P~ychologicalReports, 1376, 38, 1 1 3 - 1 1 4 . @ Psychological Reports 1976
PROMISCUITY AS A FUNCTION OF THE MOTHER-DAUGHTER RELATIONSHIP ALLAN GERSON
Hawthorne, California' Summasy.-A 20-item semantic differential describing attitudes toward parents and personal sexual behavior was completed by 320 women nursing students who were categorized as promiscuous or not. Data showed a strong relation between some of the variables of the mother's rated behavior and S's later sexual behavior. Negative relationships were associated with promiscuity. Joint parental roles in upbringing were noted.
In an earlier paper (Gerson, 1974) the effects of the father-daughter relationship on promiscuicy were discussed. It was demonstrated that women who viewed their fathers in a negative manner during their upbringing were more likely to become promiscuous than those who viewed their fathers positively. They characterized their fathers significantly as being dominant, forceful, tyrannical, hateful, unlikable, dishonest, serious, distant, threatening and firm. It was noted that data were not presented for the mothers' roles, though very important, in Ss' upbringing and promiscuity. Zern (1969), for example, pointed out the importance of family cohesiveness in determining later sexual behavior. Mother-daughter relationships in this cohesiveness are not to be ignored. The present paper deals with those relationships. Sexual behavior and attitudes toward parents were assessed by a semantic differential. Three categories were investigated: my mother, my father, my sexual behavior. Items such as gentle-rough, mild-forceful, distant-close and soft-firm were included. The semantic differential was administered to 320 women of college age who were attending a school of nursing. They were told the results would be confidential and anonymous. Completion o< the form was voluntary. Of the 320 Ss in the original sample,' only 123 forms were returned in a usable fashion. The remainder were either done incorrectly or incompletely. Promiscuity was defined as sexual intercourse once -per week or more often, with a different partner at least every third time. An analysis of variance was performed to determine attitudinal differences by high and low promiscuity groups toward their mochers. Mothers of the highly promiscuous group were viewed significantly more negatively than by those of low promiscuity ( F = 3.39, df = 10/78, p < .01). Individual items were tested for mean differences by a series of t tests. Those items for which '4411 W. 116th Street, Hawthorne, CA 90250
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GERSON
mothers were rated negatively at a significant level for Ss of high promiscuity were: rough ( t = 2.14, p < .05), impulsive ( t = 7.28, P < .001), forceful ( t = 9.63, p < .001), distant ( t = 2.21, p < .05), aggressive ( t = 3.02, 9 .Ol),.threatening ( t = 6.01, p < .001), firm ( t = 6.51, 9 < .001), weak ( t = 6.01, p < .001), and hateful ( t z 2.51, p < .05). Those falling short of significance were cold, misunderstanding, dominant, close-minded, tyrannical, abusive, immoral, unlikeable, dishonest, and serious. I t is interesting - to note that of the significant items three (forceful, threatening, and firm) were significant for the fathers as well (Gerson, 1 9 7 4 ) . T w o other significant maternal variables (distant, hateful) were also significant for the fathers. T h e results support the hypothesis that women whose mothers have been viewed negatively during their upbringing are more likely to become promiscuous than those who viewed them more positively. This tends to refute notions espoused by earlier authors (Rutherford, 1969; Parsons, 1955; Lynn, 1969) who identified the fathers as being more important in their roles and effects o n a daughter's upbringing. There appears to be parity in the parental influence and probably a great deal of overlap of traits. This is by far a more realistic picture than that of one parent having a greater influence than the other in child rearing.
PROMISCUITY AS A FUNCTION OF THE MOTHER-DAUGHTER RELATIONSHIP ALLAN GERSON
Hawthorne, California' Summasy.-A 20-item semantic differential describing attitudes toward parents and personal sexual behavior was completed by 320 women nursing students who were categorized as promiscuous or not. Data showed a strong relation between some of the variables of the mother's rated behavior and S's later sexual behavior. Negative relationships were associated with promiscuity. Joint parental roles in upbringing were noted.
In an earlier paper (Gerson, 1974) the effects of the father-daughter relationship on promiscuicy were discussed. It was demonstrated that women who viewed their fathers in a negative manner during their upbringing were more likely to become promiscuous than those who viewed their fathers positively. They characterized their fathers significantly as being dominant, forceful, tyrannical, hateful, unlikable, dishonest, serious, distant, threatening and firm. It was noted that data were not presented for the mothers' roles, though very important, in Ss' upbringing and promiscuity. Zern (1969), for example, pointed out the importance of family cohesiveness in determining later sexual behavior. Mother-daughter relationships in this cohesiveness are not to be ignored. The present paper deals with those relationships. Sexual behavior and attitudes toward parents were assessed by a semantic differential. Three categories were investigated: my mother, my father, my sexual behavior. Items such as gentle-rough, mild-forceful, distant-close and soft-firm were included. The semantic differential was administered to 320 women of college age who were attending a school of nursing. They were told the results would be confidential and anonymous. Completion o< the form was voluntary. Of the 320 Ss in the original sample,' only 123 forms were returned in a usable fashion. The remainder were either done incorrectly or incompletely. Promiscuity was defined as sexual intercourse once -per week or more often, with a different partner at least every third time. An analysis of variance was performed to determine attitudinal differences by high and low promiscuity groups toward their mochers. Mothers of the highly promiscuous group were viewed significantly more negatively than by those of low promiscuity ( F = 3.39, df = 10/78, p < .01). Individual items were tested for mean differences by a series of t tests. Those items for which '4411 W. 116th Street, Hawthorne, CA 90250
114
A.
GERSON
mothers were rated negatively at a significant level for Ss of high promiscuity were: rough ( t = 2.14, p < .05), impulsive ( t = 7.28, P < .001), forceful ( t = 9.63, p < .001), distant ( t = 2.21, p < .05), aggressive ( t = 3.02, 9 .Ol),.threatening ( t = 6.01, p < .001), firm ( t = 6.51, 9 < .001), weak ( t = 6.01, p < .001), and hateful ( t z 2.51, p < .05). Those falling short of significance were cold, misunderstanding, dominant, close-minded, tyrannical, abusive, immoral, unlikeable, dishonest, and serious. I t is interesting - to note that of the significant items three (forceful, threatening, and firm) were significant for the fathers as well (Gerson, 1 9 7 4 ) . T w o other significant maternal variables (distant, hateful) were also significant for the fathers. T h e results support the hypothesis that women whose mothers have been viewed negatively during their upbringing are more likely to become promiscuous than those who viewed them more positively. This tends to refute notions espoused by earlier authors (Rutherford, 1969; Parsons, 1955; Lynn, 1969) who identified the fathers as being more important in their roles and effects o n a daughter's upbringing. There appears to be parity in the parental influence and probably a great deal of overlap of traits. This is by far a more realistic picture than that of one parent having a greater influence than the other in child rearing.
