Sexual attitudes of US and Canadian medical students: the role of ethnicity, gender, religion and acculturation

Abstract

Key variables contributing to sexual liberality or conservatism of sexual attitudes appear to be ethnicity, religion and religiosity, gender and degree of acculturation to mainstream Western culture. This study investigated the relative contribution of these variables to the sexual beliefs of US and Canadian medical students of diverse ethnic backgrounds. Significant differences were found in total scores on a Cross Cultural Attitude Scale (CCAS) with Caucasians coming from the USA, Canada, Western Europe and South Africa being the most liberal, and students self-identifying as Middle Eastern or Asian being the most sexually conservative. However, acculturation played a major role in attenuating the impact of ethnic background. Despite significant main effects of religion, ethnicity, gender and acculturation on sexual attitudes, the overall sample tended to be fairly liberal, suggesting the impact of globalization and acculturation on students of diverse ethnic backgrounds.