Changes in sex differences in sexual behavior: A replication of a study on West German students (1966?1981)

Abstract

In 1966, at the start of the student movement and the sexual liberalization process, we studied the sexual behavior and attitudes of 3,666 male and female students from 12 West German universities by mailed questionnaires. In 1981 we replicated this study with 1,922 students from 13 universities (10 the same as 1966, 3 founded after 1966). In both studies the students were selected at random. Results of these comparative studies are presented with a view to the changes in sex differences. Sex differences in masturbation behavior have considerably decreased since 1966; masturbation is nonetheless still the form of sexual behavior with the most striking differences between the sexes. The sex differences in coital behavior are now reversed, female students being earlier and more active than males. As regards the tendency to change partners or for sexual relations outside a steady relationship, the differences between men and women have disappeared. In their attitudes to sexuality, female students in 1981 are somewhat more liberal than their male counterparts, whereas hardly any difference could be found in 1966. These changes in sex differences are observed in all subsamples, i.e., in young and old, in strictly religious and nonreligious students, and in students from both upper- and lower-class backgrounds (educational level of parents).

The capacity to balance intimacy and conflict: Differences in romantic relationships between healthy and diabetic adolescents

“…Above all, the studies carried out in Germany have investigated age and gender differences in the onset of heterosexual relationships and have found dramatic decreases in the age of onset of first coitus between 1970 and 1980. In a replication of Sigusch and Schmidt's (1973) study on the heterosexual activity of adolescents, Clement, Schmidt, and Kruse (1984) found that the percentage of sexually experienced eighteen-year-old males had doubled, while the percentage of experienced girls had quadrupled. In addition, SchmidTannwald and Urdze (1983) reported that the percentage of sexually experienced adolescents increased rapidly between the ages of fourteen and eighteen.…”

Female sexuality and historical time: A comparison of sexual biographies of German women born between 1895 and 1936

“…No cohort effects concerning the frequency of marital intercourse have emerged. The results concerning the cumulative incidence of lesbian contacts were contradictory: In those younger cohorts studied by Clement and collaborators, there was an increase, while in the Kinsey data there was no effect (Clement et al, 1984;Darling et al 1984;Kinsey et al, 1953;Lunde et al, 1991;Raboch and Bartak, 1980).…”

“…For coital activity in younger cohorts, other studies show that up until the 1970s female sexuality changed more according to historical trends (Clement et aL, 1984;Darling et al, 1984). But whereas at first the women adopted "masculine" patterns of sexual behavior, today it seems that young men are becoming more "feminine" in their sexuality: more romantic and monogamous than in earlier times (Schmidt et al, 1992).…”

“…Since then, several other studies on the subject have been conducted (Barrett, 1980;Baumann and Wilson, 1976;Bell and Coughey, 1980;Christensen and Gregg, 1970;Clement et aL, 1984;Darling et al, 1984;Gebhard, 1977;Lunde et al, 1991;Raboch and Bartak, 1980;Robinson and Jedlicka, 1982;Schmidt and Sigusch, 1972;Schmidt et al, 1992). Most of these studies center around the coital experiences of adolescents and young adults (review in Clement et al, 1984). It is remarkable that almost all of these authors fail to mention the concept of cohort; they call groups defined by their year(s) of birth "generations" (this can cause a misunderstanding, since the term generations also refers to persons in different phases of the life cycle).…”

Development of Sexuality in Female Children and Adolescents*

“…A West German study of sexual behaviour and attitudes among 3,666 university students in 1966 was repeated in 1981 with a sample of 1,922 students (8). Although sex differences in masturbation had decreased considerably, masturbation was the area of sexual behaviour showing the greatest difference between the sexes.…”