The Influence of Background Factors and Personal Attitudes on Sexual Guilt and Sexual Anxiety Among Canadian and American Muslim Women and Men

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The Influence of Background Factors and Personal Attitudes on Sexual Guilt and Sexual Anxiety Among Canadian and American Muslim Women and Men University of Windsor Scholarship at UWindsor Electronic Theses and Dissertations Theses, Dissertations, and Major Papers 2014 Crossing sexual barriers: The influence of background factors and personal attitudes on sexual guilt and sexual anxiety among Canadian and American Muslim women and men Sobia F. Ali-Faisal University of Windsor Follow this and additional works at: https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd Part of the Psychology Commons Recommended Citation Ali-Faisal, Sobia F., "Crossing sexual barriers: The influence of background factors and personal attitudes on sexual guilt and sexual anxiety among Canadian and American Muslim women and men" (2014). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 5051. https://scholar.uwindsor.ca/etd/5051 This online database contains the full-text of PhD dissertations and Masters’ theses of University of Windsor students from 1954 forward. These documents are made available for personal study and research purposes only, in accordance with the Canadian Copyright Act and the Creative Commons license—CC BY-NC-ND (Attribution, Non-Commercial, No Derivative Works). Under this license, works must always be attributed to the copyright holder (original author), cannot be used for any commercial purposes, and may not be altered. Any other use would require the permission of the copyright holder. Students may inquire about withdrawing their dissertation and/or thesis from this database. For additional inquiries, please contact the repository administrator via email ([email protected]) or by telephone at 519-253-3000ext. 3208. Crossing sexual barriers: The influence of background factors and personal attitudes on sexual guilt and sexual anxiety among Canadian and American Muslim women and men by Sobia F. Ali-Faisal A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies through the Department of Psychology in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Windsor Windsor, Ontario, Canada © 2014 Sobia F. Ali-Faisal Crossing sexual barriers: The influence of background factors and personal attitudes on sexual guilt and sexual anxiety among Canadian and American Muslim women and men by Sobia F. Ali-Faisal APPROVED BY: E.S. Byers, External Examiner University of New Brunswick E. Maticka-Tyndale Department of Sociology, Anthropology and Criminology S. Bergeron Department of Psychology S. Towson Department of Psychology C. Y. Senn, Advisor Department of Psychology 22 January 2014 AUTHOR’S DECLARATION OF ORIGINALITY I hereby certify that I am the sole author of this thesis and that no part of this thesis has been published or submitted for publication. I certify that, to the best of my knowledge, my thesis does not infringe upon anyone’s copyright nor violate any proprietary rights and that any ideas, techniques, quotations, or any other material from the work of other people included in my thesis, published or otherwise, are fully acknowledged in accordance with the standard referencing practices. Furthermore, to the extent that I have included copyrighted material that surpasses the bounds of fair dealing within the meaning of the Canada Copyright Act, I certify that I have obtained a written permission from the copyright owner(s) to include such material(s) in my thesis and have included copies of such copyright clearances to my appendix. I declare that this is a true copy of my thesis, including any final revisions, as approved by my thesis committee and the Graduate Studies office, and that this thesis has not been submitted for a higher degree to any other University or Institution. iii ABSTRACT Sexual health is a key component of health and well-being, yet, to date, very little research has been done exploring the sexual health of non-majority individuals. This study addresses this lack by exploring the impact of background and attitudinal factors on the sexual guilt and sexual anxiety of young Muslim men and women in North America. Sexual guilt and anxiety have been found to have negative consequences on the sexual lives of individuals and to be related to conservative attitudes regarding sexuality. As Muslims’ attitudes regarding sex and sexuality are often conservative, at times even restrictive, sexual guilt and sexual anxiety may be a problem faced by many Muslims in North America. Yet the religious restrictions on unsanctioned sexual activities may be enforced by sexual guilt and anxiety. Using path analysis, the current study investigated the religiosity, sexual attitudes, perceived parental sexual attitudes, belief in the sexual double standard, gender role attitudes, gender, and sexual experience and their relationship to