More Americans than ever before are accepting of premarital sex, homosexuality and teen sex, according to the authors of a new study investigating changes in the sexual behavior and attitudes of American adults.
Although American beliefs have become more permissive overall, the majority of participants in the study still disapprove of affairs while married, according to the authors.
The study, published in the Archives of Sexual Behavior, involved analysis of data taken from the nationally representative General Social Survey, a survey of over 33,000 adults conducted between 1972 and 2012.
“As individualism increased in the US, sexual attitudes and behavior became more permissive and less rule-bound,” says Jean M. Twenge, lead author of the study from San Diego State University, CA.
“More Americans believe that sexuality need not be restricted by social conventions. Recent generations are also acting on this belief, reporting a significantly higher number of sexual partners than those born earlier in the 20th century.”
In the 1970s, only 29% of adults surveyed believed that premarital sex “was not wrong at all.” By the 1980s and 1990s, this percentage had risen to 42%. In the 2000s, it had risen to 49%, and by the 2010s, 55% of American adults were accepting of premarital sex.
Acceptance of same-sex sexual relations grew significantly between 1990 and 2012. The researchers found that acceptance more than tripled, rising from 13% in 1990 to 44% in 2012.
“The changes are primarily due to generation, suggesting people develop their sexual attitudes while young, rather than everyone of all ages changing at the same time,” Dr. Twenge states. “This has caused a large generation gap in both attitudes toward premarital sex and number of sexual partners.”
People born at the beginning of the 20th century – described as the Greatest Generation – reported having an average of 2.16 sexual partners. For Boomers born in the 1950s, the average was 11.68, and Millennials born between 1982 and 1999 reported an average of 8.26.
“Millennials are more accepting of premarital sex than any previous generation, yet have had fewer sexual partners than GenX’ers [born in the 1960s]. This is consistent with their image as a tolerant, individualistic generation accepting others’ choices and making their own,” suggests Dr. Twenge.
A number of factors could explain these shifts in attitude. Changes in religious beliefs, attitudes toward unmarried parenthood and a rising age at which people marry mean have led to less disapproval of non-marital sex from society and increased opportunities for Americans to engage in sexual activity.
These factors tie into the idea of cultural individualism, whereby the needs of the self are emphasized more than the rules of society. Dr. Twenge believes that this cultural shift in the US has inevitably led to more relaxed attitudes toward sexuality.
“As individualism increased in the US, sexual attitudes and behavior became more permissive and less rule-bound,” she concludes. “More Americans believe that sexuality need not be restricted by social conventions. Recent generations are also acting on this belief, reporting a significantly higher number of sexual partners than those born earlier in the 20th century.”
Previously, Medical News Today reported on a study finding that a gap exists between the type of sex education young people want and what they receive. Many young people want to receive more information about sex and relationships from their parents, according to the authors of the study.