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The Journai of Sex Research VolQ20, No. 3, pp. 264-278 Augustt 1984
A Study
Attitudes:
of
Same
Scale
Personality
Sex
Touching
Development
Predictors
and
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265
Thus scales which measure the underlying belief dimension define the
essential determinants of both attitudes and behavior.
A major handicap in the study of same sex touching behavior is the
lack of a reliable and valid instrument to measure attitudes. The purpose of this paper is to report several phases of research on the
development of a Likert-type scale for measuring attitudes toward
same sex touching.
Understanding attitudes toward same sex touching is crucial for a
complete understanding of sexual behavior. Not only are same sex
touching attitudes a key to heterosexual adjustment (Mehrabian,
1971), but they also relate to general well-being (e.g., Jourard, 1966;
Silverman, Pressman, & Bartel, 1973). Same sex attitudes may reflect
different patterns of sex-role training rigidity, with behavioral consequences for both same sex and heterosexual relations, and on attitudes
toward homosexuality.
Few would disagree that touching another person is a significant act
with psychological consequences. Yet, as Hall (1966) notes, investigators have failed to grasp the importance of touching in keeping "the
person related to the world in which he lives" (p. 57). The limited
research effort is perhaps itself a reflection of a widespread touching
taboo socialized during childhood. According to Jourard (1966), this
touch taboo "has produced a scotoma of our professional vision,
making us describe man in our textbooks as if he did not get closer to
his fellow than a foot or so" (p. 221). Research in the last decade, however, has demonstrated convincingly the important consequences of
touching behavior /Kennell, Slyter, & Klaus, 1970). On the whole, the
literature supports the facilitative and positive effects of touching
{Aguilera, 1967; Boderman, Freed, & Kinnucan, 1972; Breed & Ricci,
1973; Cooper & Bowles, 1973; Fisher, Rytting, & Heslin, 1976;
Pattison, 1973).
Body accessibility varies among cultural groups and among individuals (Jourard, 1966; Shuter, 1976; Watson & Graves, 1966). In the
Jourard (1966) and Rosenfeld, Kartus, and Ray (1976) studies, most
frequent touching occurredbetween subjects and closest opposite sex
friends. Nguyen, Heslin, and Nguyen (1975) observed that males regarded opposite sex touching as pleasant, whereas females found such
touching unpleasant until after marriage. Sex differences in opposite
sex touching are also reported in Heslin and Boss (1976);Lomranzand
Shapira (1974); Perry (1976); Silverthorne, Micklewright, and O'Donnell (1982).
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266
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SAMESEX TOUCHING
267
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268
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269
Methodology
Subjects.The participants in Phase 1 were 29 males and 33 females
with a mean age = 4d.3, range = 19-86. The sample for Phase 2 consisted of 18 males and 41 females, with a mean age = 43.9, range =
22-82.
Proceduresandmeasures.The Phase 1 and 2 surveys were mailed to
households, selected at random, from the Portland, Oregon community telephone book. In Phase 1 the return rate was 67No;in Phase 2 it
was 61'Mo.
These rates are comparable to those expected in mailed
surveys (Babbie, 1973).The surveys employed in both phases included
instructions designed to reassure the subject of the acceptability of
his/her responses. The instructions emphasized that there were no
right or wrong answers, provided careful instructions on response
categories, and suggested social support for any opinion.
In Phase 1, 80 statements were collected from a variety of written
sources. These items measured the degree to which people approved or
disapproved of touching activities between people of the same sex. The
pool of statements was determined by item relevancy to body zones
and person touching itouching, being touched) as defined by Jourard
(1966). Finally, this item pool was edited employing Edwards' (1957) a
priori criteria for attitude scale statements to form the Same Sex
Touching Scale (SSTS)
In Phase 2, the SSTS was administered with the usual Likert-type
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14.
12.
10.
20.
19.
8.
3.
4.
2.
1.It
IITouch
Iperson
clothed
sometimes
would
am
same
shoulders
appreciate
pleases
enjoy
sometimes
enjoy
comfortable
israther
persons
being
important
me
touching
sex
of
hug
to
a..............................................................................
enjoy
hug
see
touched
avoid
the
members
of
feels
.................................................................
giving
from
persons
my
in
some
hugging
same
touching
sex
my
aof
by
good
person
apersons
communication
of
who
my
massage
someone
sex
friends
the
sex
are
persons
of
.................................................................
same
when
.................................................................
comfortable
my
of
to
of
of
sex
the
someone
Iwith
the
of
the
feel
hug
when
same
the
same
others
same
each
Iwith
close
same
of
need
sex
other
sex
my
touching
of
to
sex
................................................................
comforting
sex
.................................................................
my
them
in.................................................................
sex
.................................................................
greeting
.................................................................
