Going most of the way: “Technical virginity” among American adolescents

Reports from academic and media sources assert that many young people substitute non-vaginal sexual activities for vaginal intercourse in order to maintain what could be called “technical virginity.” Explanations for technical virginity, however, are based on weak empirical evidence and considerable...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inSocial science research Vol. 37; no. 4; pp. 1200 - 1215
Main Authors Uecker, Jeremy E., Angotti, Nicole, Regnerus, Mark D.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States Elsevier Inc 01.12.2008
Academic Press
Subjects
Abstinence
Abstinence pledging
Adolescent
Adolescent Behavior - psychology
Adolescents
Anal sex
Decision making
Female
History, 21st Century
Humans
Male
Morality
Motivation
Oral sex
Pregnancy
Religion
Religiosity
Sexual Abstinence - history
Sexual Abstinence - psychology
Sexual Behavior
Sexual Behavior - history
Sexual behaviour
Sexually transmitted diseases
Social research
Technical virginity
Teenagers
U.S.A
United States
Venereal Diseases
Virginity
Young Adult
Young adults
United States
Abstinence pledging
Anal sex
Religiosity
Technical virginity
Sexual behavior
Oral sex
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Summary:Reports from academic and media sources assert that many young people substitute non-vaginal sexual activities for vaginal intercourse in order to maintain what could be called “technical virginity.” Explanations for technical virginity, however, are based on weak empirical evidence and considerable speculation. Using a sample of 15–19-year-olds from Cycle 6 of the National Survey of Family Growth, we examine technical virginity and its motivations. The results suggest that religious adolescents are less likely than less-religious ones to opt for non-vaginal sex over total abstinence. Abstinence pledgers who are virgins are neither more nor less likely than nonpledgers who are virgins to substitute non-vaginal sex for intercourse. Moreover, religion and morality are actually the weakest motivators of sexual substitution among adolescents who have not had vaginal sex. Preserving technical virginity is instead more common among virgins who are driven by a desire to avoid potential life-altering consequences, like pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.
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ISSN:0049-089X
1096-0317
DOI:10.1016/j.ssresearch.2007.09.006