Program Type
Undergraduate
Faculty Advisor
Dr. James Stobaugh, Dr. Sean Huss
Document Type
Poster
Location
Face-to-face
Start Date
18-4-2024 1:00 PM
Abstract
The following research was conducted to answer the question: how do differences in sex education alter perception of consent? As of 2021, only 7 states and the District of Columbia mandate comprehensive sex education policies that include consent education, and in contrast, 17 states do not mandate comprehensive or non-comprehensive sex education (“Sex and HIV Education” 2021). Because sex education in schools is where a large proportion of young adults receive all of their instruction on sexual topics, it can be inferred that the lack of sex education would constitute a lack of consent education as well (Deluna 2019; “Section 33—1608” 1970). These differences in consent education suggest a difference in consent knowledge and therefore perception. To examine this possibility, a survey was administered to two samples of university students over the age of 18 from two different states. One sample was drawn from Arkansas, as it was determined to have the least comprehensive, non-mandated sexual education, and one sample was drawn from California, as it had been determined to have the most comprehensive, mandated sexual education. These states represent the full range of sexual education policy differences in the United States. By administering a revised edition of Humphrey’s Sexual Consent Scale-Revised (SCS-R) to each sample, as well as a qualitative analysis differing definitions of consent, the respondents’ consent perception was measured.
Recommended Citation
Stone, Hannah G., "How Do Differences in Sex Education Alter Perception of Consent?" (2024). ATU Research Symposium. 45.
https://orc.library.atu.edu/atu_rs/2024/2024/45
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How Do Differences in Sex Education Alter Perception of Consent?
Face-to-face
The following research was conducted to answer the question: how do differences in sex education alter perception of consent? As of 2021, only 7 states and the District of Columbia mandate comprehensive sex education policies that include consent education, and in contrast, 17 states do not mandate comprehensive or non-comprehensive sex education (“Sex and HIV Education” 2021). Because sex education in schools is where a large proportion of young adults receive all of their instruction on sexual topics, it can be inferred that the lack of sex education would constitute a lack of consent education as well (Deluna 2019; “Section 33—1608” 1970). These differences in consent education suggest a difference in consent knowledge and therefore perception. To examine this possibility, a survey was administered to two samples of university students over the age of 18 from two different states. One sample was drawn from Arkansas, as it was determined to have the least comprehensive, non-mandated sexual education, and one sample was drawn from California, as it had been determined to have the most comprehensive, mandated sexual education. These states represent the full range of sexual education policy differences in the United States. By administering a revised edition of Humphrey’s Sexual Consent Scale-Revised (SCS-R) to each sample, as well as a qualitative analysis differing definitions of consent, the respondents’ consent perception was measured.