Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between religiosity, spirituality, sexual attitudes, and sexual behaviors among Latino and non-Latino college students. The sample included 230 undergraduate college students enrolled at a mid-sized University in the western USA. Sexual behaviors among Latinos were significantly correlated with sexual attitudes and spiritual disclosure in close relationships. However, sexual behaviors for non-Latino respondents were only significantly related to sexual attitudes, not indices of religiousness or spirituality. Sexual educators, health educators, college-level instructors, and counselors can use these results to help Latino and non-Latino students alike understand the relationship between their religious and spiritual beliefs, sexual attitudes, and sexual behaviors.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ahrold, T. K., & Meston, C. M. (2010). Ethnic differences in sexual attitudes of U.S. college students: Gender, acculturation, and religiosity factors. Archives of Sexual Behaviors, 39, 190–202. doi:10.1007/s10508-008-9406-1.
Beckwith, H. D., & Morrow, J. A. (2005). Sexual attitudes of college students: The impact of religiosity and spirituality. College Student Journal, 39, 357–366.
Brelsford, G., Luquis, R., & Murray-Swank, N. (2011). College students’ permissive sexual attitudes: Links to religiousness and spirituality. The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 21(2), 127–136. doi:10.1080/10508619.2011.557005.
Brelsford, G. M., & Mahoney, A. (2008). Spiritual disclosure between older adolescents and their mothers. Journal of Family Psychology, 22, 62–70.
Burris, J. L., Smith, G. T., & Carlson, C. R. (2009). Relations among religiousness, spirituality, and sexual practices. Journal of Sexual Research, 46, 282–289.
Davidson, J. K., Moore, N. B., Earle, J. R., & Davis, R. (2008). Sexual attitudes and behavior at four universities: Do region, race, and/or religion matter? Adolescence, 43, 189–220.
Edwards, L. M., Haglund, K., Fehring, R. J., & Ruszynski, J. (2011). Religiosity and sexual risk behavior among Latina adolescents: Trends from 1995 to 2008. Journal of Women’s Health, 20(6), 871–877.
Fetzer/National Institute on Aging Work Group. (1999). Multidimensional measurement of religiousness/spirituality for the use in health research: A report of the Fetzer/National Institute on Aging Working Group. Kalamazoo, MI: Fetzer Institute.
Gonzalez, R. G. (2008). College student spirituality at a Hispanic serving institution. Journal of College and Character, 9(4), 1–26.
Gurman, T., & Borzekowski, D. L. G. (2004). Condom use among Latino college students. Journal of American College Health, 52(4), 169–178.
Hatch, R. L., Burg, M. A., Naberhaus, D. S., et al. (1998). The spiritual involvement and beliefs scale: Development and testing of a new instrument. Journal of Family Practice, 46, 476–486.
Hendrick, C., Hendrick, S. S., & Reich, D. A. (2006). The brief sexual attitudes scale. Journal of Sexual Research, 43, 76–86.
Herlitz, C., & Ramstedt, K. (2005). Assessment of sexual behaviors, sexual attitudes, and sexual risk in Sweden (1998–2003). Archives of Sexual Behaviors, 34, 219–229.
Kim, S., De La Rosa, M., Trepka, M. J., & Kelley, M. (2007). Condom use among unmarried students in a Hispanic-serving university. AIDS Education and Prevention, 19(5), 448–461.
Lefkowitz, E. S., Gillen, M. M., Shearer, C. L., & Boone, T. L. (2004). Religiosity, sexual behaviors, and sexual attitudes during emerging adulthood. Journal of Sexual Research, 41, 150–159.
Luquis, R., Brelsford, G., & Rojas-Guyler, L. (2012). Religiosity, spirituality, sexual attitudes, and sexual behaviors among college students. Journal of Religion and Health, 51(3), 601–614. doi:10.1007/s10943-011-9527-z.
Moore, N. B., & Davidson, J. K. (2006). College women and personal goals: Cognitive dimensions that differentiate risk-reduction sexual decisions. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 35, 577–589.
Murray-Swank, N. A., Pargament, K. I., & Mahoney, A. (2005). At the crossroads of sexuality and spirituality: The sanctification of sex by college students. International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 15, 199–219.
Penhollow, T., Young, M., & Bailey, W. (2007). Relationship between religiosity and “hooking up” behavior. American Journal of Health Education, 38, 338–345.
Penhollow, T., Young, M., & Denny, G. (2005). The impact of religiosity on the sexual behaviors of college students. American Journal of Health Education, 36, 75–83.
Pew Hispanic Center (2012). Hispanic student enrollments reach new highs in 2011: Now largest minority group on four-year college campuses. Retrieved from http://www.pewhispanic.org/2012/08/20/hispanic-student-enrollments-reach-new-highs-in-2011/
Pew Hispanic Center & Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. (2007). Changing faiths: Latinos and the transformation of American religion. Washington, DC: Pew Research Center.
Rostosky, S. S., Wilcox, B. L., Comer Wright, M. L., & Randall, B. A. (2004). The impact of religiosity on adolescent sexual behavior: A review of the evidence. Journal of Adolescent Research, 19, 677–697.
Underwood, L. G., & Teresi, J. A. (2002). The daily spiritual experience scale: Development, theoretical descriptions, reliability, exploratory factor analysis, and preliminary construct validity using health-related data. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 24, 22–33.
U.S. Census Bureau. (2011). The Hispanic population: 2010. Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/prod/cen2010/briefs/c2010br-04.pdf
Vasilenko, S. A., Duntzee, C., Zheng, Y., & Lefkowitz, E. S. (2013). Testing two models of religiosity and sexual behavior. Journal of Adolescence, 36(4), 667–673.
Weeden, J., & Sabini, J. (2007). Subjective and objective measures of attractiveness and their relationship to sexual behavior and sexual attitudes in university students. Archive of Sexual Behavior, 36, 79–88.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Luquis, R.R., Brelsford, G.M. & Pérez, M.A. Exploring Latino College Students’ Sexual Behaviors in Relation to Their Sexual Attitudes, Religiousness, and Spirituality. J Relig Health 54, 1345–1357 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-014-9929-9
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10943-014-9929-9