Authors

Anne Paxton

Publication Date

5-1976

Advisor(s) - Committee Chair

James Craig, Leroy Metze, Retta Poe

Degree Program

Department of Psychology

Degree Type

Master of Arts

Abstract

The study reported examined the relationship between self-actualization and aspects of female sexuality. Ninety-five white, single female undergraduates from a regional Southeastern state university volunteered to serve as subjects. Three questionnaires were administered to the subjects: the Personal Orientation Inventory (POI), Eysenck’s Inventory of Attitudes to Sex, and a two-item religiosity measure. The data were analyzed via correlation and hierarchical multiple regression analysis. The results indicated that when the effects of the covariates were controlled, there was a significant relationship between self-actualization and sexual permissiveness, sexual satisfaction and prudishness. Although self-actualization and sexual libido were significantly correlated, after the effects of the covariates were controlled, self-actualization did not account for a significant portion of the variance in sexual libido. The importance of controlling for extraneous variables when examining the relationship between self-actualization and sexual attitudes is stressed. Implications for future research include using different populations to investigate the relationship between self-actualization and sexual attitudes, using different measures of self-actualization to investigate its relationship to sexual attitudes, and examining the relationship between self-actualization and other aspects of sexuality.

Disciplines

Psychology | Social and Behavioral Sciences

Included in

Psychology Commons

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