The effects of family structure on the sexual behavior of adolescents.

The effects of two family structures, single- and two-parent homes, on adolescent sexual behavior were studied. The variables of race, age, and gender were controlled. The analysis compared the age at first intercourse, frequency of intercourse in the last four weeks, and virgin/nonvirgin status of adolescents from black single-parent families, white single-parent families, black two-parent families, and white two-parent families. For males, the two-parent family was related to less sexual activity and older age at first intercourse. For females, the two-parent family was not as important as race in influencing sexual behavior. The white females from two-parent families were more likely to be virgins, but once having had sexual intercourse, tended to have a higher level of sexual activity than did black females from two-parent homes.     

Misperception of sexual and romantic interests in opposite‐sex friendships: Four hypotheses

Two online studies evaluated the misperception of sexual and romantic interests in established relationships and tested four hypotheses: a simple sex‐difference hypothesis, a projection hypothesis, a mate value hypothesis, and a mediation hypothesis. Two hundred thirty‐eight (Study 1) and 198 (Study 2) members of young adult opposite‐sex friendship dyads indicated their sexual and romantic interests in their friend and their perceptions of their friend’s sexual and romantic interests in them. Participants projected their own levels of sexual and romantic interests onto their opposite‐sex friend, mediating the following effects: males overperceived and females underperceived their friends’ sexual (but not romantic) interest, and participants of both sexes misperceived the sexual (but not romantic) interest of friends depending on the friends’ mate value.     

Beliefs about condoms and accessibility of condom intentions in Hispanic and African American youth

The construct accessibility model (CAM) holds that constructs are most likely to influence behavior when they are accessible in memory. While the theory of reasoned action sees intention as an important determinant of behavior, the CAM predicts that the intention to act upon a given health behavior is not likely to be acted upon unless the intention is in an accessible state. Therefore, people who frequently talk about or think about using condoms are likely to have condom related constructs available and use them when needed. This paper reports findings from the pilot phase of a project to identify beliefs which influence condom use in Hispanic and African-American youth living in Detroit. 15 male and 15 female Hispanics and 17 male and 17 female African-Americans aged 15-21 years of mean and median age 18.5, were interviewed face-to-face in 1989 with the goal of identifying condom beliefs which may influence their condom use. 80-82% of male participants, 53% of Hispanic females, and 100% of Black females had experienced sexual intercourse, with age at first intercourse ranging between 13.1 and 16.5 years. 88% of Black women and 7% of Hispanic women were pregnant at the interview. Regarding participants' level of preventive knowledge, all but 1 recently immigrated Hispanic female knew HIV was transmitted by needles and sexual intercourse. 87% of Hispanics and 94% of African-Americans responded that condoms protect against AIDS, but only 13% of Hispanics and 47% of African-Americans knew that nonlatex condoms do not. Some participants expressed concern that condoms reduce sensitivity and/or break during intercourse. Controlling for sexual activity, 25% of Hispanic females, 83% of Hispanic males, 71% of African-American females, and 80% of African-American males had ever used a condom; no Hispanic and 14% of Blacks reported using them consistently in the 12 month period preceding the interview. With 100% of African-American males and 97% of Black females reporting thinking about using condoms compared to 80% of Hispanics, the study findings suggest that condom intentions are more accessible in African-Americans than among Hispanics.     

Similarity in depressive symptoms in adolescents' friendship dyads: selection or socialization?

This study examined friendship selection and socialization as mechanisms explaining similarity in depressive symptoms in adolescent same-gender best friend dyads. The sample consisted of 1,752 adolescents (51% male) ages 12-16 years (M = 13.77, SD = 0.73) forming 487 friend dyads and 389 nonfriend dyads (the nonfriend dyads served as a comparison group). To test our hypothesis, we applied a multigroup actor-partner interdependence model to 3 friendship types that started and ended at different time points during the 2 waves of data collection. Results showed that adolescents reported levels of depressive symptoms at follow-up that were similar to those of their best friends. Socialization processes explained the increase in similarity exclusively in female dyads, whereas no evidence for friendship selection emerged for either male or female dyads. Additional analyses revealed that similarity between friends was particularly evident in the actual best friend dyads (i.e., true best friends), in which evidence for socialization processes emerged for both female and male friend dyads. Findings highlight the importance of examining friendship relations as a potential context for the development of depressive symptoms.     

