Chapter Eleven: Sexuality

1. Chapter Eleven: Sexuality FSHD 377/

2. Objectives Describe the role puberty, cognition, and social context play in the development of sexuality during adolescence. Identify the four developmental challenges concerning sexuality during adolescence. Discuss sexual socialization in restrictive, semi-restrictive, and permissive societies and the effect this has on sexual behavior.

3. Objectives Describe adolescents’ attitudes toward sex and the stages of sexual activity. Explain the changes in patterns of adolescent premarital intercourse over time. Describe the changes in psychological and social characteristics of sexually active adolescents over time.

4. Objectives Compare and contrast boys’ and girls’ responses to their first sexual encounter. Describe the development of homosexuality and the difference between sexual preference and sex-role development. Discuss the prevalence as well as the psychological effects of rape and sexual abuse during adolescence.

5. Objectives Identify the most commonly used method of birth control and the contraceptive behavior of adolescence. Discuss the problem of teenage pregnancy and childbearing as well as the role of the father.

6. Objectives Identify the sexually transmitted diseases most common during adolescence and the prevalence of AIDS among the teenage population. Discuss the effectiveness of sex education programs during adolescence.

7. Sexuality as an Adolescent Issue An important issue due to: The physical changes of puberty The increased capacity for the individual to think about sexual feelings The new social meaning given to sexual behavior

8. Sexuality as an Adolescent Issue Four developmental challenges: Accepting one’s changing body Accepting one’s feelings of sexual arousal Understanding that sexual activity is voluntary Practicing safe sex

9. How Sexually Permissive is Contemporary Society? Ford & Beach categorized the sexual socialization of adolescents: Restrictive – where adolescents are pressured to refrain from sex Semirestrictive – where sexual activity is frowned upon, but abstinence is not enforced Permissive – where attitudes toward sex are lenient

10. How Sexually Permissive is Contemporary Society? Especially in comparison with other cultures, American society typically has followed either a restrictive or semirestrictive pattern. The mixed messages adolescents receive about sexuality in the US contribute to the high incidence of problems.

11. How Sexually Permissive is Contemporary Society? Most teenagers today believe that it is acceptable to have intercourse before marriage within the context of a loving, intimate relationship

12. How Sexually Permissive is Contemporary Society? Serial monogamy – series of monogamous sexual relationships

13. How Sexually Permissive is Contemporary Society? Decline in acceptance of the double standard for men and women

14. How Sexually Permissive is Contemporary Society? Shift away from conformity to institutionalized norms and toward a perspective that places greater emphasis on individual judgment

15. Sexual Activity During Adolescence Developmental progression of sexual behaviors beginning with autoerotic behavior (masturbation or nocturnal orgasms) and moving toward sociosexual behavior.

16. Sexual Activity During Adolescence Sexual intercourse now a part of the typical adolescent’s experience Half of all teens have intercourse Wide ethnic and regional differences in age

17. Sexual Activity During Adolescence Most dramatic change has been among white females Past 25 years – rates of premarital intercourse in different subgroups of American adolescents have converged.

18. Sexual Activity During Adolescence Adolescents who are sexually active have psychological profiles that are similar to those of their peers. Caveat evidence that early sexual activity: is more common among teens growing up in single parent households is associated with higher rates of problem behaviors

19. Sexual Activity During Adolescence Differences for males and females : Males – tinged with elements of recreation Females – more linked to feelings of intimacy and closeness Girls are more likely than boys to view sex with caution Girls are more likely to feel ambivalent rather than uniformly positive about sex

20. Sexual Activity During Adolescence Approximately 8% of the adolescent and young adult population is either partially or exclusively gay or lesbian.

21. Sexual Activity During Adolescence Sexual Preference is not sex-role behavior or gender identity.

22. Sexual Activity During Adolescence Majority of teens sexually harassed at school Significant minority of youth, mainly females, are forced to have sex against their will Date rape

23. Sexual Activity During Adolescence Adolescents who have been sexually abused: Show higher than average rates of poor self-esteem, anxiety, fear, and depression Are more likely to engage in risky behavior Are more likely to become pregnant as teenagers

24. Sexual Activity During Adolescence Adolescents are poor users of contraception, especially in the US.

25. AIDS and Other Sexually Transmitted Infections Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) affect 1 in 4 teenagers. Most common forms, gonorrhea and chlamydia, are both caused by bacterium. Herpes and human papilloma are both caused by a virus.

26. AIDS and Other Sexually Transmitted Infections Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS): Concentrated within two groups: gay men and drug users Incidence of AIDS is increasing among the heterosexual population Number of HIV-infected adolescents is doubling almost every year

27. Teenage Pregnancy and Childbearing Preventing teenage pregnancy has been extremely difficult Programs have failed in this respect Approximately 1 million teenage pregnancies each year, half of which are carried to term

28. Teenage Pregnancy and Childbearing Teenage parents are significantly more likely than their peers to experience disruptions in their educational and occupational development.