The effect of socio-demographic factors and sources of sex information on romantic love levels among Jimma university students

Background: Romantic love levels determine the way individuals select their mate and what they expect from their sexual partners. Objective: To determine the effect of selected sociodemographic characteristics and sources of sex information on romantic love levels. Methods: A quantitative survey was conducted on 828 randomly selected regular students of Jimma University using a piloted questionnaire in May 2008. Results: The median age of the respondents was 20 (mean= 20.8, SD= 2). They had considerably high romantic love levels with Western type passion-focused ideals and myths about love and mate selection. Socio-demographic factors including gender, religion, ethnicity, place of origin (urban/rural), and level of education did not have a statistically significant effect on the romantic love level of the respondents. Romantic love levels were higher for those students who habitually watch love films, read love related materials or attend love related radio programs, but the effect sizes were small (Eta squared 0.0054, 0.0218, and 0.0131 respectively) indicating the presence of the romantic ideals in the culture itself. Conclusions: Romantic ideals of love were found in the culture and provoked by mass media products. Further community based investigations, and IEC (information, education, and communication) works are recommended.