Association Between Employment and Sexual Risk-Taking Behaviors Among Public High School Adolescents

We examined the relationship between adolescent after school and weekend employment and sexual intercourse behavior in a cross-sectional sample of public high school students in South Carolina. The CDC Youth Risk Behavior Survey was used to secure usable data from 4,800 subjects. Thirty-nine percent of the sample worked at a job for pay during the academic year of the study. The majority of all race/gender groups reported having sexual intercourse in their lifetime and during the past 3 months prior, with the exception of Caucasian females. For Caucasian males employment ranging from 1-5 to 31+ hours per week was associated with sexual risk-taking. Caucasian female employment was associated with sexual risk-taking at 16-20 and 21-25 hours of work per week. For African American males, the relationship between employment and sexual risk-taking was evidenced at the 1-5 and 26-30 hours of work per week levels. Similar trends were determined for Caucasians (males and females) regarding sexual intercourse in the past 3 months prior and working for pay during the academic year. Youth working above 10 hours per week during high school may have an increased risk for unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.     

Social support and college student contraceptive use

Sources of social support for contraceptive use were examined in a survey of 280 sexually active college students (132 female and 148 male) aged 17-23 years. Variables measured were contraceptive use at last intercourse, perceived social support for contraceptive use, and motivation to comply with these sources of support. Friends and partners were identified as equally supportive, but only partner support was related to contraceptive use. Among nonusers of an effective method, best friend support exceeded partner support. Finally, students reported more motivation to comply with their partners than with friends or parents. Men were even less likely to comply with support provided by a best friend than women. The finding that parental support was not an important factor suggests that contraceptive use is best promoted through the self-disclosure and open discussion young adults enjoy with peers. Moreover, a desire to please one's sexual partner seems to outweigh advice provided by a best friend. Thus, contraceptive promotion among young adults should be targeted not only at potential users, but also at sexual partners. The potential of such an approach is demonstrated by this study's finding that young men were willing to use condoms when encouraged by their partner, despite widespread dislike of this method.     

Gender differences in theories of adolescent sexual activity

This was a study of 1478 adolescents who attended ten private schools located in different areas of this country. The purpose was to determine which concepts from four theories of deviance were useful in explaining male and female sexual intercourse. The sample was 73% White, 6% Chicano, 5% Black, 3% Asian, and 12% other minorities, and was comprised of 1114 females and 364 males. Bivariate analyses showed that the majority (15 of the 21 factors for both males and females) of factors examined were significantly correlated with frequency of sexual intercourse. Few gender differences were observed, and hierarchical regression procedures revealed that the strongest predictor of both male and female sexual intercourse was differential peer association, accounting for 33% of the variance (48% explained) among males and 27% of the variance among females (44% explained).The authors wish to express their appreciation to Dr. Ken Millar for the supportive resources to complete this study, and to the reviewers at Sex Roles for their comments on an earlier draft.     

Premarital sexual intercourse among single college students: A discriminant analysis

This study assesses the relative importance of interpersonal psychological variables in the prediction of the number of premarital sexual partners of single college students. Using data from a sample of 466 college students from a large mid-Atlantic university, various discriminant functions were formulated and used to predict a student's premarital sexual partners group membership. A virgin group, a monogamous group, a moderate partners group, and a extensive partners group were identified. The variables selected by the computer for inclusion in the functions are of theoretical importance. Males and females differed in the sets of weighted variables chosen by the computer to enter the discriminant functions. Different functions were found to best discriminate the virgin group from the monogamous group, the moderate partners group, and the extensive partners group, especially for males. When subjects were reclassified using the discriminant functions, the predictive accuracies were significantly increased above chance in 14 instances of reclassification. The data support the view that male and female single college students are moving toward an equal standard with regard to premarital intercourse behavior. However, the interpersonal psychological correlates of sexual intercourse appear to be quite different for males and females. Male variation along the power or dominance dimension of Leary's Interpersonal Adjective Checklist was most reflective of their sexual partners group, while females were best discriminated using variables related to the affiliation or affection dimension. A three-stage theory of normative change is formulated to explain the existing data.     

