Harry and Sally Revisited: The Influence of Spirituality and Education on Sexual Tension in Cross-Sex Friendships in Secular and Christian Universities

Abstract

A sample of 406 subjects completed a questionnaire testing the influence of personal spirituality, education and several other factors on sexual tension in cross-sex friendships (CSF Tension). The subjects included 143 students from a Christian university (CU), 137 from a secular junior college (JC), and 127 non-students (NS). The primary criterion variable was the amount of CSF Tension experienced: Each subject rated to what extent sexual tension made friendship difficult due to different characteristics (e.g., he/she is physically attractive, dressed seductively) of 16 hypothetical friendships. A measure of sexuality—a composite of 12 questions adapted from the Self-Assessment Survey—assessed sexual activity, values, and ideation. Other predictors included neuroticism, openness to experience, extraversion, and demographics. JC students rated significantly more liberal than CU students on all 12 of the sexuality questions but no CSF-Tension differences were found for 15 of the 16 hypothetical CSF comparisons. JC students also rated two standard deviations lower on spirituality than CU students. Also, NS differed from students by being older, more spiritual, more educated, less involved in sexual activities, and experienced less CSF Tension. For the entire sample, spirituality was associated with sharply lower levels of sexual activities and ideation (r = −.601) and significantly lower levels of CSF Tension. The influence of education was similar to that of spirituality but not as robust.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Darren George

Darren George completed his PhD at UCLA in 1992 in Personality and Social Psychology. He is currently a professor of Psychology at Canadian University College, Lacombe, Alberta, where he has taught and researched for 20 years.

Justina Adalikwu-Obisike

Justina Adalikwu-Obisike is originally from Nigeria, completed her PhD in Sociology at the University of Saskatchewan and is an associate professor of Sociology at Canadian University College.

Jesse Boyko

Jesse Boyko graduated from Canadian University College with a BSc in psychology and a minor in French. He is currently attending law school at the University of Calgary.

Jay Johnson

Jay Johnson, following a stellar career in academics and athletics, received his BSc in Psychology from Canadian University College. He is currently pursuing graduate studies in the legal field.

Alex Boscanin

Alex Boscanin is currently a third-year medical student at Loma Linda University School of Medicine in Loma Linda, California. He graduated summa cum laude in 2011 from Canadian University College with a Bachelors of Science degree in Psychology, and a minor in Chemistry.