In the 1970s social scientists argued that European culture differs markedly from other great cultures such as those of China, the Middle East, or the Americas. To support this claim as well as other reasons, in the late 1970s researchers initiated the European Values Survey (EVS) which uses representative national samples to measure attitudes and values on a variety of social issues.
The research reported here uses data from 32 European countries to examine patterns of sexual attitudes from the most recent available data of the EVS, 1999-2000. Using Ward’s cluster analysis linking procedure and five clustering variables measuring views on casual sex, extramarital sex, homosexuality, abortion, and divorce, six clusters with distinct attitudinal patterns were identified.
Findings are interpreted in terms of other variables in the EVS as well as macro level indicators from each country. These variables can be categorized into three types related to
- traditional gender roles,
- degree of religiosity, and
- health.
Combining the three types of explanatory variables with the six patterns of sexual attitudes illustrates both similarities as well as diversity of European value patterns. For example, the largest cluster had 13 countries and the smallest only one. Results are discussed in terms of how the six clusters differ in their promotion of sexual health and sexual rights.
Conflict of Interest: None disclosed
Financial Support/Funding: Not Applicable
Recorded at the the 19th WAS World Congress for Sexual Health - Sexual Health & Rights: A Global Challenge Göteborg (Sweden) - June 21 – 25, 2009
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