Religious, Spiritual Beliefs, and Sexual Behaviors: Views of College Students.

Few research studies have used qualitative measures to examine religious and spiritual beliefs and sexual behaviors among college students; therefore, we undertook this as the purpose of our study. Nine hundred and sixty students from four colleges completed either a paper-pencil or an online survey. The survey contained questions regarding sexual behaviors, religiosity, spirituality, and demographic information. Most respondents were White (82%) and female (68%), and 70% reported that they have engaged in sexual intercourse. For this study we focused on three open-ended questions completed by 80% of respondents, which included: a) how do you define your religious beliefs? b) how do you define your spiritual beliefs? and c) how do your religious and spiritual beliefs affect your views on sexual behaviors? Through content analysis, the researchers grouped each participant's response into descriptive categories. Thirty-nine percent of participants described their religious beliefs as institution, tenet, practice, spiritual or evidence based, 22% described a belief in a higher power, 21% describe a combination of beliefs or other views, and 17% describe agnostic/atheist or no religious beliefs. Twenty-six percent described their spiritual beliefs as religion based, 24% provided an individual interpretation, 23% described no spiritual beliefs, 16% described them as nature, practice, or tenet based, and 9% described a belief in a higher power. Finally, 58% of participants reported that their religious/spiritual beliefs have no effect on their sexual behaviors. Results of this analysis can help health educators understand college students' religious/spiritual beliefs and how they affect their sexual behaviors.

By the end of the presentation, participants will be able to: • Describe the religious and spiritual views of college students. • Describe how religious and spiritual beliefs influence their views about sexual behaviors. • Apply the results into health education and promotion programs.