Effects of sex and sex roles on avoidance of same- and opposite-sex touch.

Touch and touch avoidance are important facets of interpersonal relations. Touch avoidance has been related to sex, but the relationship between touch and sex roles has not been widely substantiated. 259 undergraduate students participated in a procedure designed to test the relationship between sex, sex roles, and same-sex and opposite-sex touch avoidance. Significant differences were reported between men and women on same-sex touch avoidance but not on opposite-sex touch avoidance. Participants high on androgyny reported less same-sex and opposite-sex touch avoidance than did subjects low on androgyny. No interactive effect between sex and androgyny was found for either same-sex or opposite-sex touch avoidance. Regression procedures indicated predictive models for sex and androgyny in relation to same-sex and opposite-sex touch avoidance. Specific conclusions regarding the relationships among sex, androgyny, and touch avoidance were stated.