Guilt about first intercourse: An antecedent of sexual dissatisfaction among college women

Abstract

First sexual intercourse is often viewed as a rite of passage to adulthood. While one's initial coital experience may lead to affirmation of self identity, it is disappointing for many, resulting an feelings of guilt and shame. If guilt feelings do emerge, the likelihood of future sexual dissatisfaction is greatly increased. In particular, women with high leuels of sexual guilttend to perceive less sexual arousal, resulting in less enjoyment from their sexual encounters. The purposes of this investigation were to identify those factors crrelated with feeling guilty about first sexual intercourse and to examine the injuence of guilt about first intercourse on current sexual satisfaction. An anonymous questionnaire was administered to never–married collegewomen, with the subsample for this investigation consisting of 570 women. Significant variables correlated with guilt at first sexual intercourse include uncommunicative mother and father figures, overstrict father figures, uncomfortabkness with sexuality, physiological and psychologzcalsexual dissatisfaction with first intercourse, guilt feelings about current intercourse, and psychological sexual dissatisfaction. These findings have substantial implications for sex researchers, sex therapists, family therapists, and sexuality educators who wish to promote healthy sexuality, through both attitudes and behavior.