Ch 11 Sexual behaviors Sexual ethics changed greatly during the late 1960 s 70 s sexual revolution adolescents accept an individualistic ethic belief that all people must decide on their own standards for themselves Premarital sex Only 7 experience sex before 13 30 between 15 17 66 70 between 18 19 Men most have sex because of opportunity women most said because they were in love Males more satisfied with first sex than women Today s teens are less likely to have sex at a very young age 13 less likely to have every engaged in sex less likely to be currently sexually active and less likely to have 4 partners than 90 s kids Serial monogamy one dates and has sex with one partner at a time Most teens remain a virgin until 18 Factors associated with adolescent sexual activity Age older they are the more likely to have premarital sex Race and ethnicity blacks have more sex than whites blacks more sex as high schoolers sexually active at a young age latino s fall in between whites and blacks Asians least likely Religion large number claim to be abstinent because of religion correlational relationship Boyfriend girlfriend with it more likely to be sexually active Young age at first intercourse those youngest at first intercourse more partners than those in older age younger more likely to be victim of sexual violence indicator of an adolescent in trouble Age at puberty earlier menarche likely to have sex younger same with boys hormones Parental behaviors and relationships warm close relationship more abstinent parents who talk to Peer standards friends promote more positive affirming messages about sex than parents correlation between puberty and age at sex their kids about sex values delay intercourse everyone s doing it Siblings link between older siblings and sexual activity and younger siblings younger sisters of a teen mom are 5x more likely to get pregnant Gender girls more likely to link sex romance gender differences in sexual motivations diminish in late adolescence Problem behaviors likely delinquency drug use and promiscuity are clusters those who engage in one probably engage in another strong predictor of sexual activity is alcohol use SES more likely to have sex if in a lower SES Other mutual sexual behaviors Just because a virgin doesn t mean you haven t done everything else Masturbation any type of self stimulation regardless of whether arousal proceeds to orgasm professionals say it s part of growing up Sex and its meaning What are they seeking Driven by needs that have nothing to do with sex rather emotional needs like curiosity affection loneliness bolstering self esteem and to prove masculinity femininity Sexual pluralism Americans live in a pluralistic society different individuals accept not one but a number of standards of sexual behavior standards abstinence till marriage sex with affection commitment and responsibility sex with affection without commitment or sex without affection Sex without commitment has become common among adolescents 50 60 of college kids Ulterior motives of sex to punish to win or return favors to control behaviors to build up ego Double standard of sexual ethics more acceptable for males than females diminishing but still present Sexual aggression Blacks most likely forcible rape against women more common than men unwanted sexual activity have sex because they feel obligated think they will be broken up with no racial differences in the ability to say no stranger rape forced unwanted sex with someone the victim doesn t know acquaintance rape forced unwanted sex with someone the victim knows date rape unwanted sex with a date Contraceptives and sexually transmitted diseases 90 of sexually active and non birth control girls will get pregnant within a year 96 of girls use birth control most common forms of BC condom 1977 court case no state could legally restrict the distribution of contraceptives to minors clinics do not have to notify parents before distributing prescribing contraceptives to minors contraceptive knowledge has no effect on sexual behavior STD s More widespread with adolescents than adults 25 diseases that can be transmitted sexually HPV is the most common with more than 4 5 million new cases a year most infections are asymptomatic don t need treatment they clear up on their own will develop an STD per year HPV is associated with cervical cancer in women second most likely trichomoniasis girls are far more likely to get STD s and more likely to develop complications Blacks more likely to get STD s than whites whites are more at risk than latinos two best predictors of STD risk number of sexual partners regularity of condom use AIDS likely to become infected 6th leading cause of death in 15 24 year olds acquired during teen years blacks are more causation and diagnosis of AIDS caused by the human immunodeficiency virus attacks T cells white blood cells attacks the immune system and the body s ability to fight disease destroys T cells treatment transmission of AIDS no cure HAART most successful treatment so far highly active anti retroviral therapy reduce replication HIV can be found in blood semen vaginal secretions urine saliva tears and breast milk can t be contracted by casual contact Unwed pregnancy abortion 750 000 American girls become pregnant each year more than 80 of American teen pregnancies are unplanned black teens are 3x more likely to get pregnant than white Causation theories Differences in pregnancy rates are not due to higher rates of intercourse americans are less likely to use contraception than other countries poverty rate is higher in the US than many other developed countries poverty associated with more pregnancies US government provides fewer health care services to middle class citizens economic incentive to delaying childbearing in other countries less shame is associated with sexual behavior in other countries American society is more tolerant of adolescent childbearing than other nations sex ed is favored Pregnancy outcomes Four possible outcomes 1 Adolescent can choose to keep the baby 2 Adolescent can elect to have an abortion 3 Adolescent might miscarry 4 Adolescent can have the baby and then give it up for adoption Motherhood Fatherhood About 97 moms keep their babies believe that having a baby will improve their relationship with the father Theory that it is not because of the baby that mother s lives turn out poorer but more so that the girls were more distressed to begin with and motherhood
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