Adolescent sexuality

Sexual relations with a person under the age-of-consent are generally a criminal offense in the jurisdiction in which the act was committed, with punishments ranging from token fines to life imprisonment. Many different terms exist for the charges laid and include statutory rape, illegal carnal knowledge, or corruption of a minor. In some jurisdictions, sexual activity with someone above the legal age-of-consent but beneath the age of majority can be punishable under laws against contributing to the delinquency of a minor.^[49]

In some countries

Social constructionist perspective

The social constructionist perspective (see

Researchers interested in exploring adolescent sexuality using this perspective typically investigates how gender, race, culture, socioeconomic status and sexual orientation affect how adolescent understand their own sexuality.^[56] An example of how gender affects sexuality is when young adolescent girls state that they believe sex is a method used to maintain relationships when boys are emotionally unavailable. Because they are girls, they believe they ought to engage in sexual behavior in order to please their boyfriends.^[57]

Developmental feminist perspective

The developmental feminist perspective is closely tied to the social constructionist perspective. It is specifically interested in how society's gender norms affect adolescent development, especially for girls. For example, some researchers on the topic hold the view that adolescent girls are still strongly affected by gender roles imposed on them by society and that this in turn affects their sexuality and sexual behavior. Deborah Tolman is an advocate for this viewpoint and states that societal pressures to be "good" cause girls to pay more attention to what they think others expect of them than looking within themselves to understand their own sexuality. Tolman states that young girls learn to objectify their own bodies and end up thinking of themselves as objects of desire. This causes them to often see their own bodies as others see it, which causes them to feel a sense of detachment from their bodies and their sexualities. Tolman calls this a process of disembodiment. This process leaves young girls unassertive about their own sexual desires and needs because they focus so much on what other people expect of them rather than on what they feel inside.^[14]

Another way gender roles affect adolescent sexuality is through the sexual double standard. This double standard occurs when others judge women for engaging in premarital sex and for embracing their sexualities, while men are rewarded for the same behavior.^[58] It is a double standard because the genders are behaving similarly, but are being judged differently for their actions because of their gender. An example of this can be seen in Tolman's research when she interviews girls about their experiences with their sexualities. In Tolman's interviews, girls who sought sex because they desired it felt like they had to cover it up in order (for example, they blamed their sexual behavior on drinking) not to be judged by others in their school. They were afraid of being viewed negatively for enjoying their sexuality. Many girls were thus trying to make their own solutions (like blaming their sexual behavior on something else or silencing their own desires and choosing not to engage in sexual behavior) to a problem that is actually caused by power imbalances between the genders within our societies.^[14] Other research showed that girls were tired of being judged for their sexual behavior because of their gender. However, even these girls were strongly affected by societal gender roles and rarely talked about their own desires and instead talked about how "being ready" (rather than experiencing desire) would determine their sexual encounters.^[58]

O'Sullivan and her colleagues assessed 180 girls between the ages of 12 and 14 on their perceptions on what their first sexual encounters would be like; many girls reported feeling negative emotions towards sex before their first time. The researchers think this is because adolescent girls are taught that society views adolescent pre-marital sex in negative terms. When they reported positive feelings, the most commonly listed one was feeling attractive. This shows how many girls objectify their own bodies and often think about this before they think of their own sexual desires and needs.^[59]

Researchers found that having an older sibling, especially an older brother, affected how girls viewed sex and sexuality.^[60] Girls with older brothers held more traditional views about sexuality and said they were less interested in seeking sex, as well as less interested in responding to the sexual advances of boys compared with girls with no older siblings. Researchers believe this is because older siblings model gender roles, so girls with older siblings (especially brothers) may have more traditional views of what society says girls and boys should be like; girls with older brothers may believe that sexual intercourse is mostly for having children, rather than for gaining sexual pleasure. This traditional view can inhibit them from focusing on their own sexualities and desires, and may keep them constrained to society's prescribed gender roles.^[60]

