Does education have on effect on one's sex life?

Jet, Feb 23, 1998

People with more education have sexless frequently than those who do not have as much education, according to a study published in February's American Demographics.

The study found that people who've attended graduate school averaged 52 sexual acts a year, while people who went to college averaged about 61 sexual acts a year and high school graduates averaged 59 sexual acts per year. The findings are based on data from 10,000 adults who are part of the General Social Survey, an ongoing project of the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago.

Jet spoke with noted experts to find out if education has an effect on one's sex life'

There isn't a direct correlation between education and infrequency in sexual activity reveal Dr. Derek S. Hopson and Dr. Darlene Powell Hopson, the husband and wife clinical psychologist team who operates the Hopson Center for Psychological and Educational Services in Middlefield, CT.

"Other variables must be considered, such as time management and commitment to work and children," explains Dr. Darlene Powell Hopson. "Oftentimes couples who are highly educated have demanding jobs. Infrequent sex doesn't indicate a lack of drive, but lack of time because there's an inability to make sure that they have the time to be intimate."

Dr. Derek S. Hopson notes that in looking at other factors, one must also address the issue of stress.

"Sometimes higher stress levels interfere with having sex. One will be more anxious, and this will interfere with one's interest in sex. Also, when stress levels go up, some cope with it by having sex to release tension," he states.

Powell Hopson, who co-authored the new book Power Of Love: Pathways To Psychological and Spiritual Growth For African Americans along with her husband, observes that people often buy into stereotypes about more educated people, which is why some do believe that education does have an effect on one's sex life.

"Some believe that to be intelligent you aren't as interested in sex because it's not as much of a priority," Powell Hopson points out. "This isn't true. The desire may be there, but impulse control is greater with an older, more mature, and possibly more educated person. It's also important not to assume that a more educated person has better values. The person who engages in sex more frequently and has less inhibitions should not be seen negatively."

She recognizes that people also assume that "infrequent sex is bad sex. This isn't true. The best sex is sex that stirs the soul. There is a spiritual and emotional connection and not just a physical connection."

Dr. John Robinson, the study's co-author, said that people who are more educated are probably less likely to have sex more than others because they are more informed about sexually transmitted diseases and are less willing to "engage in frivolous sex."

Hopson concurs. "If an educated person is in a monogamous relationship, there is a tendency to be more cautious. That person will use information to curb behavior."

Education does have some impact upon one's sex life, states Dr. Obie Clayton, director of the Morehouse Research Institute in Atlanta, GA.

"There are only so many hours in a day," he stresses. "The more education one has, the more time on the job. The job becomes more important. You put more time in it. A lot of feelings get sublimated."

Gregory Daniels, clinical research associate at the Morehouse Research Institute, tells that education can have an effect on one's sex life, depending upon how well the person's emotional skills are developed.

"Many of us may be well-educated but have not developed emotional skills which allow us to have an honest, authentic, intimate relationship with another," concedes Daniels. "The key aspect of emotional intelligence is interpersonal sensitivity, which is the ability to have empathy. Empathy is a prerequisite to have true intimacy."

He continues, "The more education that a person has, the more he is identified with intellectual processes--the mind. There is a tendency in the culture to disconnect with the body the more we are identified with the mind. That's not necessarily healthy. One has to reconnect with the body and that goes back to emotional intelligence."

With more education comes a change in sexual behavior, believes Dr. Angela Farris Watkins, professor of psychology at Spelman College in Atlanta, GA.

"The more a person becomes educated and learns, one can expect to see some change in behavior to confirm, or indicate, learning has taken place," resolves Watkins. "Some change in a person's sexuality would be evident because he has acquired more information. People are opting to change behaviors. If they are engaging in sex, or having the same amount of sex, they may be more sophisticated in whom they are having sex with and the amount of sex they are having with a particular person."

Watkins concludes that age also has an effect on one's sex life. She says older people are often more educated.

"The older you get, the less sex you have. That's just how the life cycle goes. You may be old and tired."