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I was curious to see if sexuality standards change over time as people get older. I don't have the longitudinal data to answer that question. However, I can break down The Love Test sample into age groups and see if the groups differ in their sexuality standards. First I selected only unmarried Love Test Takers, then grouped them by age into four groups. I also formed three groups from people's responses to the Relationship Requirements Rating Scale:
As you can see from the table below, the proportion of people who say they require engagement or marriage declines with age as does the proportion of people who say they need to be in love prior to the onset of sex. Conversly, the proportion of people who say they need only liking or physical attraction prior to sex, increases with age.
| Age | How close or formal a relationship is necessary for YOU before you enter a sexual relationship? |
Row Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Married /Engaged |
Love | Liking /Physical Attraction |
||
| <20 | 469 29.3% |
882 55.2% |
248 15.5% |
1599 32.4% |
| 20-29 | 376 15.4% |
1,153 47.4% |
905 37.2% |
2,434 49.4% |
| 30-39 | 37 6.5% |
234 41.1% |
298 52.4% |
569 11.5% |
| 40+ | 14 4.3% |
130 39.5% |
185 56.2% |
329 6.7% |
| Column Total | 896 18.2% |
2,399 48.7% |
1,636 33.2% |
4,931 100% |
Chi-Square=502.3 (6), p < .0001
r = .32, p < .0001
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