Sex, sex guilt, and contraceptive use.

The Mosher True-False Sex-Guilt Inventory and questionnaires about sexual activity and contraceptive use were administered to a sample of 109 female college students in 1973 and a comparable sample of 111 female college students in 1978. Comparisons of these samples revealed an increase in sexual activity and a decrease in the use of effective contraception between 1973 and 1978. The data also confirmed the utility of the Mosher scale for predicting sexual activity and contraceptive use, while indicating that the level of sex guilt sufficient to inhibit sexual activity in 1973 was no longer sufficient in 1978. The discussion deals with clinical implications of these trends in contraceptive use among unmarried women and with methodological implications for use of the Mosher Sex-Guilt Inventory as a predictor of sexual activity.