Adolescent Sexuality
Posted by juliabennet on July 9th, 2012
In 1967, Reiss stated that sexual attitudes and behavior had shifted from acceptance of sex within marriage to an acceptance of sex within an affectionate relationship. As a therapist in New York, I am aware of these changing attitudes. Many argue that this attitude has continued and grown to include changes toward sexual equality, fewer families being headed by two married parents, and reductions in parental supervision with these changing family constellations and more parents working outside the home (Hopkins, 2000). Dynamics such as these are important to consider when practicing as a New York psychologist.
As a New York psychologist I am aware that several limitations exist within this field of literature. As a therapist in New York, I know that regarding statistics of sexual involvement, most of these are derived from self-report measures, which present reliability issues (Savin-Williams and Diamond, 2004). In addition, the language used in measures may be different across studies and the definitions of behaviors are left open to interpretation by the adolescent, affecting the validity of the findings. For example, when researchers use the term sex, they most often mean heterosexual intercourse; however, adolescents may interpret the questions regarding having had sex or being sexually active in much broader terms. New York psychologists should be aware of these possible differences in meaning for adolescents. As a therapist in New York, I am aware that surveys have shown that while adolescents agree that heterosexual intercourse is sex, there is much disagreement regarding other sexual acts (Sanders and Reinisch, 1999). Adolescents also differ in their definitions of abstinence and virginity, depending on their own sexual experiences (Bersamin, Fisher, Walker, Hill, and Grube, 2007). Therapists in New York should also know that definitions vary between males and females, between heterosexual and homosexual males and females, and depending on sexual experience. Therefore, for a New York psychologist, asking questions about virginity, frequency of sex, and number of partners could elicit different answers from two adolescents with identical sexual experiences. Most research focuses on onset and progression of sexual activity through quantitative data, but much less research includes qualitative descriptions of experiences, and even less research examines adolescents’ cognitive conceptions and affective responses to sexual experiences or how these ideas and emotions may differ by gender, age, ethnicity, relationship status, sexual orientation, or family background (Savin-Williams and Diamond, 2004). These are important discussions to have with adolescents as a therapist in New York.
New York psychologists should know that narrow and self-selected research samples are also a limitation in this field. There are vast differences across cultures regarding sexual attitudes, sexual behaviors, and adults’ expectations regarding adolescent sexuality; however, most research has been conducted within the United States (Schlegel and Barry, 1991). In addition, the research conducted in the U. S. has disproportionately focused on females in general, as well as minority females and females living in poverty (Tolman and Higgins, 1996). Because research has focused more on trends rather than understanding the pathways to different sexual behaviors, research on these minority groups has led to stereotypes about race, poverty, and sex. Research has also focused much less on same-sex behaviors, orientation, and identity (Goldfried and Bell, 2003). Lastly, because so many studies employ self-report methodologies, adolescents who are uncomfortable or self-conscious may self-select themselves out of such studies (Wiederman, 1999). This can also occur if parents do not provide consent for participation. To better understand the impact of the parent-child relationship on this important aspect of adolescent development, the research regarding the influence of parent-child relationships and developing adolescent sexuality will be reviewed in combination in the following chapter.
Written by Dr. Cortney Weissglass as part of Clinical Research Project submitted to the Faculty of the American School of Professional Psychology of Argosy University, Washington, DC Campus, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Psychology in Clinical Psychology. Dissertation chair: Ann Womack, PhD and Member: Jennifer McEwan, PhD. August, 2010.
As a New York psychologist, Dr. Weissglass plans to work with children and teenagers and their families to help address a variety of issues. In September of 2012, she will be a licensed therapist in New York
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