R. Zorinsanga, C. Lalfakzuali and Lucy Chingsannemi
Mizoram University, Mizoram
Pages: 138-147
The widespread availability of smartphones, high-speed internet, and social media has
transformed how young adults acquire information and form attitudes regarding sexuality,
raising concerns about implications for mental health. This study examined the
relationship between dimensions of sexual attitudes — permissiveness, birth control,
communion, and instrumentality — and mental health among young men in Mizoram.
A cross-sectional correlational design was used with 233 men aged 18–30 years
recruited from Aizawl City through purposive sampling. Sexual attitudes were measured
using the Brief Sexual Attitudes Scale (BSAS) by Hendrick et al., and mental health
(psychological distress) was measured using the General Health Questionnaire-12
(GHQ-12) by Goldberg & Williams, 1988, on which higher scores indicate greater
distress. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and multiple regression were used
to analyze the data. Permissiveness (r = .249, p < .01) and Instrumentality (r = .182, p
< .01) were significantly and positively correlated with GHQ-12 scores, indicating that
greater endorsement of these attitudes was associated with greater psychological
distress; Birth Control and Communion were not significantly correlated with mental
health. The four dimensions jointly predicted mental health, R² = .079, F(4, 228) =
4.879, p < .01, with Permissiveness emerging as the only significant individual predictor
(B = .222, p < .01). Findings are discussed in relation to the socio-cultural and religious
context of Mizoram