Premarital sexuality: A ten‐year study of attitudes and behavior on a small university campus

Survey data from samples of undergraduates at a small Southern university indicate significant increases in rates of premarital intercourse, significant decreases in average age at first experience, and significant increases in average number of partners between 1970 and 1981. Although attitudes toward premarital intercourse and behavior (i.e., reported coitus) were interrelated, this relationship was significantly stronger for women (V = .676) than for men (V = .325). Although differences between men and women still exist, these differences are much more evident in attitudes than in behavior. Women are still more conservative than men in their attitudes toward the kinds of relationships in which premarital coitus is personally acceptable. Some explanations for this continuing ideological difference are presented.