Abstract

ALVAREZ, Maria-João  and  NOGUEIRA, João. Sexual definitions’ of university students. Psicologia [online]. 2008, vol.22, n.1, pp.59-76. ISSN 0874-2049.

The purpose of this study was to clarify, using questionnaires, the behaviour associated with having sex, sexual partners and infidelity. It was also the aim to explore the predicting factors of the definitions found, comparing the results of a sample of 152 Portuguese university students with the results of samples from other countries. Our findings suggested that having sex meant penis-vagina relations (> 95%) or anal sex (91-92%). Contrary to the results found in other samples, the oral-genital contacts were considered an instance of having sex (78-84%). The range of definitions differed since it is possible to have infidelity behaviour without a sexual partner and to be a sexual partner without the existence of sex between two people. Few gender differences were found and the presence of an orgasm affected the definitions of having sex and sexual partner. The study concludes that a clarification for sexual words used in research is essential and discusses the implications for the prevention of high risk sexual behaviour.

Keywords : sexual definition; university students; having sex; sexual partner; unfaithful sexual behavior.

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