Permissiveness in australian society

Ten “permissive issues” dealing with contraception, homosexuality, censorship, abortion, “living together”, marihuana, prostitution, divorce, pub trading hours, and sex education, were presented to a stratified random sample of the Australian electorate (N=1881). Item intercorrelations indicate the presence of a general factor of permissiveness accounting for some 30% of the total variance. With the exception of that dealing with marihuana legalization, there is substantial support for a permissive stance on each of these issues. Permissiveness is related to church attendance, age, extent of formal education, and left-right voting intention.