Filipino Adolescents’ Attitude Towards Premarital Sex in Relation to Religiosity and Exposure to Sexually Oriented Media

Abstract

This study is a descriptive research that uses purposive and correlational survey methods to compare the dispositions of urban and rural adolescents toward premarital sex (PMS). The study aims to describe both groups’ orientation on PMS, the significant associations between these orientations and the individual’s religiosity and exposure to sexually oriented media, as well as to determine if residence location has a significant effect on an adolescent’s disposition toward PMS. The study involved 110 randomly sampled adolescents ages 15 to 19, receiving secondary education during the school year 2006-2007 from one purposively selected public high school in Cavite and another in Manila. The information gathered from these respondents were obtained through the study instruments used, which consisted of the following domains: sociodemographics, attitude toward PMS (consisted of items on the knowledge about PMS, PMS permissiveness for self and others measured in a four-point Likert Scale, and perceived cost of PMS measured through close-ended questions), religiosity measured through verbal frequency, exposure to sexually oriented media, and premarital sexual activity gauged by using close- and partially close-ended questions. The data were statistically tested using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences 12.0 (SPSS 12.0), and used descriptive statistics, Pearson (r) Correlation, and Chi-Square as tools for analysis. On the basis of the results, the study finds that: (1) Generally, variables such as exposure to sexually oriented media, religiosity, and residence location do not have a significant effect on an adolescent's PMS orientation. (2) that these factors may have an effect on the adolescent’s perception of PMS but do not necessarily have a direct impact on the said attitude. In a smaller scale, being a male and regardless of residence location, it has been found that having a BF/GF/"Ka-On” and friends who have had a PMS experience already is a significant factor on one’s favoring PMS and that (5) being in favor of PMS does not necessarily mean one has actually experienced PMS, nor does having premarital sexual activity mean one is in favor of PMS.