Perceptions of responsible and irresponsible models of sexuality: A correlational study

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Abstract
College students (248 males and 286 females) completed a survey which asked them to identify models of responsible and irresponsible sexual behavior. The relationship between attention to sexual models and the reported sexual behavior and attitudes of the observers was also examined. It was predicted that men would identify more media models of sexual behavior than would women and that those students who chose media or peers as primary models of sexual responsibility would be relatively more permissive in their sexual attitudes and behavior and less likely to use contraception than students who selected parents or educators. Results were consistent with these predictions. Examination of the reasons given for selection of sexual models indicated that men based their judgments of responsible sexuality more often upon the model's sexual behavior and consequences and less often upon the model's motives and intentions for sexuality than did women. Conceptualizing the sources of sexual learning as models of behavior may offer important new avenues for research in the areas of sexual learning and the development of sexual behavior.