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How Eoglish Pareots Fare
In England, social psychologist Mi–
chael Scholield published (1965) che
results of a monumental three-year
study regarding the sexual behavior
of young people in a book entitled
The Sexual Behavior of Young People.
Schofield and his ream of researchers
incerviewed 1,873 young people -
934 boys and 939 girls. They were
chosen from a random sample of
seven areas in England and Wales.
The repon covered al! sexual activ–
iries from simple kissing and petring
ro premarital intercourse. Schofield's
srudy is regarded in both rhe Unired
Stares and Bri rain as one of the mosr
careful studies of rhis sensitive area.
One small pare of Schofield's srudy
was designed ro ferret out rhe loca–
rion of a couple's firsr premarital in–
tercourse. Another parr correlated
opporcuniries ro enrerrain friends at
home
without parental supervision
ro
the degree of sexual acriviry.
Scholield's summary comment on rhis
aspecr of his research once again
points out the need for parental su–
pervision. He flatly stated thar various
aspecrs of his research "show thar rhe
behavior of reen-agers depends upon
che
facilities available. "
He added rhar "there is a strong as–
sociation berween the levels of sex ac–
tiviry and rhe opportuniry ro
enterrain friends ar home wirhout
parents." This held true borh for boys
and for girls. Larer Scholield com–
menred, "Boys, and ro a Jesser exrenc
girls, who occasionally have rhe house
ro themselves are likely ro have more
sexual experience."
The implicarion for parents is obvi–
ous. One way ro help teen-agers avoid
sexual activity and the unwanted re–
sulrs
ir
may bring is ro carefully su–
pervise the "facilities available" -
rhese facilities being primarily the
home and secondarily che aucomo–
bile. Schofield backed up rhis general
condusion wirh hard faces.
Sexual Experieoce of Boys
Analyzing his data concerning Io–
cation of firsr sexual intercourse,
PLAIN TRUTH
Jonuory
1973
Scholield found thar 63% of rhe boys
had had their lirsr experience in rheir
parrner's home or rheir own home.
Approximarely ano ther 7% had had
rheir first experience at a parry. This
could be construed as a " friend's
home." Schofield so undersrood ir
from his guesrioning of rhe reen–
agers. "No orher place," he srated,
"occurs as often as the parental homes
of the reen-agers; even in rhose cases
where che lirst experience was ar a
parry, chis was usually ar the borne of
one of rhe reen-agers."
Schofield found rhat 31% of the
boys who " never had the house ro
self" had had sexual incercourse. In
concrast, 68% of those who could
"entertain wirhour parents" were ex–
perienced in sexual incercourse. Forty
percenr of rhe " never had house' '
group of girls had experienced sexual
intercourse as opposed ro 55% of rhe
"enterrain wirhour parents" group of
girls. They, unforrunately, could al–
ways go ro their boyfriend's or a peer
group member's
unsupervised
house.
Pareots Are Too Permissive
The role of the parent in eirher re–
tarding or aiding sexual permissive–
ness is guite clear. Social scientists are
faced wieh the obvious condusion
ehar adules themselves are mainly re–
sponsible for their teen-agers' per–
missive atrirude roward sex.
Ira
l.
Reiss, Profcssor of Sociology
and Director of the Family Srudy
Center at rhe Universiry of Minne–
soca, is regarded as one of rhe mos r
knowledgeabJe experrs in rhe field of
Unired Scares sexual acritudes and be–
havior. His work,
The Social Context of
Premarital Sexual Permissiveness,
con–
eains che resulrs of rhe first sociologi–
cal seudy using a nacional probabiliry
sample in the area of premariral sex–
ual actitudes.
What were rhe indications and
condusions of Reiss' study? "Pre–
marieal permissiveness is enhanced by
a free courrship system and yourh cul–
ture values, and discouraged by closer
eies ro adule Íl).Stitutions such as rhe
family and religion." Reiss finds a
constant movement "toward an au–
tonomous, parricipant-run coureship
syseem, in which courcing couples are
relarively free of supervision and their
values permie sorne expression of
their !ove."
What then are parenes
co
do? They
need ro reach rheir children values
which will
not
permir ehem ro eguare
love exclusively with sex. They must
also teach them a right undersranding
of marriage and of rhe responsibilities
rhar go wirh sex. To back up rhis
reaching, parents should be aware (so
should teen-agers) of rhe kind of
dangerous situations thar lead ro
Hendriclaon
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Plain T
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