Self-disclosure: Intimate and nonintimate disclosures to parents and best friends as a function of bem sex-role category

Thirty-two androgynous, traditional, and undifferentiated males and females (N/it=192) completed a 6-item self-disclosure questionnaire containing 30 intimate and 30 nonintimate items. The targets were father, mother, and best male and female friends. Analyses of both intimate and nonintimate items indicated that amount of self-disclosure was related to sex role and not gender. Typical male-female differences in self-disclosure were not found because (a) androgynous males disclosed at significantly higher levels than traditional and undifferentiated males to most targets; (b) undifferentiated males and females disclosed significantly less than their androgynous and traditional counterparts. Intimate self-disclosure by androgynous males to father, and nonintimate disclosure by androgynous females to father, were particularly high. Both findings suggest a unique role for fathers in the development of androgynous persons. Androgynous females reported higher disclosure to best male friend than to mother. This is counter to the traditional female pattern and is interpreted as representing a greater degree of distancing from mother and openness to peers.The order of the authors' names was randomly determined. Both contributed equally.     

Selected risk factors in adolescent suicide attempts.

This study examined stress, depression, attempted suicide, and knowledge of common signs of potential suicide in Alabama adolescents. A modified version of the National Adolescent Student Health Survey (NASHS) was administered to 3,803 eighth- and tenth-grade public school students during the fall of 1988. The incidence of stress, depression, and attempted suicide was analyzed by gender, ethnicity, locale (urban vs. rural), and participation in sexual intercourse and use of alcohol. Chi-square tests were used to determine if there were significant differences between groups. Findings indicated that females were at greater risk than were males. Both males and females who engaged in sexual intercourse and alcohol consumption were at greater risk than were abstainers. When analyzed by ethnicity, white adolescents who engaged in these behaviors were at significantly greater risk than were those who abstained; differences were not as pronounced for black youth. Comparisons on the knowledge scale indicated that females scored better than males, whites scored better than blacks, and urban students scored better than rural students. The data suggest that many adolescents are having difficulty coping with stress and depression, and that those who are engaging in various types of risk-taking behavior are at greater risk for depression and suicide.     

Intersexual aggression and male sexual activity in captive rhesus macaques

Rape has been posited to be an outgrowth of male reproductive strategies. Forced copulations may have evolved as a consequence of the low parental investment made by males in producing and raising offspring. We designed a laboratory experiment which paired rhesus macaque males with females in order to assess the influence of intersexual aggression on male sexual activity. Younger and older adult males had comparable levels of sexual behavior, but younger males were more aggressive towards females than were older males. In addition, females threatened younger males more than older males. Male attacks on females did not result in sexual intercourse. On the contrary, a negative correlation existed between male aggression towards females and male success at achieving intromissions. Female aggression towards males appeared to be an effective tactic which reduced the chances of sexual intercourse. We conclude that intersexual aggression acts either as a mechanism of dominance assertion or as a means to increase spatial distance between individuals. These data do not support the idea that rape in humans has an evolutionary foundation derived from male reproductive strategies.     

Gender Stereotyping and Adolescent Sexual Behavior: A Test of Temporal Order1

Prior to the present study, the proposal by sexual socialization theorists that there is a relationship between gender stereotyping and adolescent sexual behavior had never been empirically tested. The purposes of this paper were (a) to test the relationship between gender stereotyping and adolescent sexual behavior and (b) to determine the direction and temporality of the relationship. Panel data from a probability sample of 1,607 black and white adolescents were used. The findings indicate a relationship between female stereotyping and sexual behavior for female but not for male adolescents. Interaction analyses indicate that the strength, direction, and temporality of the relationship varies by age, race, mother's education, and the number of hours the mother is employed. In general, females with traditional female stereotypes were more likely to begin having sexual intercourse earlier than those with nontraditional stereotypes. These findings are discussed in the context of societal encouragement of traditional female stereotyping.     

