Abstract
Despite theoretical associations, there is a lack of empirical studies on the axiological basis of sexual liberalism–conservatism. Two studies demonstrated important associations between these constructs for young adults. In Study 1, participants were 353 undergraduate students with a mean age of 20.13 (SD = 1.84), who completed the Sexual Liberalism–Conservatism Scale and the Basic Values Survey. In Study 2, participants were 269 undergraduate students, with a mean age of 20.3 (SD = 1.82), who completed a social desirability scale in addition to Study 1 instruments. Results showed how values can predict sexual liberalism–conservatism after controlling for social desirability. Attitudes towards one’s own sexual behavior were more conservative whereas attitudes towards other’s sexual behavior were more liberal. Gender was not a significant predictor of sexual attitudes whereas previous sexual experience showed a significant association to this construct. In general, results corroborated previous findings, showing that participants with a tendency to present socially desirable answers also tended to present themselves as sexually conservative.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alferes, V. R. (2002). Atração interpessoal, sexualidade e relações íntimas [Interpersonal attraction, sexuality, and intimate relationships]. In J. Vala & M. B. Monteiro (Eds.), Psicologia social (pp. 125–158). Lisboa: Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian.
Arbuckle, J. L. (1995–2007). Amos Development Corporation. Retrieved from http://www.amosdevelopment.com/download/Amos%2016.0.
Bancroft, J. (2004). Alfred C. Kinsey and the politics of sex research. Annual Review of Sex Research, 15, 1–39.
Bernardi, R. A. (2006). Associations between Hofstede’s cultural constructs and social desirability response bias. Journal of Business Ethics, 65, 43–53.
Caron, S. L., & Moskey, E. G. (2002). Changes over time in teenage sexual relationships: Comparing the high school class of 1950, 1975, and 2000. Adolescence, 37, 516–526.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2009). Trends in the prevalence of sexual behaviors—National YRBS: 1991–2009. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/yrbs/pdf/us_sexual_trend_yrbs.pdf.
Chapin, J. R. (2000). Adolescent sex and mass media: A developmental approach. Adolescence, 35, 799–811.
Crowne, D. P., & Marlowe, D. (1960). A new scale of social desirability independent of psychopathology. Journal of Consulting Psychology, 24, 349–354.
Fischer, R., Milfont, T. L., & Gouveia, V. V. (2011). Does social context affect value structures? Testing the within-country stability of value structures with a functional theory of values. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 42, 253–270.
Flanagan, S. C., & Lee, A. (2003). The new politics, culture wars, and the authoritarian–libertarian value change in advanced industrial democracies. Comparative Political Studies, 36, 235–270.
Garson, G. D. (2007). Statnotes: Topics in multivariate analysis. Retrieved from http://www2.chass.ncsu.edu/garson/pa765/statnote.htm.
Giddens, A. (1993). A transformação da intimidade: Sexualidade, amor e erotismo nas sociedades modernas [The transformatin of intimacy: Sexualidade, love and erotism in modern society]. São Paulo: Editora UNESP.
Goodwin, R., Realo, A., Kwiatkowska, A., Kozlova, A., Luu, L., & Nizharadze, G. (2002). Values and sexual behavior in Central and Eastern Europe. Journal of Health Psychology, 7, 45–56.
Gouveia, V. V. (2003). A natureza motivacional dos valores humanos: Evidências acerca de uma nova tipologia [The motivational nature of human values: Evidence on a new typology]. Estudos de Psicologia, 8, 431–443.
Gouveia, V. V., Guerra, V. M., de Sousa, D. M. F., Santos, W. S., & de Costa, J. M. (2009). Escala de Desejabilidade Social de Marlowe–Crowne: Evidências de sua validade fatorial e consistência interna [Marlowe–Crowne Social Desirability Scale: Evidence on its factor validity and internal reliability]. Avaliação Psicológica, 8, 87–98.
Gouveia, V. V., Milfont, T. L, Fischer, R., & Santos, W. S. (2008). Teoria funcionalista dos valores humanos [Functional theory of human values]. In M. L. M. Teixeira (Ed.), Valores humanos e gestão: Novas perspectivas (pp. 47–80). São Paulo: Senac.
Guerra, V. M., & Gouveia, V. V. (2007). Liberalismo/conservadorismo sexual: Proposta de uma medida multi-fatorial [Sexual liberalism/conservatism: Proposal of a multi-factorial measurement]. Psicologia: Reflexão e Crítica, 20, 43–53.
Gupta, N., & Mahy, M. (2003). Sexual initiation among adolescent girls and boys: Trends and differentials in sub-Saharan Africa. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 32, 41–53.
