Abstract
Medical sex education courses throughout the United States are quite variable in design, strategy, format, and goals. This article reviews the findings of the published studies, and examines the effect of medical sex education on both students' sexual attitudes toward self and others and students' attitudes toward women. This study used a simple pre- and postcourse measuring design with a matched sampling technique. Data derived from 41 matched subjects support the effectiveness of the medical sex education course in altering students' attitudes by increasing their tolerance of others' sexual behavior and fantasy, as well as influencing their own tolerance of their own sexual fantasies. Little to no effect on students' own sexual behavior was noted. The data replicate the attitudinal effects of a medical sex education course conducted with a markedly different regional population and a different course format. A most striking finding is that following a medical sex education course, students are noted to be less dogmatic in nonsexual opinion, as measured by the Rokeach Dogmatism Scale.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alzate, H. (1974). A course in human sexuality in a Colombian medical school.J. Med. Educ. 49: 438–443.
Canning, C., Kane, R., and Gray, R. (1974). Attitudes and electives: Predicting enrollment and measuring effects.J. Med. Educ. 49: 986–988.
Garrard, J., Vaitkus, A., and Held, J. (1972). Evaluation of a course in human sexuality.J. Med. Educ. 47: 772–778.
Golden, J., and Liston, E. (1972). Medical sex education: The world of illusion and the practical realities.J. Med. Educ. 47: 761–771.
Kilpatrick, D., and Smith, A. (1973). The development of a Sexual Attitudes and Behavior Survey. Unpublished manuscript.
Kilpatrick, D., and Smith, A. (1974). Validation of the Spence, Helmreich Attitudes Toward Women Scale.Psychol. Rep. 35: 461–462.
Kilpatrick, D., Dubin, W., and Marcotte, D. (1974). Personality, stress of the medical education process, and changes in affective mood state.Psychol. Rep. 34: 1215–1223.
Lief, H. (1964). Sexual attitudes and behavior of medical students: Implications for medical practice. In Nash, E., Jessner, L., and Abse, D. (eds.),Marriage Counseling in Medical Practice University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, pp. 301–318.
Lief, H. (1973). Personal communication. APA Panel on Medical Sex Education, Honolulu, Hawaii.
Marcotte, D. (1973). Sex education and the medical student.J. Med. Educ. 48: 285–286.
Marcotte, D., and Kilpatrick, D. (1974). Preliminary evaluation of a sex education course.J. Med. Educ. 49: 703–705.
Marcotte, D., Kilpatrick, D., Geyer, P., and Smith, A. (1976). The effect of a spaced sex education course on medical students' sexual knowledge and attitudes.Br. J. Med. Educ. 10: 117–121.
Rezler, A. (1974). Attitude changes during medical school: A review of the literature.J. Med. Educ. 49: 1023–1030.
Rokeach, M. (1960).The Open and Closed Mind Basic Books, New York.
Rosenberg, P., and Chilgren, R. (1973). Sex education discussion groups in a medical setting.Int. J. Group Psychother. 23: 1.
Spence, J., and Helmreich, R. (1972). The Attitudes Toward Women Scale: An objective instrument to measure attitudes towards the rights and roles of women in contemporary society.Catalogue of Selective Documents in Psychology, APA.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
This study was supported by NIMH Grant MN13825.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Marcotte, D.B., Logan, C. Medical sex education: Allowing attitude alteration. Arch Sex Behav 6, 155–162 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01541707
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01541707