Relationship between religiosity and sexuality among unmarried male medical students

Abstract

Summary Background Religion may play a major role for medical students with regard to their own sexuality, but also to their future sexual counseling. We aimed to examine sexual function, attitudes and behaviors in male medical students, and to investigate the relationship between sexuality and religiosity dimensions. Method This was a cross-sectional study. A total of 146 male medical students (mean age of 22.2 years) were surveyed using the International Index of Erectile Function and the Arabic Religiosity Scale. Results Students who had higher religiosity levels had lower number of sexual partners, tended to believe that a man should have sex with only one partner and only after marriage, were more likely to regret “very much” their first sexual experience and less likely to use pornography. After controlling for confounding variables, only alcohol use and perception of the first sexual experience contributed significantly to students’ sexual function, while overall religiosity did not contribute to sexual function. Conclusion Making young medical students aware of their own attitudes towards sexuality and of the fact that these attitudes would be shaped by preconceived religious beliefs can represent a first step towards successfully preparing students for future sexual counseling and attitudes toward patients.