The Effects of Religious Upbringing on the Sexual Behavior of College Students

The Effects of Religious Upbringing on the Sexual Behavior of College Students

Alvin Sherman Library 4009

The purpose of this study is to determine the effects of religious upbringing on the sexual behavior of college students and their willingness to engage in drug or alcohol usage. A comprehensive questionnaire was composed and filled out by a total of fifty students on the main campuses of Nova Southeastern University and Florida Atlantic University. The questionnaire asked a series of questions ranging from age and ethnicity to type of religious upbringing and influence of religious upbringing on the individual’s sexual practices. The results of the survey were quantified to either prove or disprove the hypothesis. Analysis of the responses proved the hypothesis inaccurate. The study found that only ‘very devout’ students, which accounted for ten percent of the participants, responded to not being sexually active or engaging in drug or alcohol use. For those who responded that they were not ‘very devout’, only a minority of them confessed to neither engaging in sexual activity or drug or alcohol usage. For the majority of students however, their involvement in either one or both of these social behaviors depended greatly on their age and sex. Although religious upbringing did prove to have an effect on the social behaviors of college students; the study more accurately concluded that other factors such as the age and sex of an individual has a more influential bearing on a college student’s sexual activity and their willingness to engage in drug or alcohol usage.