IN THE STUDY IT WAS ASSUMED THAT IF SEX CONNOTATED AN ACT OF MALE DOMINANCE, THEN SEXUAL ACTIVITY WOULD BE ASSOCIATED WITH AGRESSION AND VIOLENCE. IF SEX CONNOTATED AN ACT OF WARMTH AND BONDING, THEN SEXUAL ACTIVITY WOULD BE ASSOCIATED WITH NONVIOLENCE. AN INDEX OF WARM SEXUAL ACTIVITY WAS CONSTRUCTED AND CORRELATED WITH MEASURES OF ACTUAL VIOLENCE AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS VIOLENCE IN A SAMPLE OF 190 STUDENTS IN THREE NEW ENGLAND COLLEGES. RESULTS SHOWED THAT THOSE HIGH IN INTERPERSONALLY WARM SEX WERE LOW IN INTERPERSONAL AGGRESSION AND VIOLENCE. NO RELATIONSHIP WAS FOUND BETWEEN WARM SEXUAL ACTIVITY AND AGGRESSION AND VIOLENCE. THE FINDINGS APPLY PRIMARILY TO MEN BECAUSE THE THEORY IS BASED ON COMPARING DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MEN WHO PERCEIVE SEXUAL ACTIVITY AS A WARM, AFFECTIONATE ACT AND MEN WHO HOLD THE TRADITIONAL MALE VIEW OF SEX AS A DOMINANT AND EXPLOITATIVE ACT. WITH RESPECT TO THE 'MAKE LOVE, NOT WAR' FORMULATION, RESULTS INDICATED THAT THE VALIDITY OF THIS ASSERTION DEPENDED ON THE TYPE OF WAR. IF IT WAS THE BATTLE OF THE SEXES, THE ASSERTION WAS VALID. IF IT WAS THE VIETNAM WAR, THE ASSERTION WAS NOT VALID. THUS, THE LINK BETWEEN SEX AND VIOLENCE DEPENDED ON A VIEW OF SEX AS A COGNITIVELY AND SOCIALLY SCRIPTED BEHAVIOR, RATHER THAN A PURELY PHYSIOLOGICAL DETERMINED ACT. THUS THE PRINCIPLE OF 'MAKE LOVE, NOT WAR' WOULD SEEM TO APPLY ONLY TO THOSE MEN WHO ARE ABLE TO BREAK OUT OF MALE STEREOTYPES OF SEXUALITY AND FOR WHOM THE MEANING OF SEX WAS AS AN ACT OF WARMTH AND HUMAN BONDING. CHARTS, GRAPHS, REFERENCES AND FOOTNOTES ARE INCLUDED. (MJW)