Turning inward versus outward: Relationship work in young adults and romantic functioning

This study examined 106 romantically involved young adults to determine the frequency of disclosure of romantic problems to both partners and best friends and links to romantic functioning. Results revealed females and males did not differ in frequency of this “relationship work” (RW) with either partners or friends and both engaged in more frequent RW with partners. Simple slopes analyses indicated that discussing romantic problems often with a friend and rarely with a partner was associated with poorer romantic functioning (e.g., less happiness, commitment, love). Conversely, when engaging in frequent RW with partners, regardless of RW performed with friends, relationships flourished. Findings link the social network to romantic functioning and reinforce the importance of discussing romantic problems with one's partner.     

Idiomatic Communication and Interpersonal Solidarity in Friends’ Relational Cultures

This study examined the relationship of interpersonal solidarity to various aspects of idiomatic communication in friends’ relational cultures. A pilot study determined that the typology of idiom functions used in past investigations of romantic relationships could be extended to friendship. The idioms described functioned to name activities, emotional states, objects, and places; communicate affection; manage confrontations; accomplish greetings and goodbyes; reference the self, partner, or other individuals; issue requests and insults; and denote sexual matters. In the main study, 114 females and 117 males each identified a close same-sex friend, completed the Interpersonal Solidarity Scale, and filled out an idiom report form for each idiom that had emerged in the friendship. The majority of the 1,380 idioms reported were verbal, used in public contexts, and used in more than just the one friendship described. For both sexes, solidarity was positively correlated with five idiom categories: activities, affection, confrontation, nicknames for self, and objects. In addition, solidarity correlated positively with place, requests, nicknames for friend, and sexual references for females and with emotions, greetings/goodbyes, labels for others, and teasing insults for males. For both sexes, solidarity was related to the total number and breadth (diversity) of idioms reported, as well as to other features of friends’ idiomatic codes. A subset of the idiom variables collectively accounted for over one third of the variance in, solidarity. Support was also found for several hypothesized sex differences in the structure and use of idiomatic codes. Associations among idiom function, channel, patterns of use, and relational consequences were also explored.     

More alike than meets the eye: Perceived gender differences in subjective experience and its display

This research investigated perceived gender differences in subjective experience and its outward display. Subjects imagined a female friend or a male friend in a series of brief situations, each of which was said to elicit a particular subjective experience in the friend. After each situation, they estimated the extent to which the friend would experience the feeling, and also the extent to which the friend would display the feeling to others. Results confirmed two related predictions, both based on attribution research: First, perceived gender-related differences in the outward display of an experience were generally greater than perceived gender-related differences in the subjective experience itself. Males and females, that is, were generally viewed as more alike in their internal feelings than in their overt behaviors. Second, perceived female/male differences in outward display varied more with the feeling elicited by the situation than perceived female/male differences in subjective experience. Specifically, subjects estimated that females would display communal, socially desirable feelings more than males and self-oriented, less desirable feelings less than males, but that females would experience both categories of feelings somewhat more intensely than males would experience them. In addition to confirming these two predictions, our results also indicated that the sex viewed as having greater hidden feelings—operationalized as the amount by which estimations of subjective experience exceeded estimations of display—also varied with the situation. With communal, highly desirable feelings, males were viewed as having greater hidden feelings, but with self-oriented, less desirable feelings, females were viewed as having greater hidden feelings. This pattern did not interact with gender of perceiver. The data, however, indicated that female perceivers tended to rate both males and females higher on measures of both experience and display than males did, and that male perceivers tended to perceive greater gender differences than females did.     

