|
from Theological Issues and Medical Issues
Study Finds Correlation Between
Religiosity And Reduced Promiscuity
August 1, 2007 - A new survey, "Religiosity, Denominational Affiliation and Sexual Behaviors among People with HIV in the United States," (Journal of Sex Research, Vol. 44, Issue 1, 2007, pgs. 49+) studies the impact of religious belief on sexual behaviors.
The authors note: "There is reason to believe that religiosity may promote safer sex practices. ... Studies examining the relationship between religiosity and sexual behaviors more generally (i.e., outside the HIV-risk context), have found that individuals who attend religious services more often are less likely to be sexually active, and if active, have fewer sexual partners and less frequent sexual intercourse ... These results suggest that religiosity may deter individuals from engaging in behaviors that could transmit HIV infection."
The primary aim of this current study was to "test whether religiosity and denominational affiliation among people with HIV, taking into consideration other characteristics of the infected population, such as sexual orientation and gender."
The sample for the study was taken from the HIV Cost and Services Utilization Study (1999). Religiosity questions were adapted from the Midlife Development Inventory developed by the MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Successful Midlife Development (1996). Data was collected in 1998.
Respondents to the study were given a choice of 46 denominational affiliations. Each participant was asked about his or her sexual activities with the five most recent partners. The sexual orientation of each person was self-reported.
The researchers found that "Religiosity was associated with fewer sexual partners and a lower likelihood of engaging in unprotected sex and in high-risk sex. ... A lower likelihood of unprotected sex was reported by heterosexual men compared with gay-bisexual men, and higher likelihoods of both unprotected sex and high-risk sex were reported by African Americans compared with Whites. Latinos were also more likely to report high-risk sex than were Whites."
In addition, "Our data suggests that religiosity is more important than denominational affiliation as a predictor of sexual behaviors."
A further comment noted: "...this study found support for the importance of religiosity in reducing risk behaviors associated with the transmission of HIV and for exploring ways of incorporating value-oriented motivators (such as religiosity) for practicing safer sex into HIV prevention programs."
Additional Reading: Theological Issues.
Updated: 8 February 2008
|
