11. Sexuality
A/a = adolescent; cc = cognition, cognitive; ° = tion; = = is/are; w/ = with; s = sex, sexual; sy = sexuality;
dvpt = development; envt = environment; Ace/ace = adolescence
Sexuality as an adolescent issue
Puberty and adolescent sexuality
A substantial increase in the sex drive in early adolescence is clearly the result of hormonal changes.
Moreover, not until puberty do individuals become capable of sexual reproduction. not until puberty do
individuals develop the secondary sex characteristics that serve as a basis for sexual attraction and as
dramatic indicators that the young person is no longer physically a child.
Cognitive change and adolescent sexuality
Increased importance of sexuality at adoelscence due to puberty but also to cognitive changes. Children
are not especially introspective or reflective about sexual behaviour. In contrast, sex during adolescence
is the subject of sometimes painful conjecture (“Will she, or won’t she?”), decision making (“Should I or
shouldn’t I?”), hypothetical thinking (“What if he wants to do it tonight?”), and self-conscious concern
(“Am I good-looking enough?”).
One of the chief tasks of adolescence is to figure out how to deal with sexual desires and how to
incorporate sex successfully and appropriately into social relationships. Much of this task is cognitive in
nature, and much of it is made possible by the expansion of intellectual abilities that takes place during
the period.
Social roles and adolescent sexuality
New social meaning given to sexual and dating behaviour at this time in the life cycle makes sexuality an
especially important psychosocial concern. Adolescence is a turning point in the development of
sexuality because it marks the onset of deliberate sexually motivated behaviour that is recognized, both
by an adolescent and by others, as primarily and explicitly sexual in nature.
Sex is motivated by love and the desire for the sort of serious emotional relationship that begins to take
on features of adult romance. Also motivated by desire to enhance their status with peers.
Positive sexual development
There are four distinct aspects to positive sexuality in adolescence that can serve as the basis for how
parents and educators discuss sex with teenagers.
1) A needs to feel comfortable with his or her maturing body
2) A should accept having feelings of sexual arousal as normal and appropriate
3) As needs to feel comfortable about choosing to engage in (or not to engage in) various s
activities healthy s dvpt involves understanding that sex = voluntary activity for oneself and
for one’s partner)
4) A must understand and practice safe sex (avoiding pregnancy and sexually transmitted
infections)
RECAP
• Adolescence is a fundamentally important time in the life cycle for the development of sexuality.
• The physical and hormonal changes of puberty increase sex drive, change the adolescent’s
appearance, and permit reproduction, all of which affect the development of sexuality.
, • The cognitive changes of adolescence result in the increased capacity of the individual to understand
and think about sexual feelings.
• The transition of the individual into new social roles gives new meaning to sexual behaviour in the
eyes of individuals, society, and social institutions and provides new motives for establishing sexual
relationships.
• Four aspects of positive sexual development in adolescence are accepting one’s changing body,
accepting one’s feelings of sexual arousal, understanding that sexual activity is voluntary, and practicing
safe sex.
Sexual activity during adolescence
A good deal of the sexual activity of adolescents—even sexually experienced adolescents—involves
activities other than sexual intercourse, such as kissing and touching parts of each other’s body. Most
individuals do not begin their sexual experiences with intercourse but progress toward it through stages
of gradually increasing intimacy, therefore it is important to view intercourse as one activity in a long
progression, rather than as an isolated behaviour.
Stages of Sexual Activity
Disagreements regarding the definition of “sexual relations” etc. Are you a virgin if you had anal sex but
not vaginal intercourse? Adolescents distinguish between acts that culminate in orgasm (which are
more likely to be viewed as leading to a loss of virginity) and those that don’t. Adolescents who have
engaged in a specific behaviour are more likely to say that the behaviour doesn’t “count” in their
definition of losing one’s virginity, which means that adolescents’ responses to surveys about sex are
biased by their actual experience. So bear in mind that all figures to follow are necessarily approximate.
Most adolescents’ first experience with sex falls into the category of autoerotic behaviour.
Autoerotic behaviour = Sexual behaviour that is experienced alone, such as masturbation or
sexual fantasizing.
Developmental progression of sexual behaviours, from less intimate to more intimate, has not changed
very much over the past 50 years, and the sequence in which males and females engage in various
sexual activities is remarkably similar.
Most adolescents report talking about contraception after they first have intercourse.
The expected timetable for progressive sexual activities is faster among adolescents who expect a
relatively faster timetable for achieving autonomy from parents and experimenting with drugs and
alcohol, suggesting that earlier involvement in more intimate forms of sex may be part of a larger
pattern of earlier involvement in “adult” activities.
Sexual Intercourse During Adolescence
Prevalence of sexual intercourse
Males tend to overestimate their level of activity and females tend to underestimate it.
More adolescents are sexually active at an earlier age today than several decades ago; however, there
has been a slight decrease in the proportion of sexually experienced teenagers since the mid-1990s—in
other words, slightly fewer adolescents are having sexual intercourse, but those who are do so at a
somewhat earlier age.
By the end of their sophomore year in high school, more than 40% of American adolescents have had
heterosexual vaginal intercourse (these estimates, which are based on large national surveys, do not
include same-sex intercourse or other types of sex, like oral or anal sex).
