Heterosexual Adolescent Sexual Behavior in the United States

Heterosexual Adolescent Sexual Behavior in the United States
Anthony Berry
Introduction to Cultural Anthropology: ANT 101
Professor Mitra Rokni
June 3, 2009
Abstract
The research conducted in this paper outlines the negative consequences experienced by heterosexual adolescents in the United States while engaging in sexual activity. Focus was placed on the causes attributed with teenagers becoming sexually active and the repercussions of their decisions to partake in the activity. Some of the negative consequences for engaging in the sexual activity, and the frequency of risky behavior associated, are increased contraction of sexually transmitted infections, pregnancies due to inadequate protection, and emotional damages. To substantiate these findings, an inductive approach was used to obtain data utilizing multiple academic library databases, internet resources, scholarly journals, and a textbook.
Heterosexual Adolescent Sexual Behavior in the United States Adolescent innocence has been lost, and the research supports the claim! In the United States, one out of every two adolescents is engaging in sexual behavior, 750,000 become pregnant annually, and fifty percent will contract a sexually transmitted infection. Research of heterosexual adolescent sexual behavior in the United States is leading to alarming proof of negative behavioral and emotional consequences. The prevalent and socially accepted adolescent sexual behavior in the United States has resulted in misguided views, risky activities, negative consequences for those involved, and a lack of effective sex education. Adolescence in the United States is defined by Miller (2007) as “. . . a person between puberty and marriage” (p. 157). The majority of studies involved in this research are teenagers between the ages of 14 – 19 years of age; their age group will be the focus of this research paper. These adolescents are becoming sexually active in large numbers. According to a study of 15-19 year old teens, they found that “. . . 50% had engaged in vaginal sex, 55% had engaged in oral sex and 11% had engaged in anal sex” (London, 2008, ¶ 2). Many sexually active adolescents become active because of growing personal stress in their lives. Stress among adolescents is often dismissed by adults but has been proven to be a cause in higher non-monogamous relationships, more unprotected sexual activity, and higher pregnancy rates (Larue & Herrman, 2008, ¶ 12). In addition to the causes of stress, teens are engaging in sex due to social and partner pressure. In a 2002 survey, adolescents were asked to describe their feelings regarding their first sexual experience: 56% had mixed feelings, 37% said they “really wanted that activity to happen” and 7% said that their first time was “unwanted altogether” (Kaestle, 2009, ¶ 4). This study indicates that some adolescents take part in sexual activity without desiring to do so, either to please their partners or to satisfy perceived social expectations. Whether the teenagers enjoyed the sexual activity they engaged in or showed restraint by practicing abstinence, there were consequences for their decisions. A 2002 study of high school 9th graders discovered that a large percentage of teenagers experienced both positive and negative emotional or social consequences for their decisions to practice abstinence. The positive consequences for the students’ abstinent behaviors were that “. . . they had had a good reputation, their friends had been proud of them or they had felt responsible.” The negative consequences were “. . . a partner became angry or participants had had a bad reputation, felt regret, felt left out of their group, or felt let down by a partner.” The age of the adolescent did have an affect on the consequences they experienced. The study showed that as the students aged the females reported higher rates of positive consequences than the males, and overall they all experienced less positive consequences then negative (Hollander, 2008, ¶ 4 - 7). Kaestle (2009) theorizes that traditional gender roles are a contributing factor to the differences of opinions regarding sexual activity between males and females. She believes that females are taught, through cultural expectations, to be submissive to their male partner’s needs, placing his needs before her own. She also suggests females believe that, in order to maintain a monogamous relationship they would need to comply with the males sexual desires. In contrast, Kaestle stated that males are “. . . socialized to pursue sexual activity with women.” These differences are a likely reason females have stronger negative consequences than males to sexual activity (¶ 9). The gender role differences reflected in this paper compose the majority of the adolescents within the United States and are relevant to this subject. However, they are not consistent with ever culture within the United States. Teenagers consider abstinence as just another stage of life with the next natural stage being sexual activity (Masters, Beadnell, Morrison, Hoppe and Gillmore, 2008, ¶ 5). As cited in Brady (2008), Bearman and Bruckner have “estimated that more than 2.5 million adolescents had