The perceived importance of sources of sex education and the effects of gender, coital activity, and type of information were studied, and previous studies were assessed. Attention was directed to the relative contribution of parents, institutions, reading, and peers to the information about each of 35 different sexual topics of 116 male and 116 female, coitally experienced (CE) or inexperienced (CIE), midwestern college students who had never been married. The students, who were primarily freshman and sophomores, completed the Sex Education Questionnaire and the Knowledge of Sexuality Test, among other measures. Individual reading and peers were the highest rated sources of information. Institutions were highly rated sources for topics related to the anatomy and physiology of sex and venereal disease. While CE students received more information overall than did CIE individuals, the two groups did not differ in the amount of information received from parents. CE students received more information through reading and from peers than did CIE students. Amount of information received from parents correlated negatively with performance on a sexual knowledge test. Tables include a summary of 24 studies of adolescent sources of sex information, including the age of subjects, topics included, and main findings. A 37-item bibliography is provided. (Author/SW)