Development of Adolescent Sexuality

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1 Development of Adolescent Sexuality Department of Psychology, NOVA Community College PSY 236: Adolescent Psychology Professor Jennifer Schultz October 9 th , 2022

2 Development of Adolescent Sexuality Progression of Adolescent Sexual Behavior and Attitudes According to a national survey completed by Kann and others (2016a), 58% of twelfth graders reported having experienced sexual intercourse, compared with 30 percent of ninth graders. The progression of adolescent sexual behavior and attitudes has greatly increased since the 1900s. This is due to the decrease of education pertaining sex, the amount of sex in music, movies, social media, and how talked about it is in conversations. Age at sexual initiation varies by ethnic group and background (Santrock 2019), but African Americans are found to engage in sexual behaviors earlier than other ethnic groups. Adolescents increasingly have had a higher access to sexually explicit websites than adolescents in years prior. The progression of adolescent sexual behavior is beginning younger and younger due to the accessible ways to acquire sexual content. Adolescent Egocentrism Adolescent Egocentrism was argued by David Elkind in 1976. It is the heightened self- consciousness of adolescents, which is reflected in their belief that others are as interested in them as they are themselves, and in their sense of personal uniqueness and invulnerability (Santrock 2019. Elkind felt that it could be split up into two distinct types of social thinking- Imaginary Audience and Personal Fable. Adolescent Egocentrism is founded to be responsible for reckless behavior including failure to use contraceptives during sex. It influences adolescent reasoning about sex and the use of contraceptives. This is proven in a study done by Arnett in 1990. “One study found that eleventh and twelve grade females who were high in adolescent egocentrism were more likely to say they would not get pregnant from engaging in sex without

3 contraception than were their counterparts who were low in adolescent egocentrism (Santrock 2019). Imaginary Audience Doing things or engaging in behavior to get attention. One may experience this type of Adolescence Egocentrism when an adolescent walks into a crowded room and convinces themselves that everyone is looking at the pimple on their forehead or their new pair of expensive shoes. Personal Fable An adolescent’s sense of personal uniqueness and invulnerability. Their personal uniqueness makes them feel that no one can understand how they really feel. An example of this would be- a girl’s father not knowing the amount of pain she is in because he has never gotten his heart broken by the captain of the football team. Adolescents tend to create fantasies about themselves that are out of touch with reality. This fable can cause many psychological problems including depression and suicide in girls (Santrock 2019). Sexual Scripts Sexual scripts is a stereotyped pattern of role prescriptions for how individuals should behave sexually. Within sexual scripts, there is a double standard where females are thought to have stricter social norms for sexual behavior and men being approved more sexual freedom for having multiple sexual partners. Men and women have different social ques when it comes to sex. Females link sexual intercourse with love and men tend to link it with fun and frenzy. Sexual Scripts within 18-26 Year Old’s There are five main sexual scripts within this age group and two major scripts within men. The five are sex drive, physical and emotional sex, sexual performance, initiation and

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4 gateway scripts, and sexual evaluation. The two between men are a traditional male “player” script and emphasized mutual sexual pleasure. The following are scripts listed in the textbook. 1.) Sex Drive – men are always ready for sex; women inhibit their sexual expression 2.) Physical and Emotional Sex- men have a physical approach to sex; women have an emotional/relational approach to sex. 3.) Sexual Performance- men and women should both be sexually skilled and knowledgeable. One new aspect of this sexual script for women was an agreement that women should especially have oral sex skills. 4.) Initiation and Gateway Script- men initiate sex and women are gatekeepers. 5.) Sexual Evaluation- single women who appear sexual are judged negatively; men are rewarded for being sexual (Santrock 2019). Forced Sexual Behavior In our society, most individuals participate in sexual activity willingly, but there are also a handful of individuals that force others to participate in such activity without their consent. There are many types of forcible sexual behavior that we will be examining. Rape Rape is forcible sexual intercourse with another individual that does not give consent. One of the most common forms of rape is date rape. This form of rape is “coercive and directed at someone whom the perpetrator knows” (Santrock 2019). Rape happens more often than it should, especially amongst women. Rape happens on school campuses, parking lots, in public, and even in our own homes. Unfortunately, every 68 seconds another American is sexually assaulted (Rainn 2022). Sexual Harassment

5 Sexual harassment is any unwanted physical or verbal contact. Sexual harassment can occur anywhere and can be done by anyone. Although most perpetrators of sexual harassment are males, females can also be blamed. According to Leaper and Brown (2008), “one study of adolescent girl indicated that most (90 percent) of the girls said they had experienced sexual harassment at least once. A recent study done by Taylor and Mumford (2016) stated that “31 percent indicated that they had been the victims of sexual harassment and 11 percent reported that they had perpetrated such abuse…” (p.216) Quid Pro Quo Sexual Harassment Quid pro quo sexual harassment is when a teacher or an employee of a school threatens and coerces a fellow student to unwanted sexual conduct. This is mainly done to advance or fail a student. Hostile Environment Sexual Harassment Hostile environment sexual harassment is when sexual harassment is so severe that a student cannot benefit from their education. This form of sexual harassment is very serious and makes it difficult for a student to put full effort into school. Relationship Abuse Relationship abuse can be physical, mental, or verbal and can happen to both men and women. According to NCADV 2022, 1 in 4 women and 1 in 9 men experience severe intimate partner physical violence, intimate partner contacts sexual violence, and/or intimate partner stalking with impacts such as injury, fearfulness, post-traumatic stress disorder, use of victim services, contraction of sexually transmitted diseases, etc. Psychological Abuse

