Sexual Inhibition and Excitation Among Students of CAS – UP Manila

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.