Abstract

PIP: The social bookkeeping approach, the counting of virgins, is used to document the relatively stable rates of early and premarital coitus since the Kinsey report of 1953. Data used are based on a 1972 study of 14 to 18 year olds and a 1967 study of college students. When appropriate controls for educational attainment and age are used, it is revealed that when compared to the change in rates at the beginning of the century, the rates since the 1940's have increased only 1/4 as much. Furthermore, coital behavior is shown to be strongly related to traditional patters of restraint and facilitation. The traditional factors, such as relationships with parents and religious attendance, are shown to restrain sexual intercourse before age 18. Factors related to the courtship process such as dating frequency facilitated this early behavior. For college youth both restraining and facilitating factors were operating, but levels of coital behavior generally remained low. Rates of frequent coitus rarely reached 40% among women college seniors and the proportion of this group with 3 or more partners never reached 20%. The factors which encourage sexual activity during college are the courtship factors, those of dating behavior and "being in love."y In terms of 1st sexual relationship, women overwhelmingly indicated that they were "in love" with their partner. Given the relative stability of rates of early and premarital coitus and continuity of the role of the courtship factors in facilitating this behavior, popular discussions of the contemporary sexual revolution do not have a basis in reality. Furthermore, such discussions possibly create anxiety among young people not experiencing "the sexual revolution."