
The study, published in the Journal of Adolescence, tracked 400 entering students at Penn State who were given periodic questionnaires that evaluated their self-esteem and asked them about their sexual encounters. During the time period, about 100 of the students had sex for the first time.
Sara A. Vasilenko, a researcher at the Center for Child/Adult Development at Penn State and the lead author of the study, stated that the results reflects society’s double standard that “women who have premarital sex have something to be ashamed about, and that men who do have something to be proud of.”


