David L. Weis

Proceptive and rejective strategies of U.S. and Canadian college women

It is widely believed that men are the initiators in sexual encounters. However, results from animal sex research show that proceptivity—female behavior patterns which initiate or maintain a sexual interaction—is extremely common. We investigated proceptivity in U.S. (n = 29) and Canadian (n = 48) college women who wrote essays explaining how they would seduce and reject a man and who completed a questionnaire assessing sexual conservatism/liberalism. The seduction and rejection essays were subjected to complete thematic analysis; nearly all (87.2%) essays mentioned proceptive themes. Degree of conservatism was not related to proceptivity either within or between U.S. and Canadian samples. Proceptive strategies were described in 22 separate themes as an escalating set of verbal and nonverbal signals for communicating sexual interest to a man. Twenty‐three rejection themes were identified, and rejection strategies fell into two categories: Avoid Proceptivity and Incomplete Rejection. Proceptive and rejecti...

Use of the theory of reasoned action to predict drug and alcohol use

The present study examines the role of self-esteem (SE) in the prediction of drug and alcohol use. Consistent with research on the theory of reasoned action, we suggest that alcohol and drug attitudes and subjective norms are more useful in the prediction of self-reported drug and alcohol consumption than SE. In the present study, measures of SE, drug attitudes, subjective norms, and drug use behaviors were collected from 2,074 high school and college students. Results indicate that drug attitudes and subjective norms do predict drug and alcohol use, but that SE does not add significantly to the prediction of the drug and alcohol behaviors.

Is There a Relationship between Self Esteem and Drug Use? Methodological and Statistical Limitations of the Research

Although a causal connection between self-esteem and drug use might make intuitive sense, a critical evaluation of the research calls this relationship into question. The most fatal flaw in the “low self-esteem causes drug use” argument is the fact that only a very small proportion of the variance in drug use is associated with self-esteem across a variety of definitions of self-esteem. In addition, the literature is fraught with methodological and statistical problems that severely limit the conclusions that can be drawn. Methodological problems examined in the article include: measurement of self-esteem, measurement of drug use and abuse, inclusion of confounding variables, and tendency to infer causality from correlational data. Statistical problems explored are: differences between the results of studies employing multivariate and bivariate statistics, failure to report strength of association indices, inflated experimentwise error rate when conducting numerous statistical analyses, failure to collapse several highly correlated variables into fewer factors, tendency to misinterpret statistical data, and reporting insufficient statistical information to allow readers to draw their own conclusions. We conclude that the scientific evidence relating self-esteem and drug use is insufficient to justify making self-esteem enhancement the cornerstone of drug prevention efforts.

The use of theory in sexuality research

The status of any area of science can be gauged by an examination of its scientific theory. The opening article in this issue presents a metatheoretical perspective of scientific theory, including a definition of theory and related terms, description of the components of theory, brief review of recent criticisms of what has come to be known as the positivist tradition of science, and set of criteria for evaluating theories. There is also a review of the use of scientific theory in sexuality research. Twenty‐five classic examples of sexual theory are identified. Finally, comparisons are drawn between the use of theory in sexuality research and other areas of scientific investigation. This framework provided a basis for the selection of the theories included in this issue and a set of guidelines for the authors.

Conclusion: The state of sexual theory

The final article provides an independent assessment of 39 theoretical perspectives, drawn mostly from the disciplines of biology, psychology, and sociology, that have been or could be used in sexuality research. For each theory, a set of suggested readings is provided, and the author rates each theory on a number of criteria for evaluating theory. Several problems that sexual scientists must confront in building better theories are mentioned. Two specific issues of central concern to the field are discussed at length. The first is the need for refinement of the theoretical concepts of sexual phenomena. Investigation of power dynamics within sexual relationships is used as one example of this. The second issue is the need to develop and test explanatory models that identify correlates of such sexual concepts. Here, a possible explanatory model of social script internalization is presented.

Differences between sexual orientation behavior groups and social background, quality of life, and health behaviors

Within the literature, there is some question as to whether bisexual or homosexual persons practice more unhealthy lifestyles and experience a lower quality of life than heterosexual individuals. This study examined possible differences between sexual orientation behavior groups (homosexual, bisexual, heterosexual, and no sex partners) on demographic and social background variables, quality of life variables, lifestyle and health variables, and mental health or health background variables in a series of seven national probability samples between the years 1988 and 1996. Respondents were asked to report the sex of their sexual partners since they were age 18 and in the last 12 months. Data from a total of 11,543 interviews were collected by the National Opinion Research Center. Although there were some demographic and social background differences among the sexual orientation behavior (SORB) groups, there was little evidence that the behavioral dimension of sexual orientation is either strongly or directly related to quality of life, lifestyle, or health indicators. The report closes with a consideration of future research questions for this issue.

The effect of question preface on response rates to a telephone survey of sexual experience

Given the heavy reliance on self-report measures in research on sexuality, issues surrounding nonresponse rates are of particular importance. Phone interviews were conducted with 400 adults living in a midsized midwestern city. Rates of nonresponse and reported sexual experience were analyzed as a function of the type of preface statement provided for four questions related to sexual behavior. One preface was general; the other referred to public concern over AIDS. On questions regarding number of sexual partners in the past year and involvement in extramarital sex, women who were given the AIDS preface were significantly more likely to answer the questions than were women who received the general preface. However, for both men and women, reported rates of sexual experience did not differ as a function of the preface statement. Differences between responders and nonresponders were explored. Men were more likely to respond to the sexual items. Education, age, marital status, and religious affiliation were unrelated to rates of response to the sexual questions. For men, responders to the sexuality items reported greater yearly incomes than did nonresponders. Some differences in reported sexual behavior were also found between responders and nonresponders; nonresponders consistently reported less sexual experience. Implications for research on sexuality and future investigation of factors affecting response to sexual items are discussed.

Sex‐roles and family scripts in early childhood

To learn more about the scripting process for marriage, the family and sex‐role development of children, 42 children between 3 and 5 years were interviewed at a day care center. Parents were asked to complete a questionnaire which assessed such characteristics as family structure, parental sex roles, income, housing, etc. In general, results showed that young children seem to be building scripts that are favourable to marriage, family and parenthood.