Haidt, J., & Hersh, M. A. (2001). Sexual morality: The cultures and emotions of conservatives and liberals. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 31, 191–221.
Hannon, R., Hall, D., Gonzalez, V., & Cacciapaglia, H. (1999). Revision and reliability of a measure of sexual attitudes. Electronic Journal of Human Sexuality, 2. Retrieved from http://www.ejhs.org/volume2/hannon/attitudes.htm.
Heaven, P. C. L., & Oxman, L. N. (1999). Human values, conservatism and stereotypes of homosexuals. Personality and Individual Differences, 27, 109–118.
MacKinnon, D. P., Fairchild, A. J., & Fritz, M. S. (2007). Mediation analysis. Annual Review of Psychology, 58, 593–614.
Marsh, H. W., & Hocevar, D. (1985). Application of confirmatory factor analysis to the study of self-concept: First and higher order factor models and their invariance across groups. Psychological Bulletin, 97, 562–582.
McCabe, M. P., & Cummins, R. (1998). Sexuality and quality of life among young people. Adolescence, 33, 761–773.
Meier, A. M. (2003). Adolescents’ transition to first intercourse, religiosity, and attitudes about sex. Social Forces, 81, 1031–1052.
Meston, C. M., Heiman, J. R., Trapnell, P. D., & Paulhus, D. L. (1998). Socially desirable responding and sexuality self-reports. Journal of Sex Research, 35, 148–157.
Mittal, B., & Lassar, W. M. (2000). Sexual liberalism as a determinant of consumer response to sex in advertising. Journal of Business and Psychology, 15, 111–127.
Ogland, C. P., Xu, X., Bartkowski, J. P., & Ogland, E. G. (2011). The association of religion and virginity status among Brazilian adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Health, 48, 651–653.
Oliver, M. B., & Hyde, J. S. (1993). Gender differences in sexuality: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 114, 29–51.
Paul, C., Fitzjohn, J., Herbison, P., & Dickson, N. (2000). The determinants of sexual intercourse before age 16. Journal of Adolescent Health, 27, 136–147.
Penke, L., & Asendorpf, J. B. (2008). Beyond global sociosexual orientations: A more differentiated look at sociosexuality and its effects on courtship and romantic relationships. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95, 1113–1135.
Petersen, J. L., & Hyde, J. S. (2010). A meta-analytic review of research on gender differences in sexuality, 1993–2007. Psychological Bulletin, 136, 21–38.
Rhee, E., Uleman, J. S., & Lee, H. K. (1996). Variations in collectivism and individualism by ingroup and culture: Confirmatory factor analyses. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 71, 1037–1054.
Risman, B., & Schwartz, P. (2002). After the sexual revolution: Gender politics in teen dating. Contexts, 1, 16–27.
Roccas, S. (2005). Religion and value systems. Journal of Social Issues, 61, 747–759.
Rosenthal, D. A., Smith, A. M. A., & de Visser, R. (1999). Personal and social factors influencing age at first sexual intercourse. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 28, 319–333.
Rowatt, W. C., & Schmitt, D. P. (2003). Associations between religious orientation and varieties of sexual experience. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 42, 455–465.
Schwartz, S. H. (1994). Are there universal aspects in the structure and contents of human values? Journal of Social Issues, 50, 19–45.
Schwartz, S. H., Verkasalo, M., Antonovsky, A., & Sagiv, L. (1997). Value priorities and social desirability: Much substance, some style. British Journal of Social Psychology, 36, 3–19.
Shultz, K., & Chávez, D. (1994). The reliability and structure of a social desirability scale in English and in Spanish. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 54, 935–940.
Simpson, J. A., & Gangestad, S. W. (1991). Individual differences in sociosexuality: Evidence for convergent and discriminant validity. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60, 870–883.
Tamayo, A., Lima, A., Marques, J., & Martins, L. (2001). Prioridades axiológicas e uso de preservativo [Axiological priorities of preservative use]. Psicologia: Reflexão e Crítica, 14, 167–175.
Ten, C. L. (1999). Liberal toleration. Social Research, 66, 1167–1190.
United Nations (UN). (2007) World Youth Report—Young people’s transition to adulthood: Progress and challenges. Retrieved from http://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unyin/wyr2007.htm.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Guerra, V.M., Gouveia, V.V., Sousa, D.M. et al. Sexual Liberalism–Conservatism: The Effect of Human Values, Gender, and Previous Sexual Experience. Arch Sex Behav 41, 1027–1039 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-012-9936-4
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-012-9936-4