Press Release
Embargo: 00.01 Wednesday 9th February 2011
SCOTLAND TAKES RELAXED ATTITUDE TO SEX
Most people in Scotland now take a relaxed attitude towards when and with whom
people have sex, according to new figures from Scottish Centre for Social Research
(ScotCen) Scottish Social Attitudes survey published today.
• Only 13% think that sex before marriage is always or mostly wrong, while as
many as 69% think it is all right for a couple to live together without intending
to get married.
• Just 36% feel that people who want to have children ought to get married.
• As many as 55% feel that contraception should be more easily available to
teenagers, including those aged under 16.
• A clear majority, 58%, feel that sex between two adults of the same sex is
either ‘rarely’ or ‘not wrong at all’.
Attitudes on sexual issues have also tended to become more relaxed.
• Since 2000 there has been an 18 point drop (from 54% to 36%) in the
proportion who feel that people who want to have children should get married
• Over the same period there has been a 21 point increase (from 37% to 58%)
in the proportion who state that same sex relationships are ‘rarely’ or ‘not
wrong at all’
Debates about sexual issues have sometimes appeared particularly contentious in
Scotland. However, attitudes north of the border are just as relaxed as in England.
• At 69% the proportion of people in Scotland who think it is all right for people
to live together without intending to get married is exactly the same as in
England.
• While 58% of people in Scotland feel that same sex relations are rarely or
never wrong, so also do 53% of people in England
• The proportion (55%) who feel that contraception should be made more easily
available to teenagers is only a little less than the 60% who feel the same way
in England.
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Rachel Ormston, Research Director at the Scottish Centre for Social Research said,
“These findings demonstrate how much more relaxed Scots have become in their
views of sex and relationships. They also show that Scotland is not England’s more
conservative cousin. When it comes to issues like sex before marriage, same sex
relationships and cohabitation, views are remarkably similar north and south of the
border.”
Religious organizations have often played a prominent role in the debates about
sexual issues in Scotland. And regular churchgoers, who constitute one in eight of all
adults in Scotland, largely do not share the relaxed attitude adopted by the majority
of Scots
• As many as 49% of regular church goers feel that sex before marriage is
always or mostly wrong
• 69% believe that people who want to have children should get married
• Only 26% say that same sex relationships are rarely or never wrong
-Ends-
Notes to Editors
1. These results are taken from a study of trends in public opinion in Scotland and England, initial
findings from which are being presented tomorrow (Wednesday 9th February) at a seminar
held in collaboration with the Institute of Governance at Edinburgh University. Further details
can be found at http://www.institute-of-governance.org/. Full details of the results for all the
questions included in this press release are available from Rachel Ormston or Emma Cutting
on request.
2. ScotCen is part of the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen), Britain's leading
independent social research institute. ScotCen's team of 18 researchers based in Edinburgh
combines methodological expertise with an in-depth knowledge of the Scottish policy context.
The Scottish Social Attitudes survey aims to produce high quality survey data to inform both
public policy and academic study. Further details about ScotCen and the Scottish Social
Attitudes survey are available at www.scotcen.org.uk
3. The questions on which these findings are based were funded in 2010 by the Economic and
Social Research Council (ESRC).The ESRC is a non-departmental government body that is
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Charity No. SCO38454
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the principal funder of academic social science research in the UK. More information is
available at www.esrc.ac.uk. The council is not responsible for any of the views expressed
here.
4. ‘Regular church goers’ are defined as those who attend some kind of religious service or
ceremony, of whatever faith or denomination. at least once a week.
5. A representative sample of 1,495 adults resident in Scotland was interviewed face to face by
ScotCen as part of the Scottish Social Attitudes survey between early June and early October
2010. The data have been weighted to reflect known differences in probability of selection for
interview, for identifiable patterns of non-response, and to match the age and gender profile of
Scotland.
6. Figures for England are taken from NatCen’s 2010 British Social Attitudes survey. A
representative sample of 3,297 adults resident in Great Britain was interviewed between June
and October 2010, of whom 2,795 were resident in England. The questions quoted here were
asked of one-third of that sample. The data have been weighted to reflect known differences
in probability of selection for interview, for identifiable patterns of non-response, and to match
the age and gender profile of Great Britain as a whole.
Contacts
Emma Cutting NatCen Press Officer
020 7549 9563
07912 668 664
emma.cutting@natcen.ac.uk
Rachel Ormston Research Director
0131 221 2567
John Curtice Research Consultant
07710348755
J.Curtice@strath.ac.uk
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Charity No. SCO38454