Table 2.
Personal Attitudes of Men and Women Aged 15–49 Years toward Premarital Sex by Gender
| Statements | Men (N = 344) | Women (N = 411) | p-value | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agree (%) | No sure (%) | Disagree (%) | Agree (%) | No sure (%) | Disagree (%) | ||
| Dating and Non-Sexual Relationships Before Marriage | |||||||
| − I believe it’s all right for unmarried boys and girls to have dates | 80.8 | 9.6 | 9.6 | 82.0 | 6.6 | 11.4 | 0.249 |
| − I believe it’s all right for boys and girls to kiss, hug and touch each other | 69.9 | 10.7 | 19.4 | 50.5 | 11.2 | 38.3 | 0.000 |
| Acceptability of Premarital sex Under different Circumstances for Unmarried Men and Women | |||||||
| − I believe there is nothing wrong with unmarried boys and girls having sexual intercourse if they love each other | 41.7 | 18.9 | 34.0 | 32.6 | 12.2 | 52.2 | 0.000 |
| − A boy and a girl should have sex before they become engaged to see whether they are suited to each other | 43.3 | 22.7 | 34.0 | 24.1 | 16.1 | 59.9 | 0.000 |
| − It’s all right for boys and girls to have sex with each other provided that they use methods to stop pregnancy | 44.8 | 22.1 | 33.1 | 20.9 | 17.0 | 62.0 | 0.000 |
| − I think that you should be in love with someone before having sex with him/her. | 42.9 | 13.3 | 43.5 | 79.9 | 37.0 | 11.2 | 0.000 |
| − One night stands are OK | 45.9 | 18.0 | 36.0 | 7.3 | 12.1 | 80.6 | 0.000 |
| Importance of Virginity for Unmarried Men and Women | |||||||
| − I believe that girls should remain virgins until they marry | 43.0 | 30.2 | 26.7 | 61.2 | 17.5 | 21.4 | 0 .000 |
| − I believe that boys should remain virgins until they marry | 26.2 | 15.1 | 58.7 | 48.4 | 18.7 | 32.8 | 0.000 |