Socialization and selection in the link between friends’ religiosity and the transition to sexual intercourse

Citation

Adamczyk, A. (2009). Socialization and selection in the link between friends' religiosity and the transition to sexual intercourse. Sociology of Religion. vol. 70 (1) pp. 5

Abstract

Although much research has examined how friends influence teens' sexual behaviors, little attention has been given to the association between friends' religiosity and coital debut. This study looks at the processes that could produce this association, examining whether friends' religiosity influences the transition to sexual intercourse and whether teens sort into friendship groups on the basis of consistency between their virginity status and their friends' religious attitudes. Using two waves of data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, this paper finds that friends' religiosity influences respondents' coital debut even after accounting for the proportion of friends who have had sex. Likewise, teens who delay their coital debut tend to switch to more religious friends, while teens who have had their coital debut tend to switch to less religious friends. These findings add to a growing body of research on the relationship between religious contextual effects and individual behavior.

URL

http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/socrel/srp010

Keyword(s)

Religion

Reference Type

Journal Article

Journal Title

Sociology of Religion

Author(s)

Adamczyk, A.

Year Published

2009

Volume Number

Issue Number

ISSN/ISBN

1069-4404

DOI

10.1093/socrel/srp010

Reference ID

1064