taken public "virginity" pledges to abstain from sexual activity until marriage.” However, half of those that took the pledge initiated sex during high school (¶ 2). This indicates either the lack of social and personal needs to remain abstinent, or that social and partner pressures are contributing factors to the decision of refraining from sexual activity. In contrast to abstinence, monogamy, or the lack thereof does not appear to be an issue with teens. One thousand teenagers were questioned about their sexual behavior, and Two-fifths stated they had began having sex within one month of dating their partner while half admitted to simultaneously seeing someone else while involved with their current partner (Fantasia, 2008, ¶ 11). Researchers found that adolescents actively involved in sexual activity experienced both positive and negative consequences, with some experiencing positive consequence which further encouraged their behavior. However, many adolescents have difficulty in predicting the consequences of their actions and, therefore, frequently underestimate the risk for adverse consequences (Fantasia, 2008, ¶ 5). In a 2007, Perspectives of Sexual & Reproductive Health article, Doskoch (2007) described the consequences the adolescents reported after they took part in sexual activity. He determined the following statistics though his research. Adolescents were more likely to report having had at least one positive consequence from their sexual activity (61–96%, depending on whether they had had oral sex, vaginal sex or both) than having had at least one negative consequence (31–62%). The most common positive consequences were experiencing pleasure (55–96%) and feeling good about oneself (65–83%); adolescents also frequently reported that their relationship with their partner had improved (31–75%) or that they had become popular (8–26%). However, substantial proportions of respondents said that they had felt bad about themselves (34–48%), felt regret (33–53%), felt used (25–54%) or felt guilty (20–46%) after they had had sex. Others said that their relationship with their partner had worsened (10–32%), that they had gotten into trouble with their parents (4–22%) or that they had developed a bad reputation (7–13%). Although adolescents who said they had had only oral sex rarely reported having had an STD (2%) or been involved in a pregnancy (1%), these outcomes were much more common among respondents who reported having had only vaginal sex (5% and 9%, respectively) or both oral and vaginal sex (13% and 14%) (¶ 4). Consequences of sexual activity may not be the only problem today’s adolescents are facing. There is strong support that suggests the meaning, or the recognized definition, of the word “sex” may not be clear to both teenagers and adults. There are varying opinions of what actually constitutes sexual behavior. Adolescents have an ambiguous and inconsistent definition of sexual behavior and are easily persuaded by outside influences when forming their opinions. In 1998, former President Bill Clinton professed to an inquiry panel, and the nation, that he had a “non-sexual” relationship with Monica Lewinsky (Sawyer, Howard, Brewster-Jordan, Gavin and Sherman, 2007, ¶ 7). Forty percent of teens surveyed after this event felt that oral sex was not considered sex. This ambiguity has possibly led many adolescents to take part in risky sexual behavior (¶ 7). With unclear definitions of sex and misguided views of the consequences, teens are taking part in increasingly risky sexual behavior. One such risky behavior is the practice of oral sex. In a 2000 study involving 13-19 year old girls, researchers found that the girls believed oral sex was “. . . something you did with your boyfriend before you were ready to have sex” (2007, ¶ 7). In Paul Ruditis’ novel, “The Rainbow Party”, he explained that teens are partaking in “rainbow parties.” A rainbow party is an event that involves multiple teenage females with different shades of lipstick performing oral sex on a male and generating multiple colored rings or “rainbows” on his penis (as cited in, Melby, 2008, ¶ 8). As in the rainbow parties, events that involve multiple partners are not uncommon among the teen population. According to London (2008), Two-thirds of teens with previous sexual experience have had multiple partners, with one-third having had four or more partners (¶ 7). A highly publicized incident occurred in an upscale Atlanta suburb in the mid-1990s. The adolescents confirmed that they “. . . participated in oral, anal and vaginal intercourse with multiple partners.” This event took place in group settings and resulted in a syphilis outbreak within their community (Melby, 2008, ¶ 8). Unfortunately, the Atlanta incident of teenagers contracting sexually transmitted infections is not isolated. According to the American Social Health Association, 50% of sexually active adolescents will contract a sexually transmitted infection, and half of all newly reported HIV infections will be contracted by adolescents (Fantasia, 2008, ¶ 3). Exacerbating the problem is the frequent tandem use of alcohol and drugs during sexual activity which leads to reduced condom use among the participants and more sexual partners. The