Attitudes of French adolescents toward sexuality

Three hundred and eighty-six French adolescents from 16 to 18 years of age (145 boys and 241 girls) were questioned about sexuality. The five questions used covered their opinions on: abortion, masturbation, sexual intercourse during adolescence, homosexuality and marriage. The comparison of their responses to the five questions was expected to bring out the differences in their reactions in these areas. In fact, the results revealed that the subjects were not concerned to the same degree by the five questions. It was also observed that few adolescents were completely "liberal" and even fewer completely "conservative". The importance of socio-cultural factors, especially religion, associated with the attitudes of the subjects appeared undeniable. Some interesting differences in attitudes expressed by the two sexes were brought out.