks involved. Research has not examined whether risky behaviors and rewarding cognitions actually change with sexual debut at a normative or late age. This study measured the longitudinal impact of sexual debut using 7 waves of data from 88 male and 86 female adolescents from a Western U.S. city who were in the 10th grade at the study’s onset. We used piecewise growth curve analyses to compare behavior and cognitions before and after first sexual intercourse for those whose debut was at a normative or late age. These analyses revealed that sexual debut was related to rewards including increases in romantic appeal, and sexual satisfaction. In addition, internalizing symptoms declined over time after sexual debut, and substance use grew at a slower rate after sexual debut. We also examined whether differences existed among those whose debut was at an early, normative, or late age. Linear growth curve analyses revealed early sexual debut was related to risks, such as greater substance use, more internalizing and externalizing symptoms and lower global self-worth. Rewards associated with an early debut included greater romantic appeal, dating satisfaction (males only), and sexual satisfaction (males only). Although there are some inherent risks with sexual activity, the results suggest that sexual debut at a normative or late age is also associated with a decrease in some risks and increase in rewards.

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“…In particular, the sexual double standard likely socializes male and female adolescents to differing behavioral expectations and sexual risks. Empirical evidence demonstrates that young women who endorse the sexual double standard are less likely to have sex, perceive greater barriers to condom use, and are less likely to use condoms (Crawford and Popp 2003; Lefkowitz, Shearer, Gillen, and Espinosa-Hernandez 2014; Moore and Rosenthal 1992). Moreover, the sexual double standard can lead girls and women to feel shame and guilt if they do engage in sexual behaviors (Tolman 2002).…”

Section: Sexual Script Theory and Empirical Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, the sexual double standard can lead girls and women to feel shame and guilt if they do engage in sexual behaviors (Tolman 2002). In contrast, young men who more strongly endorse the sexual double standard tend to have more sexual partners (Lefkowitz et al 2014). Thus, if peer ecology socializes male and female adolescents differently in reaction to their sexual behaviors, and if adolescents incorporate these messages into their sexual schemas, it might translate to future sexual beliefs and behaviors in adolescence and beyond.…”

Section: Sexual Script Theory and Empirical Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Double Standard at Sexual Debut: Gender, Sexual Behavior and Adolescent Peer Acceptance

et al. 2016

Self Cite

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A sexual double standard in adolescence has important implications for sexual development and gender inequality. The present study uses longitudinal social network data (N = 914; 11–16 years of age) to test if gender moderates associations between adolescents’ sexual behaviors and peer acceptance. Consistent with a traditional sexual double standard, female adolescents who reported having sex had significant decreases in peer acceptance over time, whereas male adolescents reporting the same behavior had significant increases in peer acceptance. This pattern was observed net of respondents’ own perceived friendships, further suggesting that the social responses to sex vary by gender of the sexual actor. However, findings for “making out” showed a reverse double standard, such that female adolescents reporting this behavior had increases in peer acceptance and male adolescents reporting the same behavior had decreases in peer acceptance over time. Results thus suggest that peers enforce traditional sexual scripts for both “heavy” and “light” sexual behaviors during adolescence. These findings have important implications for sexual health education, encouraging educators to develop curricula that emphasize the gendered social construction of sexuality and to combat inequitable and stigmatizing peer responses to real or perceived deviations from traditional sexual scripts.

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How Gendered Attitudes Relate to Women’s and Men’s Sexual Behaviors and Beliefs

Cited by 88 publications

References 43 publications

The Impact of Religious Commitment on Women’s Sexual Self-Esteem

The Impact of Religious Commitment on Women’s Sexual Self-Esteem

The risks and rewards of sexual debut.

The Double Standard at Sexual Debut: Gender, Sexual Behavior and Adolescent Peer Acceptance

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