sexual guilt and anxiety. Questionnaires were administered online and 403 young Muslim adults from across Canada and the United States participated. Two path models were tested proposing that religiosity, perceived parental sexual attitudes, and gender would predict sexual guilt and anxiety indirectly through the mediation of sexual attitudes, belief in the sexual double standard, and gender role attitudes. These models did not fit the data and were therefore re-specified and tested. The final, best fitting models found religiosity to both directly and indirectly influence sexual guilt and anxiety while sexual attitudes, belief in the sexual double standard, and gender role attitudes partially mediated this relationship. Gender role attitudes strongly determined participants’ support for the sexual double standard, while gender was not a predictor of sexual guilt or anxiety. Perceived parental attitudes had no predictive value, possibly being redundant iv with religiosity. Finally, sexual experience directly and indirectly influenced sexual guilt and anxiety with sexual attitudes partially meditating this relationship. The path models revealed complex and interesting relationships between the variables. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First, I would like to thank my dissertation committee. I would like to thank Dr. Charlene Senn, my dissertation advisor, whose guidance and support throughout the process have made me a better researcher. By setting an example of a truly exceptional researcher Charlene motivated me to work harder and better, always. She has challenged and inspired me in ways which have led me to learn so much. Her mentorship, guidance, input, and support have given me confidence in myself. I have nothing but the utmost respect for Charlene and I have truly grown as a result of being her student. I would also like to thank Dr. Maticka-Tyndale, Dr. Sherry Bergeron, and Dr. Shelagh Towson for their invaluable contributions to my research. This document is quite long and I am extremely grateful for their willingness to actively engage with it and their dedication to helping me improve my work. I would also like to thank Dr. Sandra Byers, the external examiner, for her wonderful insights and contributions to my work. Her wealth of knowledge has further improved my work and helped me think about my research in new and exciting ways. I would also like to thank my family. My parents, Ali and Munazza, have not only supported me with love and encouragement throughout graduate school, but their unconditional love, support, and prayers throughout my life have made me who I am. They are my heroes whose courage, sacrifices, and dedication to their children has always inspired me to work my hardest and make them proud. You inspire me always and I promise I will always try to make you proud. My younger siblings, Maleeha and Suhaib, have always kept me grounded and made me laugh when I needed it. I’ve learned so much from them and they have made me a better person. I am proud to be your big sister. Also, to my brother-in-law Asif, thank you for your kind words of encouragement. vi I also want to thank my best friend and partner in life, Fadi , for his support and encouragement during these last few years. He kept me sane on days I felt like I wanted to give up. Whenever I felt like I could not go on he was there to encourage me and boost my confidence in myself. He was there to make me laugh, to take my stresses away, and to keep me focused. Albi, you are my rock. I could not have completed my work without your love and support. I look forward to spending the rest of my life with you. I also want to thank my graduate school support system – my friends Wegdan, Courtney, Christin, Betty, Mia, Dusty, Melissa, Sandra, Jeff, Cathy, Ritu, and Surbhi. In different ways they all helped me through this process. Whether listening to my venting, empathizing with my problems, helping me work through ideas and concepts, editing my work, providing feedback on my presentations, sharing their wisdom, grabbing a coffee with me, playing some board games, or just being there, my friends made my time in graduate school infinitely better, easier, and memorable. I have made lifelong friends. I am also grateful to my friends and colleagues Joanna Kraft and Jenn Voth for their guidance in statistical analyses. They helped me determine appropriate statistical analyses and troubleshoot any issues I had. Without them I would most certainly have been lost in a statistical nightmare. Finally, and above all, I would like to thank God for giving me the opportunity and the strength to complete this dissertation. This process has been long and difficult and without God’s grace it would not have been possible. Alhamdullilah. I am eternally grateful to God and promise to apply my skills and knowledge for the betterment of all people. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS AUTHOR’S
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