
ERIC Number: EJ696322
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2004
Pages: 20
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0001-8449
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Twenty Years of Student Sexual Behavior: Subcultural Adaptations to a Changing Health Environment
Netting, Nancy S.; Burnett, Matthew L.
Adolescence San Diego, v39 n153 p19 Spr 2004
This twenty-year study analyzes changes in sexual behavior among students at Okanagan University College in British Columbia, Canada. Surveys conducted in 1980, 1990, and 2000 reveal a steady increase in safer sexual practices. Most students now question potential partners about their past, use condoms with a new sexual partner, and maintain fairly long-term monogamous relationships. Three sexual subcultures continue to coexist in fairly stable proportions: celibacy (about 30%), monogamy (about 60%), and free experimentation (about 10%). Each subculture has created its own response to the danger of HIV/AIDS: celibates exaggerate the danger they face, monogamists rely on love and fidelity for protection, and free experimenters have increased their use of condoms. While romantic feelings lead many monogamous couples to abandon condoms without objective HIV/AIDS knowledge, free experimenters still face the highest risk. Although they now use condoms more than half the time, their lifestyle, which involves multiple partners, risky sexual acts, and frequent drug and/or alcohol use, clearly remains dangerous. The persistence of distinct subcultures has implications for health education programs, which would be most effective if based on key values held by specific target groups.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Subcultures, Sexuality, Life Style, Sexually Transmitted Diseases, College Students, Disease Control, Longitudinal Studies, Student Behavior
Libra Publishers, 3089C Clairemont Drive, Suite 383, San Diego, CA 92117. Web site: http://www.abe.pl/html/english/detailsj.php?id=0001-8449
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Canada
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A