The Sex Lives of College Students: Three Decades of Attitudes and Behaviors

In this third edition of The Sex Lives of College Students results are presented of more than a 100-question human sexuality survey administered over the past three decades (from 1990 to 2020) to thousands of college students ages 18-22. The goal is to better understand their sexual attitudes and behaviors as well as trends. The findings raise awareness and provide perspective about students understanding of sex matters and related difficult issues and tell us we still have a long way to go before people own their sexuality. The survey reinforces the fact that young adults are generally comfortable pursuing sexual relationships but often fail to openly discuss sexual issues. Some of the results suggest that the double standard is alive and well as when more college women than men say that love is important in sex. The Sex Lives of College Students provides a springboard for honest dialogue about the role of sexuality in peoples lives and a forum for more public discussion of private parts.