Individual, Family, and Community Education ETDs

Publication Date

2-16-1977

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to examine the effects of sexual guilt on the sexual attitudes and sexual behaviors of family physicians. The increase in the public's awareness of sexuality and sexual issues over the last three decades has brought with it an increase in questions about these topics. The person to whom a great majority of these questions are directed is the family physician. It has been hypothesized that the physician's subjective feelings about sexuality greatly influence the manner in which he/she deals with sexual issues in medical practice. The subjects were 83 family physicians attending a summer workshop in Ruidoso, New Mexico. After being assured of the anonymity of the survey, they were administered the Mosher Forced Choice Guilt Scale (MFCGS) (Mosher, 1968), the Sexuality Survey of Family Practitioners (SSFP) and the Bentler Heterosexual Behavior Assessment Scale (BHBAS) (Bentler, 1968). Those subjects who scored 52 or below on the MFCGS comprised the Low Sex Guilt (LSG) group, while those who scored 53 or above were designated the High Sex Guilt (HSG) group. There were 40 subjects in the former group and 43 in the latter. The responses of the two groups to the twenty questions of the SSFP were compared, using the t-test for mean responses and the chi-square for response distributions. The first two hypotheses compared the two groups with regard to response means and response distributions for each question. The third hypothesis examined the relationship between the MFCGS and BHBAS scores of the total group of subjects, using the Pearson product moment correlation. Those questions dealing with frequency of inquiry into sexual problems, the value of time spent discussing these problems, perceived ability to treat such problems and the effects of religious beliefs on the treatment of sexual problems were answered similarly by both groups. There were significant differences between the groups on those questions dealing with attitudes toward sexual behavior, sexuality in general and the place of sexuality in medical education. HSG physicians tended to be conservative in their outlook, perceiving premarital and extramarital intercourse to be acceptable less often than did their LSG peers. HSG physicians estimated the percentage of patients with sexual problems to be 1-10%, while LSG physicians estimated it to be 10-25%. HSG respondents thought the inclusion of sexuality in the medical curriculum was important, but to a significantly lesser degree than their LSG colleagues. The BHBAS and MFCGS scores of all subjects were correlated in consideration of the third hypothesis. A highly significant (p < .001) negative correlation was found between sexual guilt and sexual behavior as measured by these two instruments. The results of the study and its implications for medical education, both undergraduate and postgraduate, were discussed. Recommendations for further research were presented.

Document Type

Dissertation

Language

English

Degree Name

Counseling

Level of Degree

Doctoral

Department Name

Individual, Family, and Community Education

First Committee Member (Chair)

William Robert Fishburn

Second Committee Member

Wayne Rowan Maes

Third Committee Member

William Allan Odegard

Fourth Committee Member

Stephen Rudolph Perls

Fifth Committee Member

Dorothy Pathak

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