Structure, Functions, and Level of Sexual Maturity in Female Undergraduates

Abstract

The paper provides a brief analysis of the literature on the structure and functions of sexuality and the problems of its formation in undergraduate girls. The research featured 196 first and fifth year female students, age 17–22, that majored in pedagogical studies. The study involved a set of standardized test methods, e. g. R. Кеttell’s multifactorial personality method, Wiesbaden questionnaire, S. Bem’s Study of Personality Masculinity and Femininity, Ch. D. Spilberger and Yu. L. Khanin’s Evaluation of Reactive and Personal Anxiety, D. Russell and M. Ferguson’s Diagnostics of the Level of Subjective Feeling of Loneliness, methods of gender identity studies, M. Kuhn and T. McPartlend’s "Who am I?" test as modified by T. V. Rumyantseva, and the Scale of Basic Beliefs by R. Yanoff-Bulman. The statistical analysis of the results allowed the authors to build a structural and functional model of female sexuality, as well as to describe its components, functions, and informative characteristics. The factor analysis revealed that female sexuality includes five main components: family relations, cognitive, bodily, emotional and existential. Each of the components contributes to the overall structure and has a specific content and function. The authors developed criteria for diagnosing the levels of formation of female sexuality as low, medium and high. With age, the level of sexuality in all selected components increased, which might be associated with the presence of more experience in establishing intimate relationships and family orientation. Most respondents demonstrated diffuse gender identity accompanied by high androgyny as a variant of sex-role behavior. The study also revealed the effect of personal characteristics on the psychological content of the various components of sexuality. The obtained data determined the need for focused effort on the formation of femininity.