Since it is generally conceded that sexual attitudes are established early in life, we felt it important to find out where the men we interviewed acquired their first sexual information.
The vast majority (84 to 94 per cent) reported that most of their early knowledge of sexual behavior and reproduction came from their contemporaries, their friends, and acquaintances. Such verbal enlightenment seems to have been somewhat less important to the homosexual offenders due to their educational and socioeconomic status. The homosexual offenders, especially the homosexual offenders vs. adults, include a disproportionately large number of persons from upper or upper-middle socioeconomic backgrounds (some 23 per cent of all homosexual offenders attended college; no other group exceeds 10 per cent). Parents in such upper- or upper- middle-class environment stress reading as a source of knowledge; hence the importance of companions as a source of information is correspondingly decreased.
The father was listed as the major source of sex information by few, no more than 7 per cent at most. In only five groups did over 4 per cent list the father. The importance of the mother as a major source was equally trivial, 5 per cent (the control group) having the largest percentage who mentioned her.
With two exceptions there seems no positive correlation between the father and the mother as the major source. The exceptions are the control and prison groups, both of which rank high among those listing either parent as a main source.
Reading as the major source was reported by 13 per cent of the; homosexual offenders vs. adults (the largest percentage recorded) and by about 4 per cent of the other homosexual offenders (who rank fourth and fifth in respect to reading). The control group ranks second with 6 per cent. The high rank of the homosexual offenders with respect to learning about sex from books has been explained by their higher educational and socioeconomic background. The same explanation holds for the control group whose members, compared to most of the sex offenders and the prison group, were better educated and hence may be assumed to have come from homes with a better socioeconomic background.
Few individuals reported a relative other than the parents as the major source of sex information, and this tabulation does not reveal any clusterings or trends. A small number of persons reported other sources as major: school instruction, physicians, observation, etc.
*270\161\2*
