The Relationship Between Self-Actualization and Aspects of Female Sexuality

• Main Author: Paxton, Anne
• Format: Others
• Published: TopSCHOLAR® 1976
• Subjects: Western Kentucky University; Psychology; Social and Behavioral Sciences
• Online Access: http://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/1822; http://digitalcommons.wku.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2822&context=theses

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.