By Teresa
Reader question: “What does research say regarding premarital sex? Does it help or hinder the marriage?”
We all have our personal
beliefs about premarital sex- whether you view it as: acceptable, should be
avoided, or in specific situations may be considered appropriate. Common influences behind such beliefs include:
social, religious, and personal values. A
lot of research pertaining to premarital sex is coupled with adolescence, and its negative effects which include:
unwanted pregnancy, STI’s, and STD’s. I was surprised to find that there is little specific
research about the effects of premarital sex on marriages in adulthood, but I
will share what little pieces of information I have found from multiple sources.
Research suggests that religiosity has quite the
influence over premarital sexual beliefs and practices. According to the authors of Religiosity and Premarital Sex in Adulthood,
concerning never-married adults, “religiosity has a consistent, fairly strong,
and statistically significant deterrent effect on the number of sexual partners”
(Barkan 2006). This study also found
that the “inverse association between religiosity and number of sexual partners
is invariant by gender.” This means that
the more religious you are, the fewer sexual partners you will likely have, and
that this is true for both males and females.
In regard to the actual marital relationship,
research found that, “premarital
sex or premarital cohabitation
that is limited to a woman's husband is not associated with an elevated risk of
marital disruption. However, women who
have more than one intimate premarital
relationship have an increased risk of marital dissolution” (Teachman 2003).
If you find yourself wondering if
premarital sex has an effect on the sex life after you are married, I found research
that states , “The percentages of men and women who reported being very
satisfied with their current sexual relationship did not differ according to
timing of first sexual intercourse” (Hirsch, Sandfort, Orr, and Santelli 2008). So, according to this research, your sexual
satisfaction later in your marriage is not dependent on whether or not you
engaged in premarital sex.
I
could not find any research suggesting that premarital sex enhances the marital
relationship. Research I found did not
suggest that premarital intercourse had a serious detrimental effect on marriage,
but I did find that it does increase the risk of marriage dissolution if you
had more than one partner. The decision to engage in consensual premarital sex
is a personal one. Let your beliefs and
values guide your decision. Communication
between you and your partner about premarital sex and your beliefs is essential! My
advice is to not let the decision to engage in premarital sex be a rash one
because you don’t want to regret it later. In this instance, there is always tomorrow.
References
Barkan, Steven E. (2006). Religiosity and Premarital Sex in Adulthood. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, Vol 45(3),
Sep, 2006. pp. 407-417.
Teachman, Jay (2003). Premarital Sex, Premarital Cohabitation, and the Risk of Subsequent Marital Dissolution Among
Women. Journal of
Marriage & Family; May2003, Vol. 65 Issue 2, p444-455
Hirsch, J. S., Orr, M.,
Sandfort, T. M., and Santelli, J., (2008). Long-Term
Health Correlates of Timing of Sexual Debut: Results From a National US Study. American Journal
of Public Health; Jan2008, Vol. 98 Issue 1, p155-161
This is very interesting. I guess the lack of research really does just emphasize that it is a personal decision. I would love to see more research on this though to get a more concise understanding of all the factors involved. I'll have to keep an eye out if any more research is being done. thanks for posting!
ReplyDeleteI can tell getting the answer to this question was hard. I like how you stated what you did find, it was very interesting. You can apply a lot of it to differeing situations and you know wht does effect. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteCrystal
This seems like it was a very hard question to answer because there is not a lot of information out there. I think that you did a great job answering it. I do think that it is a personal decision that people make by themselves or through their religion.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your post. It sounds like you spent a lot of time trying to find relevant research.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate you giving the facts on as much research you could locate and emphasizing the point that it is a deeply personal decision.
I am not surprised to hear the research that shows the more religious you are the fewer sexual partners you will have. Although, it wasn't surprising, it was still interesting!
I was surprised to hear that not a lot of research has been done on this topic. Thank you for gathering the research that is out there and posting it. I do think that whether or not to engage in premarital sex is a personal choice. I have heard before that the more religious you are the fewer sexual partners you'll have but I wonder if this varies in different religions?
ReplyDelete-Liz