Tania Ravaei

Peer-Reviewed Publications

Abstract

Studies of religion and nonmarital sexual behavior often focus on the timing of sexual debut and number of sexual partners during adolescence, limiting understanding of how religion continues to shape subsequent pathways into and through romantic and sexual relationships during the transition to adulthood. We adopt a multidimensional approach to both sexual behavior (time in nonmarital relationships, transition to first penile-vaginal sex within nonmarital relationships, and subsequent sexual frequency) and religiosity (public and private) using 2.5 years of weekly data on intimate relationships and penile-vaginal sex among 933 women aged 18–22. Religiously conservative respondents and frequent religious service attenders delayed sexual transitions and were more likely to be in committed relationships, and frequent attenders were also less likely to be in coresident relationships. Young women who believed in God spent more time engaged than their peers, and those who frequently prayed alone had less frequent sex after relationships became sexual. Overall, public forms of religiosity(religious conservatism and service attendance) were more strongly associated with more publicly observable relationship processes, whereas private religiosity (frequent prayer) was more closely related to private sexual behavior. Religiosity was associated with sexual behavior during the transition to adulthood partially because it shaped earlier adolescent sexual experiences but remained associated with these behaviors net of those experiences.

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Abstract

This study examines public opinion on school-based sex education using a survey experiment (N = 1,003) that varies grade level (elementary vs. high school), the inclusion of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual (LGB) topics, and whether the curriculum is labeled “age appropriate.” Support was lower for elementary school curricula and for those that included LGB topics. The “age-appropriate” label had no effect. Critically, respondents presented with high school curricula that included LGB topics were no more supportive than those presented with elementary school curricula that included LGB topics, indicating that disapproval of LGB inclusion did not depend on age. However, in open-ended responses, many justified opposing the proposal by invoking concerns about student age. This study examines sex education as a critical cultural domain, showing how public judgments about what should be taught and when are shaped by moral discomfort, levels of institutional trust, and perceptions of legitimacy.

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Abstract

Previous research has demonstrated associations between social network characteristics and health care utilization. However, understanding the role of network- and individual-level factors together remains limited. We use the Person to Person Health Interview Study (2018–2020) to show network-level and individual-level predictors of two health care utilization measures: having a regular doctor (preventive care) and seeking medical services after an acute health care problem (reactive care). We explore preventive care among the full sample (N = 2,524) and reactive care among the subsample that reported a physical or mental health problem in the past year (n = 885). We measure medical trust as an individual-level characteristic (personal trust in physicians) and a network-level characteristic (average trust in physicians among social ties). Results show that higher medical trust in doctors within one’s network positively predicts both having a regular doctor and utilizing medical services after a health care problem, even after adjusting for known predictors of utilization. Our findings provide support that a network’s pro-medical culture matters beyond individual medical trust for health care utilization.