Journal
ARCHIVES OF SEXUAL BEHAVIOR
Volume 51, Issue 3, Pages 1503-1508Publisher
SPRINGER/PLENUM PUBLISHERS
DOI: 10.1007/s10508-021-02220-4
Keywords
Sexual behavior; Oral-genital sex; Social desirability; Technical virginity; Religiosity
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Previous studies have shown that many college students do not consider oral-genital contact as a form of sexual activity. However, this study asked university students about their own personal sexual experiences. The study found that students who denied having had sex but admitted to oral-genital contact had higher levels of social desirability and religiosity.
Previous studies have found that a large proportion of college students do not consider oral-genital contact as having had sex. In all studies, the questions posed were hypothetical. In the present study, university students were asked about their own personal sexual experiences. From a large pool of participants, two subgroups were identified: those who responded No to having had sex but responded Yes to having had oral-genital contact (No-Yes), and those who responded Yes to having had both sex and oral-genital contact (Yes-Yes). None of the participants in these two subgroups self-reported vaginal or anal intercourse. The No-Yes group was significantly higher in social desirability (p < .0005) as measured by the Marlowe-Crowne scale and was also significantly higher in religiosity (p < .01) as measured on a 7-point Likert scale. There was a modest correlation between level of religiosity and social desirability (r = .25, p < .01). It was concluded that many students who have had oral-genital contact but deny having had sex do so because of impression management, i.e., a desire to present themselves more positively. These results provide further evidence that social desirability responding is a serious problem for sex researchers, one that affects even the most basic questions about having had sex.
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