3.1 Social Structure and Social Institutions

LO 3.1: Explain how social structure and social institutions are related.

A social structure is a set of relationships and patterned interactions that endure, influencing behavior and attitudes, and connecting individuals, groups, and organizations. Social institutions are a patterned or organized way of meeting a group’s social needs. A social structure is made up of social institutions. Dominant patterns among social institutions can become social structures for a society. In the United States, Christianity (social structure) is the dominant religion (social institution) and democracy (social structure) is the form government (social institution) takes. Therefore, Christianity and democracy also structure the behavior and beliefs in other social institutions (like education or family).

Social structures are so powerful that they guide behavior in a way that the behaviors remain fairly consistent even when the individuals change. Sociologists emphasize that social structures shape social action. Social structures do not compel individuals to act in only one specific way, as individuals have the agency to decide a course of action. However, the social structure limits their options. 

For example, many people believe that religion is important to prevent sexual activity among teenagers. Research suggests there is a relationship between religion and sexual behavior. Adolescents who are the most religious (measured by attendance at religious services, frequency of prayer, and self-reported closeness to God) had less sex and fewer sexual partners than less religious adolescents (Hayward, 2019).

However, while a relationship exists between religious activity and belief with sexual behavior, the causal order is unknown (Pearce et al., 2019; see also McLoughlin et al., 2022). One explanation is that adolescents who are more focused on avoiding sexual activity are drawn to religious devotion as a means of justifying their sexual behavior choices. Another reason is that teens who feel drawn to religion may also be more accepting of stricter rules about sexual activity.

Photo 3.2

Research Is Unclear on the Causal Order of Religious Participation and Sexual Activity Among Teenagers

Religious behaviors and attitudes, however, are only one aspect of a bundle of factors associated with adolescent sexual activity. Other parts of social structure also matter, including government policies regarding sex education, media exposure to sexually explicit material, and features of an adolescent’s family, such as income, education, supervision, and attitudes toward adolescent sex (Inanc et al., 2020). For instance, teenagers who have parents with more education are more likely to avoid sexual activity. However, youths with an older dating partner are more likely to engage in sexual activity (Inanc et al., 2020).

Overall, U.S. teenagers are less likely to have sexual intercourse compared to their parents when they were teenagers. Over half (54.1%) of teenagers had sexual intercourse in 1991 (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2023). Today, only 31.6% of high school students have had sexual intercourse. There are many possible reasons for this decline including the availability of online pornography, restrictions on reproductive rights, and spending less unsupervised time together (Luse et al., 2025).