College Student Sexual Morality Revisited: A Consideration of Pre-Marital Sex, Extra-Marital Sex and Childlessness between 1940 and 2000-2005.
Much attention has been given to the new "sexual morality" of college students today. Indeed, some maintain that the American family is doomed because of the attitudes of young people today toward sex and the family. How does the sexual morality of college students today compare with the sexual morality of college students over half a century ago? To answer this question a replication of the 1940 study of sexual morality of college students by John Cuber and Betty Bell published in the American Journal of Sociology was conducted between 2000 and 2005. Gender comparisons were made with respect to sexual morality involving pre-marital sex, extra-marital sex, and childlessness. INTRODUCTION Seldom, if at all, have issues of morality been so disturbing for members of the American society. Leaders, both political and religious, are taking different positions on a variety of issues, ranging from war to homosexuality to abortion. At times, the stance taken is related to dictionary terms of what is right and wrong. However, morality has many more dimensions that stretch between right and wrong. In many respects morality is a moving target, with people changing their position on various issues. BACKGROUND Gilligan (1982, 1990) decided to determine if gender perceptions were different with respect to morality. Based on interviews with 200 men and women, she reported that females are more apt to evaluate morality in terms of personal relationships. Females want to find out how a behavior affects others and are focused on personal loyalties and with the harm that might come to loved ones. Males on the other hand, generally are more reserved with abstract principles that define right or wrong. A behavior is in agreement or disagreement with a role of ethics, and personal relationships play a minor role. An investigation of Gilligan's conclusions (Wark and Krebs, 1996), found that both males and females use personal relationships and abstract principles when they make moral judgments. As a result, Gilligan no longer advocates her original stand (Brannan, 1999). However, the issue is not settled, since some researchers have found differences in how males and females make moral judgments (White 1999; Jaffee and Hyde 2000). Schools develop children's conceptions of gender by teaching them that teachers expect differences from boys and girls. Martin (1998) found that teachers discourage girls from speaking loudly and put more restrictions on their movement than they do on boys. Moreover, teachers are generally more likely to physically restrain boys than girls. These actions socialize boys and girls that they are being perceived differently. While differences in the moral judgments of females and males remain somewhat unsettled, research has indicated that females engage in less antisocial behavior. This gender difference in antisocial behavior has been shown using a variety of methods. Crime statistics from several countries have consistently demonstrated higher rates of arrest and conviction for males than females with respect to a variety of crimes (Heidensohn 1997). Besides criminal statistics, other methods have been used to study gender differences in antisocial behavior. Research employing self-report methodology has determined that males exhibit more nonviolent and violent antisocial behavior than females in several societies (Junger-Tas, Terlouw, and Klein 1994). Parent and teacher reports collected across numerous cultures have also supported males' greater involvement in antisocial conduct (e.g. Achenbach, Bird, et al. 1990). Epidemiological studies of mental disorders related to antisocial behavior have found higher rates of these disorders in males than females (e.g. Kessler et al. 1994). While a gender difference in antisocial behavior has been well documented, explanations for this difference have been elusive. Based on a review of the literature, Rutter, Giller, and Hagell (1998) maintained that "the topic of gender difference in antisocial behavior should be high on the research agenda . …