6 Psychological abuse is a form of abuse where the abuser uses non-physical activity to manipulate, gaslight, or control you. The abusers tend to do this to make one feel bad about themselves and that they are nothing without the abuser. According to a study done by Taylor and Mumford (2016), 64% of adolescents said that they had been victims of psychological abuse. Movements and Prevention There are two movements that seem to be making a difference for victims and survivors of forcible sexual behavior. The Me Too Movement and the No Means No Worldwide, have already made such a difference in our society. For further prevention against these malicious acts, we need to teach men and women from a younger age what unwanted sexual behavior and abuse is rather than later in life. Teens can better protect themselves from this type of behavior, from being aware of who they are around, talking to adults, and being educated on all forms. Teen Pregnancy Teenage pregnancy not only affects the adolescent, but also the baby they are carrying. With teenage pregnancy, there comes a lot of consequences and health problems. Khashan, Baker, and Kenny (2010) said that “infants born to adolescent mothers are more likely to be born preterm and have low birth weights- a prominent factor in infant mortality…” (p. 205). Another big problem that comes with teenage pregnancy is that teens tend to not finish their education or have the financial means to support themselves or a child. With a lack of education, there comes a lack of knowing how to care for a newborn. STDs Sexually Transmitted Diseases are infections that are contracted during anal, oral, and vaginal sex. They are several types of STDs and STIs, but the two most severe are HIV and AIDs. Myths

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7 When it comes to understanding STDs, people have a lot of speculations that they can only occur to certain types of people, which is false. Some myths mentioned in the textbook were only people with multiple partners get STDs, all STDs can be cured, only homosexuals and drug addicts can get AIDS, and you cannot get an STD from oral sex (Santrock 2019). Due to the lack of proper education on STDs, they are getting more and more common in our generation today. Risks The risks vary depending on the STD, but HIV and AIDS have caused the most deaths compared to other STDs and STIs. AIDS for example, “destroys the body’s immune system” (Santrock 2019). The risk of AIDS is also increasing among heterosexual individuals who have multiple sex partners (Santrock 2019). Some forms of STDS are curable with prescription medicine and can be prevented from spreading, but that is not an excuse to be okay with having one. Types There are several types of STDs and STIs, but the most known are; Genital Herpes, Genital Warts (caused by HPV), Gonorrhea, Syphilis, Chlamydia (the most common), Bacterial Vaginosis, Hepatitis, Herpes, and HPV (Human Papillomavirus). Approach to Prevention According to the CDC, the best approach to prevention from sexually transmitted diseases are; practicing abstinence, using condoms each time you have sex, obtaining fewer sexual partners, getting vaccinated, and getting tested regularly. Effectiveness of Prevention As of now, the only effective approach to prevention is practicing abstinence. Abstaining from Sex

8 With earlier and earlier maturation, but longer delays to adulthood and marriage, it is not quite reasonable to expect sexually mature “children” to abstain from sex. This is due to the way sex is portrayed in our society. Following the sexual scripts mentioned earlier, several adolescents feel that having sex is a way of power and the way to acquiring love. Abstaining from sex is not talked about as much as it was at the turn of the century where people believed that “having no sex before marriage” was the only acceptable method in society. Nowadays, adolescents are starting to begin in sexual activity earlier and earlier due to the earlier maturation of puberty. Education on Sex Parents, schools, and communities and better prepare adolescents to avoid the risks of their emerging sexuality by engaging in conversations and lessons that pertain to sexual orientation, sexual behavior, contraceptives, and sexually transmitted diseases. Providing adolescents, with a better education on sexuality from a younger age, can better prepare them for the things that they will experience going through adolescence. With a lack of education and knowledge, students will undergo several risks pertaining their emerging sexuality and there will be a higher percentage of adolescent pregnancies, sexual abuse, and misuse of sex.

9 References Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). The lowdown on how to prevent stds . Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved October 4, 2022, from https://www.cdc.gov/std/prevention/lowdown/ Emotional and psychological abuse . WomensLaw.org. (2022, September 22). Retrieved October 2, 2022, from https://www.womenslaw.org/about-abuse/forms-abuse/emotional-and- psychological-abuse NCADV: National Coalition Against Domestic Violence . The Nation's Leading Grassroots Voice on Domestic Violence. (n.d.). Retrieved October 1, 2022, from https://ncadv.org/STATISTICS Santrock, J. W. (2019). Chapter 3: Social Cognition . In Adolescence (seventeenth , pp. 119– 121). essay, McGraw-Hill Education. Santrock, J. W. (2019). Chapter 6: Sexuality . In Adolescence (seventeenth , pp. 187–223). essay, McGraw-Hill Education. Scope of the problem: Statistics . RAINN. (n.d.). Retrieved October 1, 2022, from https://www.rainn.org/statistics/scope-problem

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