SEXUAL SOCIALIZATION DIFFERENCES BY GENDER, GREEK MEMBERSHIP, ETHNICITY, AND RELIGIOUS BACKGROUND

Socialization theories have included parents and peers as important de terminants of the initial sexual standards and sexual behavior of teen agers and young adults. The purpose of the research reported here was to examine how parental and peer sexual socialization influences are r elated to gender, ethnicity, religious background, and college members hip in a fraternity or sorority. A sample that included a majority of Caucasian university students and about 13% Asian and 7% Black student s completed questionnaires both as entering first-year students and as seniors. Results indicated that compared to women, men continue to ex perience a more permissive sexual socialization from both parents and peers. Greek membership was associated with a more permissive socializ ation from peers but not parents. Asian students reported a more restr ictive socialization than Blacks or Caucasians. Findings are discussed with respect to concerns of social scientists regarding the influence of fraternities and differential gender socialization.