result is a higher transmission of sexually transmitted infections (Anderson & Mueller, 2008, ¶ 2). In addition to the sexually transmitted infections among adolescents, pregnancy is also prevalent. Despite the reported 83% of female, and 91% of male use of contraceptives, 750,000 adolescents become pregnant annually (Fantasia, 2008, ¶ 3). The 750,000 pregnancies equates to 10% of all United States teenagers. Most teenagers believe that it is best to wait until after their schooling years to become pregnant so they can care for their personal needs rather than caring for a child (Miller, 2007, p. 126). Teenagers have now resorted to engaging in oral and anal sex to avoid these pregnancies (Malhotra, 2008, ¶ 4). Teenage pregnancies result in higher odds of their quitting school, further pregnancies, frequent job changes, welfare use, and health problems (Malhotra, 2008, ¶ 16). Further supporting Fantasia’s (2008) findings that teenagers are incapable of properly assessing risk, they, in addition to the unwanted pregnancies have begun performing criminal acts. The unrestricted access to the internet has prompted some teens to distribute photos of themselves to other parties. Based on a survey by The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy and CosmoGirl.com, 20% of teenagers are also posting nude or seminude photos online, and one-third of those teens admit that the private pictures they posted were forwarded to other recipients or shown to others without their approval. Of those surveyed, 15% admitted to sending those photos to someone they only knew online (“About 20%”, 2009, ¶ 1 & 2). Bocji (2004) states that the majority of the senders are female, and they sent or posted their photos with the intent of attracting older men. These girls do so with the promise of a gift from the recipient (¶ 11-13). According to the US Department of Justice (2007) the reason sending these pictures is illegal is because federal law forbids the sending of these explicit pictures over state lines (¶ 2). Though the pictures may be sent locally, the servers for the internet provider may be out of state therefore making it a federal crime. The practice of sending these photos has now developed a name; it is called “sexting”. All of these activities end with an emotional consequence. Chapman and Danner (2008) conducted a study and found that sexual behavior in adolescents is a “. . . normal process of becoming an adult physically and psychosocially.” However, he acknowledges that the sexual behavior is a problem, if undesirable consequences occur (¶ 3). In addition to the above physical undesirable consequences, there are undesirable emotional consequences. Many teens suffer the pain from broken relationships, betrayal and abandonment, confusion of their romantic feelings, self-esteem problems, depression, and future difficulty forming healthy relationships (Malhotra, 2008, ¶ 17). In an effort to prevent or reduce the negative consequences of adolescent sexual behavior, sex education programs and research on the cause of the behavior are being done. According to Malhotra (2008), adolescents are taking part in sexual activity for a variety of reasons, including a lack of parental guidance and monitoring, peer pressure, curiosity, a desire for intimacy, previous sexual abuse, and their use of alcohol and drugs (¶ 5). A research study has shown that adolescents who have greater monitoring and more positive communication with their parents are less likely to have unprotected sexual activity and will ultimately have fewer sexual partners (Bersamin, 2008, ¶ 9). To reinforce this point a study done of recently homeless teenagers found that the lack of supervision in the institutions or family settings was “. . . the most salient [predictors of] sexual risk” (Hollander, 2008, ¶ 6). Despite the evidence that parental involvement is a key factor in adolescent sexual education, teenagers are obtaining significant amounts of information through teen sex information sites. Sixty-eight percent have obtained health information online, and 44% have obtained information specific to sexually transmitted infections (including HIV), pregnancy, and birth control (Vickberg, Kohn, Franco, and Criniti, 2003, ¶ 3). There has also been government intervention in an attempt to educate the adolescents about sexual activity. Between 1997 and 2007, the federal government raised their abstinence-only sex education program funding by $167 million dollars (Masters et al., 2008, ¶ 3). Teenagers interviewed while receiving the abstinence-only sex education were asked to interpret abstinence; their responses ranged from “kissing is ok” to “anything but intercourse” (Sawyer, Howard, Brewster-Jordan, Gavin and Sherman, 2007, ¶ 7). This indicates the message is not being received as it was intended. There are many professionals offering their solution to the prevention of these teenage pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections. One of the largest obstacles is the conflict between moral and religious reasoning and the more liberal realistic reasoning. However, the religious community has made strides to recognize that there may be a need for some leeway in “Gods Laws.” According to a SIECUS