Social learning and the sexual self-concept

Developing a sexual self-concept is an important developmental step during adolescence. This is when adolescents try to make sense and organize their sexual experiences so that they understand the structures and underlying motivations for their sexual behavior.^[61] This sexual self-concept helps adolescents organize their past experiences, but also gives them information to draw on for their current and future sexual thoughts and experiences. Sexual self-concept affects sexual behavior for both men and women, but it also affects relationship development for women.^[61] Development of one's sexual self-concept can occur even before sexual experiences begin.^[62] An important part of sexual self-concept is sexual esteem, which includes how one evaluates their sexuality (including their thoughts, emotions and sexual activities).^[63] Another aspect is sexual anxiety; this includes one's negative evaluations of sex and sexuality.^[63] Sexual self-concept is not only developed from sexual experiences; both girls and boys can learn from a variety of social interactions such as their family, sexual education programs, depictions in the media and from their friends and peers.^[61][64] Girls with a positive self-schema are more likely to be liberal in their attitudes about sex, are more likely to view themselves as passionate and open to sexual experience and are more likely to rate sexual experiences as positive. Their views towards relationships show that they place high importance on romance, love and intimacy. Girls who have a more negative view often say they feel self-conscious about their sexuality and view sexual encounters more negatively. The sexual self-concept of girls with more negative views are highly influenced by other people; those of girls who hold more positive views are less so.^[61]

Boys are less willing to state they have negative feelings about sex than girls when they describe their sexual self-schemas.^[65] Boys are not divided into positive and negative sexual self-concepts; they are divided into schematic and non-schematic (a schema is a cluster of ideas about a process or aspect of the world; see schema). Boys who are sexually schematic are more sexually experienced, have higher levels of sexual arousal, and are more able to experience romantic feelings. Boys who are not schematic have fewer sexual partners, a smaller range of sexual experiences and are much less likely than schematic men to be in a romantic relationship.^[65]

When comparing the sexual self-concepts of adolescent girls and boys, researchers found that boys experienced lower sexual self-esteem and higher sexual anxiety. The boys stated they were less able to refuse or resist sex at a greater rate than the girls reported having difficulty with this. The authors state that this may be because society places so much emphasis on teaching girls how to be resistant towards sex, that boys do not learn these skills and are less able to use them when they want to say no to sex. They also explain how society's stereotype that boys are always ready to desire sex and be aroused may contribute to the fact that many boys may not feel comfortable resisting sex, because it is something society tells them they should want.^[66] Because society expects adolescent boys to be assertive, dominant and in control, they are limited in how they feel it is appropriate to act within a romantic relationship. Many boys feel lower self-esteem when they cannot attain these hyper-masculine ideals that society says they should. Additionally, there is not much guidance on how boys should act within relationships and many boys do not know how to retain their masculinity while being authentic and reciprocating affection in their relationships. This difficult dilemma is called the double-edged sword of masculinity by some researchers.^[67]

Hensel and colleagues conducted a study with 387 female participants between the ages of 14 and 17 and found that as the girls got older (and learned more about their sexual self-concept), they experienced less anxiety, greater comfort with sexuality and experienced more instances of sexual activity.^[64] Additionally, across the four years (from 14 to 17), sexual self-esteem increased, and sexual anxiety lessened. The researchers stated that this may indicate that the more sexual experiences the adolescent girls have had, the more confidence they hold in their sexual behavior and sexuality. Additionally, it may mean that for girls who have not yet had intercourse, they become more confident and ready to participate in an encounter for the first time.^[68] Researchers state that these patterns indicate that adolescent sexual behavior is not at all sporadic and impulsive, rather that it is strongly affected by the adolescent girls' sexual self-concept and changes and expands through time.^[68]

Sex education

Sexual education is not always taught the same in every country. For example, in France sex education has been part of school curricula since 1973. Schools are expected to provide 30 to 40 hours of sex education, and pass out condoms to students in grades eight and nine. In January, 2000, the French government launched an information campaign on contraception with TV and radio spots and the distribution of five million leaflets on contraception to high school students.^[69]

