Back to Search
Start Over
Paradoxical attitudes toward premarital dating and sexual encounters in Tehran, Iran: a cross-sectional study.
- Source :
-
Reproductive Health . 8/30/2016, Vol. 13, p1-10. 10p. 4 Charts. - Publication Year :
- 2016
-
Abstract
- Background: The purpose of this study is to assess attitudes toward premarital dating and sexual encounters in individuals aged 15-49 years in Tehran. Methods: Utilizing the attitudes section of an original cross-sectional study (n = 755) aimed at assessing sexual health needs of adults, this paper examined personal attitudes towards premarital dating, non-sexual relationships and sexual encounters in both male and female adults aged between 15-49 years. Multi-stage cluster random sampling and a validated/reliable questionnaire were used. Descriptive, bivariate and multivariate analyses were conducted using statistical software. Results: The results indicated that the majority of the participants were supportive of dating. Almost three-fourths of the males were more positively inclined towards non-sexual, yet tactile, affectionate interactions between unmarried males and females as opposed to only half of the females (70 % vs. 50.5 %). Also, males held significantly more liberal attitudes than females in their acceptance of premarital sex. On preserving virginity prior to marriage, 43 % of the males felt that it was important for a female to be a virgin, whereas only 26 % felt it was important for males to remain a virgin. Interestingly, more females (61 %) supported the importance of a female's virginity compared with the importance of males' virginity (48 %). This study showed that, being a male, of a younger age, single, and being less religious or being secular were important determinants of a liberal sexual attitude. Conclusion: These results might reflect a socio-cultural transition in the sexual attitudes of different age groups of participants - a phenomenon that will need empirical studies to unpack in the Iranian socio-cultural context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Subjects :
- *ANALYSIS of variance
*CLUSTER analysis (Statistics)
*CONCEPTUAL structures
*DATING (Social customs)
*HETEROSEXUALS
*INTERVIEWING
*INTIMACY (Psychology)
*MARRIAGE
*MULTIVARIATE analysis
*QUESTIONNAIRES
*REGRESSION analysis
*STATISTICAL sampling
*HUMAN sexuality
*SEX distribution
*SINGLE men
*SINGLE women
*STATISTICS
*SURVEYS
*T-test (Statistics)
*SOCIOECONOMIC factors
*CROSS-sectional method
*DATA analysis software
*ATTITUDES toward sex
*DESCRIPTIVE statistics
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 17424755
- Volume :
- 13
- Database :
- Academic Search Index
- Journal :
- Reproductive Health
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 117794557
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s12978-016-0210-4