title: Paradoxical attitudes toward premarital dating and sexual encounters in Tehran, Iran: a cross-sectional study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The purpose of this study is to assess attitudes toward premarital dating and sexual encounters in individuals aged 15-49 years in Tehran.
  
  
  METHODS
  Utilizing the attitudes section of an original cross-sectional study (n = 755) aimed at assessing sexual health needs of adults, this paper examined personal attitudes towards premarital dating, non-sexual relationships and sexual encounters in both male and female adults aged between 15-49 years. Multi-stage cluster random sampling and a validated/reliable questionnaire were used. Descriptive, bivariate and multivariate analyses were conducted using statistical software.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The results indicated that the majority of the participants were supportive of dating. Almost three-fourths of the males were more positively inclined towards non-sexual, yet tactile, affectionate interactions between unmarried males and females as opposed to only half of the females (70 % vs. 50.5 %). Also, males held significantly more liberal attitudes than females in their acceptance of premarital sex. On preserving virginity prior to marriage, 43 % of the males felt that it was important for a female to be a virgin, whereas only 26 % felt it was important for males to remain a virgin. Interestingly, more females (61 %) supported the importance of a female's virginity compared with the importance of males' virginity (48 %). This study showed that, being a male, of a younger age, single, and being less religious or being secular were important determinants of a liberal sexual attitude.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These results might reflect a socio-cultural transition in the sexual attitudes of different age groups of participants - a phenomenon that will need empirical studies to unpack in the Iranian socio-cultural context.
authors: Student Research Center School of Nursing and Midwifery, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
authors: Mahnaz
authors: M
authors: Motamedi
authors: Family & Sexual Health Division, Brain & Spinal Cord Injury Research Center (BASIR), Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS), Tehran, Iran.|Iranian Center of Addiction Studies (INCAS), Institution of Risk Behaviour Reduction, Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS), Tehran, Iran.
authors: Effat
authors: E
authors: Merghati-Khoei
authors: Department of Behavioral and Environmental Health, School of Public Health Initiative, Jackson State University, Jackson, MS, USA.
authors: Mohammad
authors: M
authors: Shahbazi
authors: Institute of Tropical Medicine and International Health, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
authors: Shahrzad
authors: S
authors: Rahimi-Naghani
authors: Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran.
authors: Mehrdad
authors: M
authors: Salehi
authors: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences (TUMS), Tehran, Iran.
authors: Mehrdad
authors: M
authors: Karimi
authors: Psychiatry, Mental Health Research Center, Tehran Institute of Psychiatry- School of Behavioural Sciences and Mental Health, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
authors: Ahmad
authors: A
authors: Hajebi
authors: Department of Population, Health & Family Planning, National Population Studies and Comprehensive Management Institute, Tehran, Iran. faridehfarahani2@gmail.com.
authors: Farideh
authors: F
authors: Khalajabadi-Farahani
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001290:Attitude; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007492:Iran; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011247:Pregnancy; D012307:Risk Factors; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Premarital sex; Sexual attitude; Sexual encounters; Sexual health; Virginity