In Germany, sex education has been part of school curricula since 1970. Since 1992 sex education is by law a governmental duty.^[70] A survey by the World Health Organization concerning the habits of European teenagers in 2006 revealed that German teenagers care about contraception. The birth rate among German 15- to 19-year-olds is 11.7 per 1000 population, compared to 2.9 per 1000 population in Korea, and 55.6 per 1000 population in US.^[71]

According to SIECUS, the Sexuality Information and Education Council of the United States, in most families, parents are the primary sex educators of their adolescents. They found 93% of adults they surveyed support sexuality education in high school and 84% support it in junior high school.^[72] In fact, 88% of parents of junior high school students and 80% of parents of high school students believe that sex education in school makes it easier for them to talk to their adolescents about sex.^[73] Also, 92% of adolescents report that they want both to talk to their parents about sex and to have comprehensive in-school sex education.^[74]

In America, not only do U.S. students receive

Some educators hold the view that sexuality is equated with violence. These educators think that not talking about sexuality will decrease the rate of adolescent sexuality. However, not having access to sexual education has been found to have negative effects upon students, especially groups such as adolescent girls who come from low-income families. Not receiving appropriate sexual health education increases teenage pregnancy, sexual victimization and high school dropout rates. Researchers state that it is important to educate students about all aspects of sexuality and sexual health to reduce the risk of these issues.[86]

The view that sexuality is victimization teaches girls to be careful of being sexually victimized and taken advantage of. Educators who hold this perspective encourage sexual education, but focus on teaching girls how to say no, teaching them of the risks of being victims and educate them about risks and diseases of being sexually active. This perspective teaches adolescents that boys are predators and that girls are victims of sexual victimization. Researchers state that this perspective does not address the existence of desire within girls, does not address the societal variables that influence sexual violence and teaches girls to view sex as dangerous only before marriage. In reality, sexual violence can be very prevalent within marriages too.^[86]

Another perspective includes the idea that sexuality is individual morality; this encourages girls to make their own decisions, as long as their decision is to say no to sex before marriage. This education encourages self-control and chastity.^[86]

Lastly, the sexual education perspective of the discourse of desire is very rare in U.S. high schools.^[54] This perspective encourages adolescents to learn more about their desires, gaining pleasure and feeling confident in their sexualities. Researchers state that this view would empower girls because it would place less emphasis on them as the victims and encourage them to have more control over their sexuality.^[86]

Research on how gender stereotypes affect adolescent sexuality is important because researchers believe it can show sexual health educators how they can improve their programming to more accurately attend to the needs of adolescents. For example, studies have shown how the social constructed idea that girls are "supposed to" not be interested in sex have actually made it more difficult for girls to have their voices heard when they want to have safer sex.^[87][88] At the same time, sexual educators continuously tell girls to make choices that will lead them to safer sex, but do not always tell them ‘how’ they should go about doing this. Instances such as these show the difficulties that can arise from not exploring how society's perspective of gender and sexuality affect adolescent sexuality.^[89]

Brain maturity

According to some studies, several brain regions in the frontal lobe of the cerebral cortex and in the hypothalamus that are deemed important for self-control, delayed gratification, risk analysis, and appreciation as well as the prefrontal cortex area of the human brain are not fully mature until the early 20s or about age 25.^[90][91] It is then argued that, partially because of this, young adolescents are generally less equipped than adults to make sound decisions and anticipate consequences of sexual behavior,^[92] although Brain imaging and behavioral correlation studies on teenagers that characterize them as immature have been criticized for not being causative, thus possibly reaffirming cultural biases.^[93] Robert Epstein argues that "teen turmoil", which is blamed on differences in brain structure and function between adolescents and adults, is a relatively recent western phenomenon that is largely absent in pre-industrial societies and is a result of infantilization of teenagers rather than inherent brain differences. He reasons that if such incompetence and irresponsibility were truly a result of inherent brain differences, then it would be present in all societies and cultures.^[93]