A/a = adolescent; cc = cognition, cognitive; ° = tion; = = is/are; w/ = with; s = sex, sexual; sy = sexuality;
dvpt = development; envt = environment; Ace/ace = adolescence
Sexuality as an adolescent issue
Puberty and adolescent sexuality
A substantial increase in the sex drive in early adolescence is clearly the result of hormonal changes.
Moreover, not until puberty do individuals become capable of sexual reproduction. not until puberty do
individuals develop the secondary sex characteristics that serve as a basis for sexual attraction and as
dramatic indicators that the young person is no longer physically a child.
Cognitive change and adolescent sexuality
Increased importance of sexuality at adoelscence due to puberty but also to cognitive changes. Children
are not especially introspective or reflective about sexual behaviour. In contrast, sex during adolescence
is the subject of sometimes painful conjecture (“Will she, or won’t she?”), decision making (“Should I or
shouldn’t I?”), hypothetical thinking (“What if he wants to do it tonight?”), and self-conscious concern
(“Am I good-looking enough?”).
One of the chief tasks of adolescence is to figure out how to deal with sexual desires and how to
incorporate sex successfully and appropriately into social relationships. Much of this task is cognitive in
nature, and much of it is made possible by the expansion of intellectual abilities that takes place during
the period.
Social roles and adolescent sexuality
New social meaning given to sexual and dating behaviour at this time in the life cycle makes sexuality an
especially important psychosocial concern. Adolescence is a turning point in the development of
sexuality because it marks the onset of deliberate sexually motivated behaviour that is recognized, both
by an adolescent and by others, as primarily and explicitly sexual in nature.
Sex is motivated by love and the desire for the sort of serious emotional relationship that begins to take
on features of adult romance. Also motivated by desire to enhance their status with peers.
Positive sexual development
There are four distinct aspects to positive sexuality in adolescence that can serve as the basis for how
parents and educators discuss sex with teenagers.
1) A needs to feel comfortable with his or her maturing body
2) A should accept having feelings of sexual arousal as normal and appropriate
3) As needs to feel comfortable about choosing to engage in (or not to engage in) various s
activities healthy s dvpt involves understanding that sex = voluntary activity for oneself and
for one’s partner)
4) A must understand and practice safe sex (avoiding pregnancy and sexually transmitted
infections)
RECAP
• Adolescence is a fundamentally important time in the life cycle for the development of sexuality.
• The physical and hormonal changes of puberty increase sex drive, change the adolescent’s
appearance, and permit reproduction, all of which affect the development of sexuality.
, • The cognitive changes of adolescence result in the increased capacity of the individual to understand
and think about sexual feelings.
• The transition of the individual into new social roles gives new meaning to sexual behaviour in the
eyes of individuals, society, and social institutions and provides new motives for establishing sexual
relationships.
• Four aspects of positive sexual development in adolescence are accepting one’s changing body,
accepting one’s feelings of sexual arousal, understanding that sexual activity is voluntary, and practicing
safe sex.
Sexual activity during adolescence
A good deal of the sexual activity of adolescents—even sexually experienced adolescents—involves
activities other than sexual intercourse, such as kissing and touching parts of each other’s body. Most
individuals do not begin their sexual experiences with intercourse but progress toward it through stages
of gradually increasing intimacy, therefore it is important to view intercourse as one activity in a long
progression, rather than as an isolated behaviour.
Stages of Sexual Activity
Disagreements regarding the definition of “sexual relations” etc. Are you a virgin if you had anal sex but
not vaginal intercourse? Adolescents distinguish between acts that culminate in orgasm (which are
more likely to be viewed as leading to a loss of virginity) and those that don’t. Adolescents who have
engaged in a specific behaviour are more likely to say that the behaviour doesn’t “count” in their
definition of losing one’s virginity, which means that adolescents’ responses to surveys about sex are
biased by their actual experience. So bear in mind that all figures to follow are necessarily approximate.
Most adolescents’ first experience with sex falls into the category of autoerotic behaviour.
Autoerotic behaviour = Sexual behaviour that is experienced alone, such as masturbation or
sexual fantasizing.
Developmental progression of sexual behaviours, from less intimate to more intimate, has not changed
very much over the past 50 years, and the sequence in which males and females engage in various
sexual activities is remarkably similar.
Most adolescents report talking about contraception after they first have intercourse.
The expected timetable for progressive sexual activities is faster among adolescents who expect a
relatively faster timetable for achieving autonomy from parents and experimenting with drugs and
alcohol, suggesting that earlier involvement in more intimate forms of sex may be part of a larger
pattern of earlier involvement in “adult” activities.
Sexual Intercourse During Adolescence
Prevalence of sexual intercourse
Males tend to overestimate their level of activity and females tend to underestimate it.
More adolescents are sexually active at an earlier age today than several decades ago; however, there
has been a slight decrease in the proportion of sexually experienced teenagers since the mid-1990s—in
other words, slightly fewer adolescents are having sexual intercourse, but those who are do so at a
somewhat earlier age.
By the end of their sophomore year in high school, more than 40% of American adolescents have had
heterosexual vaginal intercourse (these estimates, which are based on large national surveys, do not
include same-sex intercourse or other types of sex, like oral or anal sex).
