View Item 
        •   Utrecht University Student Theses Repository Home
        • UU Theses Repository
        • Theses
        • View Item
        •   Utrecht University Student Theses Repository Home
        • UU Theses Repository
        • Theses
        • View Item
        JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

        Browse

        All of UU Student Theses RepositoryBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjects

        Understanding Resistance to Comprehensive Sex Education: The Role of Psychological and Sociopolitical Individual Factors

        Thumbnail
        View/Open
        Krasteva Antonia YDSC5-2024-2025.pdf (1.654Mb)
        Publication date
        2025
        Author
        Krasteva, Antonia
        Metadata
        Show full item record
        Summary
        Despite substantial evidence of the benefits of Comprehensive Sex Education (CSE), resistance towards the approach persists. Following the ongoing political debates, this study explored the understudied individual differences in CSE attitudes and their possible precursors to indirectly promote the discussion and adoption of more holistic approaches towards sex education in schools. Using a nationally representative US adult sample (N=1003) from the 2024 Pre-Election iteration of The Psychology Political Behavior Studies, a series of multiple regression analyses – both confirmatory and exploratory – were conducted. A number of psychological and sociopolitical factors – namely, political ideology, general system justification (GSJ), right-wing authoritarianism (RWA), social dominance orientation (SDO), anti-scientific attitudes, and conspiracy beliefs – were investigated for their predictive power in explaining CSE attitudes (general and policy-specific support and anti-scientific attitudes). Results revealed that higher RWA and political conservatism consistently predicted lower general and specific support, and higher anti-scientific attitudes towards CSE. The effect of SDO was limited and GSJ was positively associated with higher general support towards CSE, after controlling for socio demographics and other psychological variables. Exploratory analysis suggested a unique contribution of anti- scientific attitudes, but not of conspiracy beliefs, as a predictor of support for CSE in the combined models. The findings offer new insights into the ideological and psychological drivers of resistance to CSE laying the foundation for future research while also providing practical guidance to policymakers aiming to foster an inclusive public dialogue and develop effective, evidence-based solutions.
        URI
        https://studenttheses.uu.nl/handle/20.500.12932/49518
        Collections
        • Theses
        Utrecht university logo