title: A Longitudinal Study of Sexual Entitlement and Self-Efficacy among Young Women and Men: Gender Differences and Associations with Age and Sexual Experience.
abstract: Many scholars have called for an increased focus on positive aspects of sexual health and sexuality. Using a longitudinal design with two assessments, we investigated patterns of entitlement to sexual partner pleasure and self-efficacy to achieve sexual pleasure among 295 young men and women aged 17-25 years attending one Australian university. We also tested whether entitlement and efficacy differed by gender, and hypothesized that entitlement and efficacy would be higher in older participants and those with more sexual experience. A sense of entitlement to sexual partner pleasure increased significantly over the year of the study, whereas, on average, there was no change in self-efficacy over time. At Time 1 (T1), young women reported more entitlement than young men. Age was positively associated with T1 entitlement, and experience with a wider range of partnered sexual behaviors was concurrently associated with more entitlement and efficacy and was also associated with increased entitlement to partner pleasure and increased self-efficacy in achieving sexual pleasure at T2 relative to T1. A group with the least amount of sexual experience was particularly low in entitlement and efficacy when compared to groups with a history of coital experience. There was no evidence that any association differed between young men and young women. Limitations of the study include a sample of predominantly middle class, Caucasian students at one university and the possibility that students more interested in sex and relationships, and with more sexual experience, chose to participate.
authors.affiliation: School of Applied Psychology and Menzies Health Institute of Queensland, Griffith University, G40 Parklands Dr., Southport 4222, Australia. gillian.hewitt-stubbs@griffithuni.edu.au.
authors.forename: Gillian
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hewitt-Stubbs
authors.affiliation: School of Applied Psychology and Menzies Health Institute of Queensland, Griffith University, G40 Parklands Dr., Southport 4222, Australia. m.zimmer-gembeck@griffith.edu.au.
authors.forename: Melanie J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Zimmer-Gembeck
authors.affiliation: School of Applied Psychology and Menzies Health Institute of Queensland, Griffith University, G40 Parklands Dr., Southport 4222, Australia. s.mastro@griffith.edu.au.
authors.forename: Shawna
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mastro
authors.affiliation: Département de sexologie, Université du Québec à Montréal, C.P. 8888, Succ. Centre-ville, Montréal, QC H3C 3P8, Canada. boislard-pepin.marie-aude@uqam.ca.
authors.forename: Marie-Aude
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Boislard
keywords: adolescents; gender; sexual behavior; sexual self-perceptions; sexual subjectivity; young adults