How Does Migration to Tehran Affect Premarital Heterosexual Relationships and Sex of Female College Students; A Mix Method Study in Iran

This paper aims to determine whether and to what extent migration of female college students for doing higher education in metropolitan Tehran influences their premarital heterosexual relationships and sex and it is based on a mix method study on sexual norms, attitude and conduct of female college students in Tehran conducted in 2005-6. The survey was conducted on a sample of 1743 undergraduate students in four multidisciplinary universities using two stage stratified cluster sampling and a self-administered questionnaire. 12.8% of cases had migrated from other provinces to Tehran. Ever experience of premarital sex was similarly significantly greater among Tehrani Students than migrants (24.2% vs. 15.9%, p<0.05). Odds ratio of acquiring a boyfriend after migration to Tehran is 2.40(p<0.001) compared to acquiring boy friend before university entrance (migration) even after controlling of age. Interestingly, once the effects of religiosity, family control during adolescent period, and respect to parental views are controlled in a multivariate model, the odds of acquiring boyfriend after university entrance is significantly greater among migrants than among native students compared to acquiring boyfriend before university entrance.