report (“Americas Religious Leaders”, 2000), over 1,000 religious leaders supported the “Declaration on Sexual Morality, Justice, and Healing” which recognizes that human sexuality is important and that discrimination of “. . . age, marital status, or sexual orientation” is not the solution (¶ 1). Though many educators believe that the abstinence-only approach is the only moral approach to the problem, the adolescents of today are generally not adhering to that ideology. This is a period that will need a more progressive approach to education in an effort to reduce teenage pregnancies and contraction of diseases. According to Ashcraft (2006), the current standard for sex education is information presented in a scientific manner about anatomy, reproduction, and contraception. Ashcraft believes that instead of teaching traditional sex education we should be focusing on teaching sexuality, which would encompass all cultural groups and relate more to teen issues, not just the science of sex. Further, it is suggested that peer instructors would be more effective at reaching the adolescents since the peer instructors are on an equal ground and understand the current struggles and issues facing teens today (¶ 8 & 10). Sexuality focuses on real issues that affect adolescents and the pressures they face essentially “real world” instruction. A new and progressive concept is the delivery of information using the strength of the computer technology. Medical professionals have designed a CD-ROM to be used as a sexual knowledge tool. These CD-ROMs are an incredible asset to learning since they can be designed to focus on certain ethnic and cultural groups as well as specific issue such as the prevention of sexually transmitted infections. These interactive CD-ROMs are accommodating to all learning styles since they present the information in audio, video, and text formats. These are cost effective, easily reproduced, and can be delivered to adolescents in their school setting for private viewing at their homes later (Ito, Kalyanaraman, Ford, Brown, and Miller, 2008, ¶ 3 & 4). These changes in teaching methods may help to reduce the pregnancies and sexually transmitted infection contractions by communicating on a social level instead of an academic level. The prevalent and socially accepted adolescent sexual behavior in the United States has resulted in misguided views, risky activities, negative consequences for those involved, and a lack of effective sex education. The likely continuance of the adolescent’s views and opinions regarding sexual behavior will show continual rise in sexual infections and future emotional consequences.

References

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References: About 20 percent of teens share nude or semi-nude photos online. (2009, January). Contemporary Sexuality, Retrieved May 5, 2009, from Academic Search Premier database. America 's religious leaders endorse landmark declaration on religion and sexuality. (2000). SIECUS Report, 28(3), 19.  Retrieved May 29, 2009, from Research Library database. (Document ID: 75199224). Bocij, P.  (2004). Camgirls, blogs and wish lists: how young people are courting danger on the internet1. Community Safety Journal, 3(3), 16-22.  Retrieved May 19, 2009, from Research Library database. (Document ID: 785106051). Chapman, E & Werner-Wilson, R. (2008). DOES POSITIVE YOUTH DEVELOPMENT PREDICT ADOLESCENT ATTITUDES ABOUT SEXUALITY? Adolescence, 43(171), 505-23.  Retrieved May 19, 2009, from Research Library database. (Document ID: 1602814171). Doskoch, P.  (2007). Teenagers Report Both Positive and Negative Consequences from Sex. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 39(2), 120-121.  Retrieved May 8, 2009, from Research Library database. (Document ID: 1296312011). Fantasia, H.  (2008). Concept Analysis: Sexual Decision-Making in Adolescence. Nursing Forum, 43(2), 80-90.  Retrieved May 5, 2009, from Research Library database. (Document ID: 1502665141). Hollander, D.  (2008). Teenagers Who Refrain from Having Sex May Experience Social, Emotional Consequences. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 40(2), 118.  Retrieved May 5, 2009, from Research Library database. (Document ID: 1502970011). LaRue, D. & Herrma,, J. (2008). Adolescent Stress through The Eyes of High-Risk Teens. Pediatric Nursing, 34(5), 375-80.  Retrieved May 19, 2009, from Research Library database. (Document ID: 1590986891). London, S.  (2008). A Majority of Teenagers Who Have Had Intercourse Also Have Had Oral Sex. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 40(4), 241-2.  Retrieved May 5, 2009, from Research Library database. (Document ID: 1622814801). Malhotra, S. (2008, Fall2008). Impact of the Sexual Revolution: Consequences of Risky Sexual Behaviors. Journal of American Physicians & Surgeons, 13(3), 88-90. Retrieved May 5, 2009, from Academic Search Premier database. Melby, T. (2008, September). The myth of teen promiscuity. (Cover story). Contemporary Sexuality, 42(9), 1-5. Retrieved May 5, 2009, from Academic Search Premier database. Miller, B. (2007). CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY. Boston: Allyn & Bacon Sawyer, R., Howard, D., Brewster-Jordan, J., Gavin, M., & Sherman, M