Jan 2, 2008 11:17 am US/Eastern
Poll: NJ Men Claim To Be More Sexually Active
NEWARK, N.J. (AP) ―
New Jersey men claim more
frequent sexual activity than women in the state, according to a new poll, but
that difference could be exaggerated because women are less likely to answer
the question.
That reticence, and the difference in rates of sexual
activity reported, largely evaporate among women under 50, the Monmouth University/New
Jersey Monthly Poll released Wednesday found.
"The difference between men and women may be due
impression management. Due to perceived social norms, men tend to inflate their
self-reported sexual experience, while women may tend to underreport,"
said Gary Lewandowski, a Monmouth University
psychology professor who specializes in the study of interpersonal relationships.
The gender gap was widest among married respondents when
asked if they had ever fantasized about a one-night stand. More than a quarter
of the men said yes, compared with one in 14 women, the poll determined.
More men than women also complained they were not having
sex as often as they wanted: 35 percent to 23 percent, the poll found.
Although the poll had not asked about sex before, the
results were not unusual.
"Age-old images about sexual behavior continue to
prevail in New Jersey," said
Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute.
"But the results on gender-based differences in sexual activity do raise
an interesting question: If men are indeed having sex more often than women in New
Jersey, are they going out of state to do it?"
Nearly 60 percent of those questioned said they had sex in
the past year (68 percent of the men and half of the women). But nearly 30 percent
of the women declined to answer, double the proportion of men.
Among those under 50, however, the gender gap narrowed: 74
percent of the men, and 67 percent of the women, said they had sex in the past
year.
Among the 50-plus set, sexually active men outnumber
sexually active women by a 2-to-1 margin.
Among those who had sex in the past year, 28 percent said
they had sex several times a week (34 percent of the men and 18 percent of the
women); 25 percent claimed weekly sex (28 percent of the men and 21 percent of
the women); 11 percent said they had sex monthly (11 percent of the men and 13
percent of the women); and about 5 percent of both men and women said they had
daily sex.
The telephone poll of 801 adults was conducted Sept.
27-30. It had a sampling margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
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(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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