................................................................
................................................................
................................................................
.................................................................
82
78
77
74
82
75
72
78
73
79
82
71
79
270
instructionsand responsecategories.In addition,the surveyformincluded the 4-item F-scale (Lane, 1955), the Rigidity of Attitudes
RegardingPersonalHabits Scale(Meresko,et al., 1954),and the Bem
(1974)Sex-RoleInventory(BSRI).
Results
5. I sometimes enjoy the physical contact while hugging persons of the same sex . .77
6. I would feel comfortable embracing a close friend of the same sex while fully
.71
7. I am comfortableputting my arm aroundthe shoulders of persons of my sex ...................................
9. I sometimes like some persons of the same sex putting an arm around my
shoulders ..............................................................................
.81
.75
11. Physical expression of affection between persons of the same sex is healthy ...................................
13. When I am tense, I would enjoy receiving a neck and shoulder massage from a
15. I feel uncomfortabletouching in a relationship with someone of the same sex . . .78
16. Touching between persons of the same sex should be limited to a handshake
.72
only ....................................................................
17. I like the feeling of warmth I sometimes get while embracingclose friends of the
18. When I have a headache, having someone of the same sex massage my neck and
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SAMESEX TOUCHING
271
Table 2
Pearson Product Moment Correlationsbetween the Same Sex Touching Scale (SSTS)
and Survey Variablesin Phases 2, 3, 4 and 5
Phase 2
F-Scale
Raph
Masculinity
Femininity
Androgeny
Males
(n = 18)
- .50*
-.69*
-.34
.46*
- .08
SSTS
Females
(n = 41)
- .32*
-.36*
.10
.31*
- .12
Phase 3
F-Scale
Raph
Masculinity
Fernininity
Androgeny
Phase 4
Mach IV
Religious Orthodoxy
Locus of Control
Phase 5
Radicalism-Conservatism
Self-esteem
Same Sex Touch Avoidance
Opposite Sex Touch Avoidance
(n = 25)
-.30*
-.28*
.18
.57*
.01
(n = 50)
-.24*
-.29*
.35
(n = 61)
- .10
.13
-.71*
.05
(n = 39)
-.38*
-.26
-.09
.72*
-.04
(n = 46)
-.09
-.05
.22
(n = 39)
-.36*
-.33*
-.70*
.33*
Total Sample
(N = 59)
-.38*
-.48*
-.22
.47*
- .08
(N = 89)a
-.37*
-.31*
-.42*
.32*
-.08
(N = 96)
-.25*
-.19
.30*
(N = 100}
-.29*
-.08
-.77*
-.10
*P < .05.
aTotal sample size is larger than the combined subsamples because some subjects did
not indicate their sex.
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272
K. S. LARSENAND J. LEROUX
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SAMESEX TOUCHING
273
a role only for the male respondents.Thus for males, being Machiavellian,religiouslyorthodox,andpossessingan externallocusof control are significantlyrelated to negative attitudes towardsame sex
touching.Also, femaleshad a morepositive attitudetowardsame sex
touchingthan males in Phase 4, Mm = 58.85, SDm = 16.2, Mf =
74.15,SDf = 15.6, t(94) = 4.99,p < .001.
In Phase 5 we examinedthe constructvalidityof the SSTS further.
Socio-politicalconservatismand low self-esteemrelatedsignificantly
to the SSTSforfemalesbut not formales,whereasthe samesex touchavoidancemeasureis, as expected,highlyinverselycorrelatedforboth
sexes with the SSTS. Oppositesex touchavoidanceis correlatedpositively fc)rfemalesbut not for males. Again the attitudes of females
towardsame sex touchingare significantlymorepositive in Phase 5,
Mm = 59.82,SDm = 16.7,Mf = 75.59,SDf = 14.0, t(98)= 4.71,p <
.001.
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274
M
SD
n
t
Below-averageon self-rankings
60.02
11.9
29
3.65**
Males
11.5
58.33
*p
<
.01.
**p
<
28
74.46
Females
12.8
30
-4.37**
O()le
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SAMESEX TOUCHING
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276
References
ANDERSON,
P. A., & LEIBOWITZ,
K. (1978).The development and nature of the construct
touch avoidance. Environmental Psychology and Nonverbal Behavior, 3, 89-106.
ADORNO,
T. W., FRENKEL
BRUNS%TIK,
E., LEVINSON,
D. J., & S.ANFOR[),
R. N. (1950).The
authoritarianpersonalgty.New York: Harper.
AGUILERA,
D. C. (1967). Relationship between physical contact and verbal interaction
between nurses and patients. Journal of Psvehiatnc Nursing and Mental Health
Services, 5(1), 5-21.
BABESIE,
E. R. (1973). Survey researchmethods. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
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277
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