The purpose of this study is to identify group differences between sexual status (reluctant virgins, satisfied virgins, and non-virgins) in college students. Specifically, this study explored differences between groups in self-esteem (global, social, and body), dating (length of relationship and number of dating partners), and the beliefs in the double standard mediating differences in self-esteem. It was hypothesized that reluctant virgins would have lower self-esteem and shorter relationships than satisfied virgins and non-virgins. There was modest support for the stated hypotheses: reluctant virgins had lower social self esteem (M= 114.4) than non-virgins (M= 138.5). Reluctant virgins also had a poorer body image (M = 153.9) than both satisfied virgins (M = 196.57) and non-virgins (M= 155.12). Lastly, reluctant virgins experienced shorter dating relationships (M= 6.00) than non-virgins (M= 25.5).
","abstract_html":"<p>The purpose of this study is to identify group differences between sexual status (reluctant virgins, satisfied virgins, and non-virgins) in college students. Specifically, this study explored differences between groups in self-esteem (global, social, and body), dating (length of relationship and number of dating partners), and the beliefs in the double standard mediating differences in self-esteem. It was hypothesized that reluctant virgins would have lower self-esteem and shorter relationships than satisfied virgins and non-virgins. There was modest support for the stated hypotheses: reluctant virgins had lower social self esteem (<em>M</em>= 114.4) than non-virgins (<em>M</em>= 138.5). Reluctant virgins also had a poorer body image (<em>M</em> = 153.9) than both satisfied virgins (<em>M</em> = 196.57) and non-virgins (<em>M</em>= 155.12). Lastly, reluctant virgins experienced shorter dating relationships (<em>M</em>= 6.00) than non-virgins (<em>M</em>= 25.5).</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["DiMauro, Dina"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"M.A. in Mental Health Counseling and Applied Psychology","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Psychology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Angelone, DJ"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2008,"date_issued":"2008-06-18T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2008-06-18T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:13:27Z","subjects":["College students--Sexual behavior; Sexual behavior surveys","Psychology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/717","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Angelone, DJ"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["DiMauro, Dina"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2016-03-21T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Psychology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M.A. in Mental Health Counseling and Applied Psychology"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["College students--Sexual behavior; Sexual behavior surveys","Psychology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/717"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The purpose of this study is to identify group differences between sexual status (reluctant virgins, satisfied virgins, and non-virgins) in college students. Specifically, this study explored differences between groups in self-esteem (global, social, and body), dating (length of relationship and number of dating partners), and the beliefs in the double standard mediating differences in self-esteem. It was hypothesized that reluctant virgins would have lower self-esteem and shorter relationships than satisfied virgins and non-virgins. There was modest support for the stated hypotheses: reluctant virgins had lower social self esteem (M= 114.4) than non-virgins (M= 138.5). Reluctant virgins also had a poorer body image (M = 153.9) than both satisfied virgins (M = 196.57) and non-virgins (M= 155.12). Lastly, reluctant virgins experienced shorter dating relationships (M= 6.00) than non-virgins (M= 25.5).
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Reluctant virginity: the relationship between sexual status and self-esteem"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Angelone, DJ"],"dc:creator":["DiMauro, Dina"],"dc:date.available":["2016-03-21T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The purpose of this study is to identify group differences between sexual status (reluctant virgins, satisfied virgins, and non-virgins) in college students. Specifically, this study explored differences between groups in self-esteem (global, social, and body), dating (length of relationship and number of dating partners), and the beliefs in the double standard mediating differences in self-esteem. It was hypothesized that reluctant virgins would have lower self-esteem and shorter relationships than satisfied virgins and non-virgins. There was modest support for the stated hypotheses: reluctant virgins had lower social self esteem (M= 114.4) than non-virgins (M= 138.5). Reluctant virgins also had a poorer body image (M = 153.9) than both satisfied virgins (M = 196.57) and non-virgins (M= 155.12). Lastly, reluctant virgins experienced shorter dating relationships (M= 6.00) than non-virgins (M= 25.5).
"],"dc:identifier":["https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/717"],"dc:subject":["College students--Sexual behavior; Sexual behavior surveys","Psychology"],"dc:title":["Reluctant virginity: the relationship between sexual status and self-esteem"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Psychology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["M.A. in Mental Health Counseling and Applied Psychology"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:13:27Z"}