Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site watarts.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!watarts!csgro From: csgro@watarts.UUCP (Carlo Sgro) Newsgroups: net.singles Subject: Virginity Survey V (Analysis) Message-ID: <8342@watarts.UUCP> Date: Tue, 19-Mar-85 00:59:33 EST Article-I.D.: watarts.8342 Posted: Tue Mar 19 00:59:33 1985 Date-Received: Tue, 19-Mar-85 06:09:58 EST Reply-To: csgro@watarts.UUCP (Carlo Sgro) Organization: U of Waterloo, Ontario Lines: 158 [If you do not understand how correlations and significance levels work, please refer to the posting describing them before reading this.] CONCLUSIONS: As could be expected when dealing with so many different types of related variables, the possibilities for significant relationships between the variable was great. Some of the possible relationships will be examined in this section. Due to the small number of females in the survey, it was not possible to draw conclusions about sex differences. 70% of males (34/48) were non-virgins, with a mean age of first intercourse of 19.62 years. 75% of females (3/4) were not virgins, with a mean age of first intercourse of 20.33 years. Males gave a higher subjective rating to their own feelings about their first coital experience (see Table 6). A broader sample would be needed to investigate this more fully. Table 6 Sex of Respondent vs. Subjective Evaluation of First Sexual Intercourse for Self Sex M F ++ 5 0 Subjective + 21 1 Evaluation 0 5 1 - 3 1 A very strong relationship between past relationships and occurrence of sexual intercourse was found (see Table 7). A correlation of 0.82 (p < .01) was calculated. This result could be most likely interpreted as implying that the occurrence of a "serious relationship" in one's life would result in sexual intercourse or a predisposition towards sexual intercourse, although other explanations are possible. Investigation to determine whether the first coital experience occurred before, during, or after the serious relationship would provide valuable insights. Table 7 Sexual Experience vs. Past Relationships Sexual Experience Y N Past Serious 35 6 Relationships Not Serious 2 9 The relationship between the reasons for keeping virginity and age was an intriguing one. An examination of Tables 2 and 3 shows several interesting possibilities. The popularity of the "lack of opportunity" answer among non-virgin respondents indicates that, with a retrospective view, the situation and the environment greatly outweighed any moral or emotional deterrent to sexual intercourse. This contrasts with the reasons given by virgins, in which "lack of opportunity" is still rated highest but moral and emotional deterrents outweigh it by almost a two-to-one ratio. In the calculation of the correlation between the weight given the "lack of opportunity" reason by non-virgins and the age of first sexual intercourse, a value of .43 was obtained (p < .05). When the correlation of that weight against current age of virgin-respondent was calculated, the correlation was found to be .46 with a significance level of p < .10. The weaker correlation in the virgin sample is extremely interesting, since a person would only gain more opportunity for sexual intercourse as life progressed. Thus, the correlation should have been stronger among the virgin respondents than among the non-virgins. A possible explanation for this finding was that non-virgins may have minimized memories of the past importance of moral and emotional deterrents in order to rationalize their sexual behaviour. Since the behaviour was not compatible with previous moral and emotional beliefs, memory was changed to make the recall compatible with the behaviour. Another possible explanation for the finding proposes that those in the virgin group have stronger moral and emotional deterrents in order to minimize opportunity (so they would not be tempted). The diversity of responses given by virgins and the lack of diversity of non-virgin responses (emphasized by the differences in weights of "other" responses between the two classes) and the lack of a significant correlation between the weight of the "not ready" response among non-virgins and the age of first intercourse (r = 0.12) emphasizes the fact that, at the very least, something is altering the memory of non-virgins. This is an area that definitely deserves more study. Age of first intercourse was a focal point for comparison with many other variables. Table 8, which compares it with location of first intercourse, indicates that the presence of parents stops being a factor among respondents once they surpassed the age of 19. This fact, in combination with the results from Table 5, indicate that most first encounters with sexual intercourse in the sample group were delayed until a non-hostile environment could be found. Thus, most first encounters occurred after the respondent had gotten away from the influence of their parents and into a physical territory in which they could feel comfortable with respect to their sexuality. This would also support the contention that intercourse was delayed due to lack of opportunity (in an environmental sense). Table 8 Age of First Intercourse vs. Location of First Intercourse Location A B C D E F G H 14 1 15 1 16 1 1 17 1 2 1 1 18 3 1 4 1 1 19 1 2 20 1 1 21 3 Age 22 1 1 1 23 1 24 2 25 26 27 28 29 1 30 2 Note: E) represents "outdoors". Blanks represent values of 0. A good correlation was found between age of first intercourse and evaluation of intercourse for self (r = 0.44; p < .02). This indicates that the benefit of the experience is greatest when experienced before adulthood. It would seem reasonable to assume that earlier sexual intercourse provides less problems for the person than if they had waited. However, no significant correlation between age of first intercourse and desire to change time or circumstances was found (0.04 and -0.11, respectively). A strong correlation between subjective evaluation of first sexual experience for self and for partner was found (0.66, p < .01). Most likely, this implies that how a person feels about their first sexual experience greatly depends on their partner. This can be reinforced by noting the dearth of +/- or -/+ entries in Table 9. Table 9 Correspondence Between Subjective Evaluation Of First Sexual Intercourse For Self and Partner Partner + 0 - +/++ 24 2 1 Self 0 2 4 0 - 3 0 1 In conclusion, it can be stated that there is a great deal more to a first sexual experience than age. A strong examination of these variables could lead to a greater knowledge of the phenomenon of first sexual intercourse.