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Is teen sex wrong? - Belief Statistics Topic

What if they are in their early teens, say 14 to 16 years old? In that case, do you think sex relations before marriage are always wrong, almost always wrong, wrong only sometimes, or not wrong at all? (TEENSEX)
(General Social Survey, 2021)


Is teen sex wrong? by Age

 18-2930-4445-5960-7475 or olderMissingTotal
Always wrong20.6%
53
34.7%
228
47.9%
295
52.3%
351
60.0%
153
11644.0%
1080
Almost always wrong15.6%
40
17.8%
117
20.8%
128
26.5%
178
27.1%
69
4921.7%
532
Wrong only sometimes33.9%
87
23.4%
154
16.4%
101
12.4%
83
9.0%
23
3118.2%
448
Not wrong at all30.0%
77
24.2%
159
14.9%
92
8.8%
59
3.9%
10
2616.2%
397
Missing1493222913521281575111
Total 100%
257
100%
658
100%
616
100%
671
100%
255
   
2457

Is teen sex wrong? by Worship attendance

 NeverAbout once a year or lessSeveral times a yearOne to three times a monthNearly every weekEvery week or several times a weekMissingTotal
Always wrong28.9%
228
33.0%
225
47.1%
122
49.5%
106
62.8%
135
73.9%
352
2844.3%
1168
Almost always wrong22.3%
176
25.8%
176
29.0%
75
21.0%
45
22.8%
49
12.0%
57
321.9%
578
Wrong only sometimes21.9%
173
24.4%
166
13.9%
36
18.7%
40
8.8%
19
7.8%
37
817.9%
471
Not wrong at all27.0%
213
16.7%
114
10.0%
26
10.7%
23
5.6%
12
6.3%
30
515.9%
418
Missing388337144108116234139726
Total 100%
790
100%
681
100%
259
100%
214
100%
215
100%
476
   
2635

Is teen sex wrong? by Household income

 Under $5,000$5,000 to $9,999$10,000 to $14,999$15,000 to $19,999$20,000 to $24,999$25,000 or moreMissingTotal
Always wrong46.5%
46
43.5%
27
48.1%
51
47.5%
47
52.6%
51
42.8%
801
17343.8%
1023
Almost always wrong19.2%
19
14.5%
9
18.9%
20
26.3%
26
14.4%
14
23.2%
434
5922.3%
522
Wrong only sometimes18.2%
18
32.3%
20
17.9%
19
16.2%
16
15.5%
15
17.5%
328
6317.8%
416
Not wrong at all16.2%
16
9.7%
6
15.1%
16
10.1%
10
17.5%
17
16.6%
310
4816.1%
375
Missing45396141529351696180
Total 100%
99
100%
62
100%
106
100%
99
100%
97
100%
1873
   
2336

Is teen sex wrong? by Political ideology

 Extremely liberal or liberalSlightly liberalModerate, middle of the roadSlightly conservativeExtremely conservative or conservativeMissingTotal
Always wrong23.0%
125
30.1%
102
48.9%
444
45.7%
147
67.3%
354
2444.4%
1172
Almost always wrong24.3%
132
25.7%
87
20.2%
183
27.0%
87
16.0%
84
821.7%
573
Wrong only sometimes25.6%
139
24.8%
84
16.1%
146
16.5%
53
9.9%
52
518.0%
474
Not wrong at all27.2%
148
19.5%
66
14.9%
135
10.9%
35
6.8%
36
315.9%
420
Missing286151469154265139328
Total 100%
544
100%
339
100%
908
100%
322
100%
526
   
2639

Is teen sex wrong? by Religion

 ProtestantCatholicJewish/OtherNoneMissingTotal
Always wrong60.0%
683
45.3%
244
34.2%
64
22.5%
171
3444.2%
1162
Almost always wrong20.5%
234
21.7%
117
24.6%
46
23.5%
179
521.9%
576
Wrong only sometimes11.3%
129
19.3%
104
23.5%
44
25.4%
193
917.9%
470
Not wrong at all8.2%
93
13.7%
74
17.6%
33
28.6%
218
515.9%
418
Missing575285105360140628
Total 100%
1139
100%
539
100%
187
100%
761
   
2626

Is teen sex wrong? by Sex

 MaleFemaleMissingTotal
Always wrong42.8%
494
45.8%
672
3044.5%
1166
Almost always wrong22.1%
255
21.7%
318
821.9%
573
Wrong only sometimes18.0%
208
17.7%
260
1117.9%
468
Not wrong at all17.1%
197
14.8%
217
915.8%
414
Missing582737141134
Total 100%
1154
100%
1467
   
2621

Related variables

A similar question appeared on General Social Survey 2014 Cross-Section and Panel Combined, (Inapplicable Responses Coded as Missing)
There's been a lot of discussion about the way morals and attitudes about sex are changing in this country. If [a man and a woman] are in their early teens, say 14 to 16 years old, in that case, do you think sex relations before marriage are always wrong, almost always wrong, wrong only sometimes or not wrong at all? (TEENSEX)


Notes

The General Social Surveys (GSS) have been conducted by the National Opinion Research Center (NORC) annually since 1972, except for the years 1979, 1981, and 1992 (a supplement was added in 1992), and biennially beginning in 1994. The GSS are designed to be part of a program of social indicator research, replicating questionnaire items and wording in order to facilitate time-trend studies. This data file has all cases and variables asked on the 2021 GSS.

The 2021 cross-sectional General Social Survey has been updated to Release Version 3 as of July 2023. This Release includes the addition of respondent spouse/partner religious identities, socioeconomic statuses, and work information (including Occupation and Industry coding), and additional information about respondents' religious background.

To download syntax files for the GSS that reproduce well-known religious group recodes, including RELTRAD, please visit the ARDA's Syntax Repository.

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