Sex Education in retrospect: Personal Understanding & Comfort levels

1. Sex Education in retrospect: Personal Understanding & Comfort levels By: Jeremy Smith and Heather Dombrowsky Hanover College

2. Let’s Talk about sex… • What do you remember about your sex education? • Where did your sex education come from?

3. Types of Sex education • There are currently two main types of formal sex education taught in schools: • Abstinence-Only • Comprehensive • Controversial because…. • Abstinence-only advocates argue that comprehensive sex education encourages sexual activity • Comprehensive advocates argue that abstinence-only sex education is religiously motivated and proven to be ineffective

4. Consequences • Due to the Controversy, Emphasis Has Been Placed On…. • Objective Behavioral Impact • Pregnancy Rates • STI Rates • And Not…. • Subjective Consequences • Comfort Levels & Satisfaction • Qualitative Analyses • Little to No Previous Research

5. Introduction • Perceived Cultural Differences • Europe vs. U.S. • Europe – More Comprehensive Sex Education • U.S. – More Abstinence Based Sex Education • Paige, 1977 • Cultural Difference for Different Sex Taboos • Less Developed Countries = More Taboos • Manceau, 2006 • Taboos on Sex and Death in Advertising • French Culture • More than 45% of participants were uncomfortable with using sex or death in advertising, as they are considered to be taboo

6. Research question • How do people understand the significance of their own sex education in retrospect?

7. Hypotheses • Participants who received a more comprehensive sex education will be (on average) more comfortable with the topic of sex than those who received a more abstinence-based sex education • Participants from European countries will be (on average) more comfortable with the topic of sex than those from the United States • Paige, 1977

8. Method • Online Survey • Survey BuildR • Posted on European and American websites • Participants • n = 45 • Had to omit one due to age • 12 Males, 34 Females • Ages 18 to 65 • Participants span a wide range of countries • Australia, Greece, Singapore, United Kingdom, United States

9. Components of survey • Demographics Survey • Age, Sex, Country of Residence, Religious Affiliation • Type of Sex Education • Defined Abstinence and Comprehensive Sex Education

10. Reflections from Different Sources (Open-Ended) • Peers/Siblings • Home • School • Your Own Research

11. Comfort Levels (Likert Scales) • Parents • Siblings • Significant Other • Close Friend • Peer • Stranger • Chronbach’s Alpha = 0.71

12. Qualitative Questions • Tell me what you remember learning about sex from your peers and siblings. • Quantitative Questions • How satisfied are you with the information you received from your peers and siblings about sex? • 1-7 (Completely Unsatisfied to Completely Satisfied) • Same Set of Questions for Each Source

13. Results

14. Hypotheses not supported. • No relationship between the kind of sex education received and the participants’ comfort levels • All 6 DV p>0.05 • No relationship between the participants’ country of residence and their comfort levels • All 6 DV p>0.05

16. Correlations • Positive correlations between how much education an individual received from a source and how satisfied they were with the information they received from that source • Home r(45)=+.637, p<0.001 • Peers r(45)=+.363, p=0.015 • School r(46)=+.629, p<0.001 • Independent Research r(43)=+.589, p<0.001

17. Qualitative Data • General Trends • Participants Often Adopted Parents’ Views on Sex • Negative Consequence of Unprotected Sex Seem to be the Focus for Males When Discussing Sex • In General, Negative Messages Portrayed About Sex • Exceptions

18. Discussion • No difference between the different types of programs through which one learns about sex… • Flawed Hypothesis

19. We assumed that individuals would either have: a comprehensive or abstinence-only sex education • Most people receive some sort of “Comprehensive” Sex Education • Internet

20. We had small sample sizes (especially small European sample); • Too much variation between the participants; • Too many confounding factors • We were too broad in what our survey was asking

21. As adults, it seems that if you spend more time with someone interpersonally, you are more comfortable talking about sex with them • Significant Other = Close Friend > Siblings > Parents = Peers > Strangers

22. Males are more comfortable talking to: • Peers* • Strangers • Parents • Both sexes are equally comfortable talking to: • Siblings • Significant Others • Close Friends

23. Perceived Gender Differences • Women Receive More Negative Messages About Sex • Askew, 2007 • Female Undergraduates Took a Feminist-Informed Human Sexuality Course • Previous Messages to Women – Negative; Abstinence Until Marriage • Participants Felt More Comfortable About the Topic of Sex After the Course

24. The more education you receive from a source, then the more satisfied you are with the source… • Sex is an important subject • The more you learn, the more it should make sense

25. Limitations & Future Research • Limitations • Coding Glitch • Small, Homogeneous Sample Size • Our Expectations for Participants • Future Research • In-Person Interviews • Analyze Personality Differences • Providing Other Types of Relationships

26. Questions?