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To cite this article: Leslie Gordon Simons , Callie Harbin Burt & F. Ryan Peterson (2009) The
Effect of Religion on Risky Sexual Behavior among College Students, Deviant Behavior, 30:5,
467-485, DOI: 10.1080/01639620802296279
Download by: [Simon Fraser University] Date: 26 March 2017, At: 19:51
Deviant Behavior, 30: 467485, 2009
Copyright # Taylor & Francis Group, LLC
ISSN: 0163-9625 print=1521-0456 online
DOI: 10.1080/01639620802296279
467
468 L. Gordon Simons et al.
HYPOTHESIZED MODEL
Past research that has examined the influence of religiosity
on adolescent sex finds that religious individuals have first
sex at a later age than their less religious peers (Brewster
et al. 1998; Lammers et al. 2000; Rostosky et al. 2004).
Similarly, studies indicate that the number of sex partners
decreases as religiosity increases (Jones et al. 2005). The
present study employs a social control perspective to for-
mulate a model of the mechanisms whereby religion
achieves this effect. A social control perspective assumes
that social institutions such as family, school, and religion
promote attachments and values that are consistent with
conventional behavior. Family, schools, and religion are
examples of institutions that exercise social control
because they socialize members to adopt the norms and
values of the group. Individuals abide by these norms
and values because they are bonded to the agents of socia-
lization and they do not want to jeopardize the bonds or to
risk being sanctioned by the group (Hirschi 1969; Sampson
and Laub 1993). Over time those norms and values
become internalized and the social control mechanism is
self-sustaining.
Thus, the impact of religion on sexual behavior is largely a
function of the values that it imparts. From a religious per-
spective, these values include the view that sex is reserved
for marriage and should take place within the context of a
loving, committed relationship. From the perspective of
most religions, these principles are seen as divinely
ordained while behavior that violates them is considered
immoral. We test the idea that this conservative view of
sex influences the age sexual intercourse first occurs, with
whom first sexual intercourse occurs, and how the person
feels about their first experience with sexual intercourse.
We expect that these variables, in turn, influence number
of sexual partners. The ideas are depicted in the path model
in Figure 1.
Based on the social control ideas just discussed, the figure
suggests that the effect of religion on sexual behavior is
largely through its impact on beliefs about when and with
whom sex is appropriate. The model indicates that
religiously committed individuals possess less permissive
Effect of Religion on Risky College Sexual Behavior 471
METHODS
Sample
Data were collected from 2,108 undergraduates enrolled in
sociology courses at two large state universities during the
20012002 academic year. Questions focused on family
of origin, current and past relationship experiences, and
Effect of Religion on Risky College Sexual Behavior 473
RESULTS
When asked about the importance of religion, almost 78% of
the students indicated that religion had a moderate, high, or
very strong influence on their daily lives, whereas only 4%
responded that religion had no influence. This pattern is
similar to that reported in the NSYR, which found 82% and
7%, respectively (Smith 2005). Notably, the influence of reli-
gion in our sample was significantly greater for females than
males (v2(df) 29.7(4); p < .001). Females were more likely to
state that religion played a very strong role in their lives than
males (17% vs. 11%); conversely, religion had no influence
on the lives of 6% of the males compared to only 3% of
females. Not surprisingly, males attitudes toward sexual
Effect of Religion on Risky College Sexual Behavior 475
Males
REFERENCES
Baier, Colin J. and Bradley R. Wright. 2001. If You Love Me, Keep My
Commandments: A Meta-Analysis of the Effect of Religion on Crime.
Journal of Research in Crime and Delinquency 38:321.
Barber, Jennifer S. and William G. Axinn. 1998. Gender Role Attitudes
and Marriage among Young Women. The Sociological Quarterly
39:1131.
Effect of Religion on Risky College Sexual Behavior 483
LESLIE GORDON SIMONS, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Child and Family Devel-
opment, Department of Child and Family Development, University of Georgia. Her
research focuses on the predictors and consequences of various family processes. Specifi-
cally, she addresses the ways in which parenting is associated with adolescent delinquency,
risky sexual behavior, and dating violence.
CALLIE HARBIN BURT, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology,
University of Massachusetts. Her research interests include criminological theory, research
methodologies, and links between family and community processes and crime.
F. RYAN PETERSON, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Educational
Leadership and Human Development, University of Central Missouri. His area of speciali-
zation is sibling relationships.