A Vignette Study Analyzing Contextual Factors that Influence Emerging Adults’ Definitions of Virginity Loss in German-Speaking Countries

ABSTRACT

Past research on virginity loss definitions revealed that emerging adults’ definitions of virginity loss are associated with emerging adults’ own sociodemographic characteristics. However, previous research has not systematically studied whether emerging adults applied different criteria for virginity loss depending on the context of the judged behavior. The current study used vignettes to explore which contextual factors of an intimate partnered behavior influence emerging adults’ definition of virginity loss. Each of the 987 participants (75% women/25% men; M_age = 23.7, SD = 3.8) was assigned to one of 16 vignette conditions. The main character’s gender, sexual orientation, and commitment to the partner were manipulated in the vignettes, describing the main character engaging in intimate partnered behavior with either a woman or a man. Participants had to indicate whether 13 intimate partnered behaviors qualified as virginity loss in the given context. Emerging adults applied different standards for virginity loss definitions depending on the involved partners’ gender. They counted more behaviors as virginity loss in conditions where two people of the same gender engaged in intimate partnered behavior. Healthcare practitioners concerned with emerging adults’ sexual health should be aware of these double standards for virginity loss definitions.

Availability of data and materials

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Authors’ contributions

NK, RN, MP, SP and MH designed the research. NK, RN, MP, SP and GT collected the data. NK analyzed and interpreted the data. NK wrote the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Declarations

Ethics approval and consent to participate

The medical university’s Ethics Committee exempted the current study from full ethics review. The study was conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki (World Medical Association, 2013) and the APA standards (APA, 2002). All participants gave written informed consent.