Sexual · Question 39 of 100

What “Had sexual intercourse with three or more people?” means

Item 39 on the 100-question Rice Purity Test reads “Had sexual intercourse with three or more people?”. Here is what the wording covers, where readers reasonably disagree about it, and exactly how much it moves your score.

Guidance written and reviewed 2026-07-26

Adult and sensitive content

The full checklist is intended for adults aged 18 and over and includes explicit topics. You may leave any item unchecked, exit the test, or delete saved checks. An unchecked item is scored the same whether the experience did not occur or you preferred not to answer.

What the question is asking

Item 39 asks whether you have had intercourse with three or more people in total. It is a lifetime partner count, and it is the first of a pair — item 40 raises the same threshold to five.

Where people disagree about what counts

The item is read two ways. Most takers read it as a lifetime total of three separate partners. A minority read it as three people at once. The plain wording supports the lifetime reading, and the fact that item 40 raises the same number to five confirms it: a graduated threshold only makes sense as a running total.

The test is self-scored and nobody else ever sees your answer, so the only thing that matters is applying one reading consistently across the whole checklist.

How item 39 fits with the items around it

Items 39 and 40 are a matched threshold pair, three and then five, and they sit immediately after the demographic item at 38. Together with items 45 and 46 they make the partner block the second-longest structured run on the checklist.

Item 38, before this one Had sexual intercourse with someone of a different race? Item 40, after this one Had sexual intercourse with five or more people?

How it affects the score

Every question has the same one-point effect. Checking item 39 subtracts one point from the starting score of 100. Leaving it unchecked subtracts nothing, and no item on the checklist is weighted more heavily than any other.

Final score = 100 − total checked boxes

The final number never identifies this answer or any other individual answer — it is a count, so it discards which items were selected the moment it is calculated. Read the full scoring guide or look up an exact result on the 0–100 score chart.

Questions about item 39

Does item 39 mean three people at the same time?

Almost certainly not. Item 58 covers threesomes explicitly. Item 39 is a lifetime partner count, which is why item 40 raises the same threshold to five.

Do I check item 40 as well?

Only if you have reached five. The two items are a graduated pair: three or more, then five or more, so anyone at five checks both.

Does the count include all kinds of sex?

It follows whatever reading of intercourse you used at item 22. Oral sex and anal sex have their own separate items.

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