Study shows lasting impact of limited sex education on adult relationships

A new Kinsey Institute study has found gaps in sex education can have lasting impacts throughout adulthood, including relationship struggles, lack of confidence, and reduced quality of life.

Surveying 3,895 U.S. single adults (aged 18 to 98 years) on 16 topics typically included in comprehensive sex education programs, researchers found approximately a third never received any kind of information about healthy relationships, consent, communicating with partners, pleasure, or dating during their youth from any source, including school, family, friends, or somewhere else.

Only one of the 16 assessed topics was learned about in school by a majority of participants, with 55% stating they covered reproduction or pregnancy. Other topics participants most commonly learned in school included puberty (44%), preventing or testing for STIs (43%), and contraception (41%). Very few learned about consent (17%), gender (12%), or healthy relationships (7%) in school. The least covered topics related how to make you or your partner feel good and communicate about what you want, which were all around 4%.

More than 90% of participants reported receiving additional information would have created a positive impact in their lives today. Specifically, a large proportion of participants said that better sex education would have led to healthier romantic relationships (44%), a better understanding of how to be a good partner (40%), improved sexual confidence (40%), a better quality of life (35%), and a better understanding of their own body (29%).

To date, sex education research has largely focused on youth and adolescents, rather than adults. However, these results demonstrate that comprehensive sex education is important for supporting healthy romantic and sexual relationships throughout adulthood. In addition, this study indicates substantial demand for better information among adults and opportunities to close the information gap later in life. Evidence-based resources, such as the Crash Course Sex Ed online program developed in collaboration with the Kinsey Institute, are one way adults can access free, credible information later in life to address their gaps in learning.