Attitudes of family planning workers toward teenage sexual permissiveness

Abstract

The problem of this study was to compare family planning workers' attitudes toward teenage sexual permissiveness with agency and agency personnel characteristics. Procedures used in this study consisted of: Two questionnaires -- an agency questionnaire and a staff questionnaire -- were developed to be used with workers and directors of family planning agencies in H.E.W. Region VI. The agency questionnaire was developed to determine various characteristics of the agency. The staff questionnaire was developed to determine various personal characteristics of the worker as well as the worker's opinion on various work situations. In addition, the word "teenage" was added to each statement on the Reiss Premarital Sexual Permissiveness Scale so as to insure that the workers realized the study was to determine their attitudes toward teenage sexual permissiveness. Subsequently, comparisons were made on: 1) family planning workers' personal characteristics and their attitudes toward teenage sexual permissiveness; 2) the size of family planning agencies and the family planning workers' attitudes toward teenage sexual permissiveness; 3) the geographical location of the family planning agency and the family planning workers' attitudes toward teenage sexual permissiveness; 4) the various types of programs in which family planning agencies are located and family planning workers' attitudes toward teenage sexual permissiveness; and 5) the attitudes toward male sexual permissiveness and the attitudes toward female sexual permissiveness to determine the existence of a double standard between family planning workers. Data produced from the study showed that the family planning worker's personal characteristics had an effect on the attitudes toward teenage sexual permissiveness. In addition, the various agency characteristics also effected the workers' responses to the questionnaires. Based on the findings and within the limitations of this study, the following conclusions are put forth...