There are few both quantitative and qualitative studies in the literature that delve into sexuality within different generations, with the aim of understanding the underlying reasons for any changes in sexuality from one generation to the next.
Regarding the Italian scene, one such study is “The Sexuality of Italians”. The study, sociologically based but with multidisciplinary insights, identifies the behaviors and beliefs of a sample of 7,000 people aged 18 to 69, interviewed by quantitative and qualitative methods between 2006 and 2007. The sample was subdivided by gender, generation, age, region of residence and educational qualification to obtain as complete a representation of sexuality as possible.
Topics investigated in the questions include: first sexual experiences, contraception, number of partners, couple life, cheating, homosexuality, and correlationswith religion.
In a Findandan study (Haavio-Mannila, Roos, Kontula, 1996) it is shown that, in new generations compared to older generations, attitudes about sex before marriage, casual sex, homosexuality and sex without emotional relationship are more permissive and less rigid. In contrast, reverse trend in pornography use and infidelity between partners, which are less accepted in new generations than in previous generations.
The study by Twenge and colleagues (2015) points out that the generation that experienced the spread ofAIDS in the 1980s reports lower values for the number of partners and frequencies of sexual intercourse with casual partners than both the generation before and after. In general, the results confirm that a more individualistic culture leads to a rejection of more traditional values and norms, believing that sexuality should not depend on social conventions.
