Abstract:
The weighing of sexual inhibition and sexual excitation determines whether
sexual arousal occurs within an individual given certain situations. This paper sought to
determine the levels of sexual inhibition and sexual excitation in UP Manila students
from the College of Arts and Sciences, and the factors affecting said levels. This study
was done in UP due to its status as a prestigious university, and because it is regarded by
most as having a somewhat liberal environment. This study is significant as it contributes
to knowledge on sexuality, and because it provides preliminary information on the
creation of a more culturally fit scale that could be used in creating interventions for
people with sexual dysfunction or risky sexual behavior. The study made use of survey
questionnaire design to gather information, and phenomenological interview to expound
on the quantitative information initially gathered, and the factors potentially affecting
sexual responsiveness. This study determined that the prevalent level of sexual inhibition
and sexual excitation within UPM CAS students is Moderate, which signifies that they
are with adaptive sexual response levels. There were four themes to the factors given by
the respondents in the phenomenological interviews, which are: Socio-demographic
Variables, Biological Factors, Social Environment, and Lived Sexual Experiences.
Correlation and qualitative data found that certain factors have a somewhat significant
effect on sexual response levels, examples of which are: religiousness and closeness to
family, which heighten sexual inhibition, and difficulty in adjusting to UP, which lowers
sexual excitation. Being a female and not having past sexual/relationship experience
could also be a factor for higher levels of sexual inhibition, while having past
sexual/relationship experience could be a factor for higher levels of sexual excitation.