Historical research

In 1988, two researchers from the University of North Carolina, Ronald Rindfuss and J. Richard Udry, submitted a proposal to The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) to study the health-related risk behaviors of adolescents.^[94] The study was intended to collect data on the patterns of adolescent sexual behavior that could expose teenagers to sexually transmitted diseases. The researchers designed the study to capture data on a national sample of 24,000 youth from the seventh to the eleventh grade.^[94] The American Teen Study had initially been approved by both the National Advisory Council of the NICHD and by other NICHD officials, granting the study funding up to $2.5 million for the first year commencing in May 1991.^[94]

One month after the approval start date of the study, Secretary Louis Sullivan of Health and Human Services (HHS) cancelled the research study after having been questioned and berated by those that did not believe that research on adolescent sexual behaviors would be beneficial. According to Charrow (1991), this may have been the first time that a previously awarded amount of funding had been revoked.^[94] The American Teen Study sought to reveal the importance of investigating the health-related risk-taking behaviors of youth by gathering data across various social contexts such as at home and school.^[94] Countless critics had condemned the study by insisting that the issue of teen sex behaviors had been studied excessively.^[94]

Centers for Disease Control (1991) show that the age of first intercourse for American girls began to decrease from 1985 to 1989. The number of Massachusetts teens who reported engaging in sexual intercourse increased from 55% to 61% between the years 1986–1988. Moreover, it was found that the utilization of condoms by teenagers may decrease when they have multiple sexual partners.^[94] The authors (1993) state that the mathematical theory of epidemics reveals two factors about the rate of increasing infections during an epidemic: the first is the probability of an uninfected person contracting aids from an infected person. The transmission of a sexually-transmitted disease such as HIV will depend on the sexual behaviors of individuals, their personal safety practices when engaging in sexual intercourse, and how often they are in contact with sexual partners.^[94]

The second factor is the number of uninfected individuals that are in the population. At the beginning of an epidemic, a sexually-transmitted disease spreads when the uninfected partner of an infected person becomes highly sexually-active within the population, leading to an increase in the amount of those infected. As the population becomes more infected, an infected person will be less likely to encounter an uninfected one, leading to a decline in new infections. However, although the rate of new infections of HIV among older gay males has decreased, it is dangerous to say that the same pattern has been observed for gay adolescents.^[94] Similarly, data suggests that heterosexual adolescents also engage in anal intercourse which can lead to an increase in the number of infected persons. 10% of women at an adolescent planning center, 19% of female Canadian college students, and 25% of Black and Hispanic women at a family planning center all reported engaging in anal-intercourse with their partners.^[94]

The statistics suggest that there is an increasing need for research on the sexual risk-behaviors of adolescents.^[94] The current research on adolescent risk-taking sexual behaviors lack three fundamentals conditions that would give sufficient and generalizable data on the current sexual-behaviors of adolescents. The first is that the research studies need to have large samples and thorough designs to cover the diverse populations of adolescents that range from various genders, sexual orientations, ethnicities, races, and cultures.^[94] Second, there needs to be research that studies the interaction between various social contexts, such as riding in cars for enjoyment, and adolescent sexual-behaviors that leave youth susceptible to engaging in sexual-intercourse. Lastly, it would be necessary for repeated longitudinal studies on the sexual behaviors of adolescents as behaviors are constantly changing and may be open to different interpretations.^[94]

The American Teen Study would have been utilized to conduct the type of research that would be needed to investigate the increasing rate of sexually-transmitted diseases among adolescents.^[94] The authors (1993) suggest that the cancellation of The American Teen Study was politically motivated as evidenced by Louis Sullivan's rushed rejection of the study without providing adequate reasoning for why the study should not take have taken place. Without data from the study, it can be difficult for scientists to monitor the spread of sexually-transmitted diseases such as HIV and to develop techniques to decrease the increasing rate of infections.^[94]

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Adolescent sexuality.

• Age disparity in sexual relationships
• Child sexuality
• Romeo and Juliet laws

By country

• Adolescent sexuality in Canada
• Adolescent sexuality in the United Kingdom
• Adolescent sexuality in the United States

References