Coitally active university students: sexual behaviors, concerns, and challenges

The past fifteen years, in particular, have seen a major increase in the extent to which both adolescents and young adults are engaging in sexual intercourse. While several studies call attention to the increasing incidence among college/university students, the concomitant shifts in the sociopsychological realms of sexuality are also important dimensions which impact upon sexual concerns of youth. Hence, the purposes of this study are to examine the behaviors, attitudes, and concerns of students who have engaged in coitus, as well as any changes they seek in their sex lives. The sample consisted of 123 never-married male and 205 never-married female undergraduate students from a state university. The data were obtained by utilizing an anonymous questionnaire administered to volunteers during regular university classes. Among the coitally active, 67.4% of males were psychologically satisfied after their first sexual experience, but only 28.3% of females. In contrast, 80.9% of males and 28.3% of females reported current psychological satisfaction with their sexual experiences. Significant differences between genders focused on male dissatisfaction with infrequent opportunities for sexual intercourse, lack of variety of sex partners, and insufficient oral-genital stimulation, whereas females expressed concerns relating to lack of stimulation to their breasts, painful sexual intercourse, lack of orgasm during sexual intercourse, and feelings of guilt and fear. An increasing awareness of current sexual behaviors, attitudes, and concerns of university students can help family life educators to meet student needs as they react to changes in interpersonal relationships, families, and society.     

Effects of pre- and postpubertal social experience on sexual and social behavior in male and female brown lemmings (Lemmus sibiricus)

The effects of prepubertal social contact and postpubertal mating experience on sexual behavior were examined in male and female brown lemmings (Lemmus sibiricus). Subjects of both sexes were either isolated at weaning (18 days) or then housed with siblings for another 10 days before being isolated. Before testing for sexual behavior at the age of 75 days, half of each group of males received a series of exposures to estrous females and half of each group of females was housed with a stud male. The results of mating tests indicated that whereas prior sexual experience facilitated subsequent copulatory behavior in both sexes, prepubertal interactions subsequently facilitated contact social and sexual behavior in males but did not increase the behavioral scores of females, which engaged in high levels of sexual behavior regardless of prepubertal experience. The effect of prior copulatory activity on male sexual performance could not be attributed to increasing age (i.e., maturational processes) because the behavior of males tested once but at different ages did not differ appreciably. Prepubertal social interaction appeared to predispose males to benefit from sexual experience later in life.     

The expression of the genes of aggressiveness in mice: The effect of androgen on aggression and sexual behavior in females

Female mice of strains selectively bred for aggressiveness or nonaggressiveness were injected with testosterone propionate (TF′) at the age of 2 days and as adults, or they were injected as adults only. Aggressive and sexual behavior was then tested with female, receptive female, and male partners before, during, and after the latter TP treatment. The females that had received both TP treatments displayed as much or as little aggression as males of the same strain, leading to the conclusion that aggressiveness genes are not linked with the male sex chromosome, even though they depend on it for their expression. The sexual behavior of the females of both strains that had received both TP treatments was altered to the male type. In the females of the aggressive strain even adult treatment alone was sufficient for this change. Aggressiveness and male sexual behavior would seem to be determined separately, although aggressiveness facilitates the display of male sexual behavior.     

Sex and the working mother: adolescent sexuality, sex role typing and family background

The relationship between family background, sexual behavior, and sex role typing was examined in 44 female and 47 male 15- to 17-year-old subjects at a New England preparatory school using verbal recall, self-report, and background information. Mother's profession was the best correlate of adolescent sexual behavior. The Spence Personal Attributes scale was correlated with sexual behavior in females and the Essay Recall measure was correlated with sexual behavior for males. Theoretical reasons for these relations are discussed.     

Length of Male and Female Friendship and Perceived Intelligence in Self and Friend

The Self-Rating Scale of intelligence (SRSI) the Otis intelligence test were administered to 20 pairs each of same-sex long-acquaintance males and female each of same-sex short-acquaintance males and females. The SRSI provided subjects with the opportunity to make intelligence attributions to self, friend, and ideal friend and to provide the expected rating of self by the friend and people-in-general. Significant positive correlations were obtained from relating the within-person perceptions, while nonsignificant correlations were obtained from the relation of perceptions and objectively measured intelligence, between friends. Self-concept support from the friend and from people-in-general were. the more significant relationships identified across groups.