Morality of Premarital Sex by Religiosity and Generation Essay

Morality of Premarital Sex by Religiosity and Generation Abstract Premarital sex is an issue that most teenagers and young couples face as they enter new phases of their relationship. The purpose of this study is to determine if there is a correlation between acceptance of sexual relations before marriage and religiosity or generation. This study is a cross-sectional, secondary analysis of the variables PREMARSX, RELPERSN, and COHORT (which was recoded into three generation categories), which were extracted from the 1998 General Social Survey (GSS). Data analysis of the three variables was performed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) 10.0, applying Pearson's chi-square as the test of statistical significance and Cramer's V as the measure of association. The results of this study indicate that very religious people are more inclined to view premarital sexual relations as always wrong. When compared to the three generation categories, no significant correlation existed. Introduction Most couples have asked themselves whether or not sex is the next step in their relationship. It enters into both teenage and adult relationships, creating pressure for teenagers to be considered cool by peers and pressure for adults to make a commitment. For some, sex is the basis of the relationship; for others, it is not even an issue until marriage vows are proclaimed. One may conclude that people's views of premarital relations stem from their parents' teachings, from their siblings' influences, from their peer or social groups, from their religious background, or from the era in which they were raised. (â€Å"Teenage Sex, Friends and Family,† 1994, p51) As sexually... ...-------------------------------------------------------------------------- Not Wrong At All 51.69 45.20 42.62 47.48 52.17 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- n= 89 427 61 139 69 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chi-Square = 12.30, df = 12, p>.05; Cramer's V = .077 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We can observe from the table above that there is no relationship between PREMARSX and DEGREE. The chi-square value is 12.30 and is not significant at the .05 level. The Cramer's V indicates that there is a negligible association between the variables with a value of .077.