Critically examine the view that adolescence is a period of sexual promiscuity.
...eresting points. Zelnik and Kim (1982) cited in Sanders and Mullis (1988) found sex education classes did not, as was feared, increase premarital sex and Hoch (1971) quoted in the same study found adolescents not to become more permissive but to be more able to make sexual decisions as a result of sex education classes. The most surprising point to some may be that, according to Dignan et al (1985) cited also in Sanders and Mullis (1988), those that did partake in sex education classes were more likely to take part in oral sex. This is supported by Ford and Morgan (1989) cited in Moore and Rosenthal (1993) who found thirty-three percent of British adolescents would take part in oral sex outside a steady relationship and twenty-one percent within. Moore and Rosenthal (1993) also support this with their findings, from a survey of eighteen year olds, which found twenty-eight percent of girls and forty-six percent of boys had previously engaged in oral sex with casual partners. Whether alternative sexual behaviour, such as oral and anal sex, should be included as promiscuous behaviours is a topic to be discussed. For the purpose of this essay I shall include them because they are sexual and intimate acts. Having established that adolescents are taking part in sexual activities at a younger age than three decades ago, it must be decided whether this is promiscuous behaviour, the influences upon it and the reasoning behind it. To put it more simply it is important to explore the context in which sexual behaviour takes place before we decide whether it is promiscuous or not. As Moore and Rosenthal (1993) discuss having lost their virginity does not mean that ‘…the young person maintains a high level of sexual activity.’ In a study of American teenagers, Moore and Rosenthal (1982) found five percent of teenagers who had experienced sexual intercourse had only done so once; two-thirds were found to have had sexual intercourse for a second time within three months of their first encounter. Ford and Morgan cited in Moore and Rosenthal (1993) found nine percent of those that had lost their virginity had not experienced sexual intercourse in the preceding year. So, there are a percentage of people who after losing their virginity in adolescence would not class themselves or be classed by others as sexually active, therefore these people would not be labelled as sexually promiscuous. It is widely accepted by many researchers in the field of adolescence that teenagers are maturing earlier, therefore experiencing puberty at an earlier age. As Schofield (1976) discusses girls in the 1970’s were found to begin menstruating around the age of thirteen years, only a century before this the average age would have been approximately seventeen years. In today’s society, three decades later, girls as young as ten have begun menstruating (Moore and Rosenthal, 1993). This earlier maturation could be an influence upon the decreasing age which adolescents are experiencing sexual intercourse. Combined with the trend to marry later in life (Moore and Rosenthal, 1993), the time period with which adolescents have to be classed as promiscuous is expanding making it more likely that this age group will be classed as such. Coupled with earlier maturation comes earlier experimentation with relationships, this has also been researched as a link to sexual promiscuity in adolescence. Miller et al (1986) cited in Moore and Rosenthal (1993), found that the earlier the age at which an adolescent began dating the more likely they were to experience sexual intercourse during adolescence. If dating began at twelve years of age, Miller et al found eighty-two percent were likely to have experienced intercourse by late adolescence, beginning dating just two years later at the age of fourteen saw this fall to fifty-six percent. Finally if dating was to begin at sixteen years of age then only seventeen percent of Miller et al’s participants were likely to have had sexual intercourse by late adolescence. Using the definitions of sexual promiscuity in the introduction, if sexual intercourse is experienced in a relationship between two people only, as Miller et al’s participants might have been, then it is not described as promiscuous. Several researchers have focused on this aspect. Schofield (1965) found that much of teenage premarital sex was within a steady relationship, with very close friends and often with the person that they will eventually marry. In this study it was found that a third of boys and three-quarters of girls that had experienced premarital sex, had done so with the same partner for the last year. Also twenty-five percent of boys and sixty-five percent of girls classed as experienced had only had intercourse with one person. This illustrates that although these adolescents had experienced sexual intercourse, this large percentage of individuals cannot be classed as promiscuous. As might be noted by the figures above, boys appear to be much more promiscuous than girls. This is not a recent trend and preceding the 1960’s it was seen as desirable for boys to engage in casual sex before marriage and insist upon their eventual bride being a virgin (Moore and Rosenthal, 1993). In today’s society, although the ‘double standard’ does not apply quite so harshly as in the nineteen sixties society, it is still apparent. As Moore and Rosenthal (1993) state; ‘Young girls tend to engage in fewer acts of intercourse with ‘casual’ partners than do boys, and are more likely to report that sexual activity occurs with regular or steady partners.’ It is most likely that there are gender differences within the concept of sexual promiscuity with boys appearing more promiscuous, although the gap is closing between the sexual promiscuity of boys and girls. When studying the sexual behaviour of adolescents there are certain methodological problems that are worth mentioning here. As Alexander et al (1993) cited in Coleman and Hendry (2000) found, the timing of first sexual intercourse was recalled inconsistently in sixty-seven percent of cases in one study. It is not just the age at which sexual intercourse was first experienced that is recalled inaccurately but the age of the partner is often cause for dispute when studies are followed up. Cited in Moore and Rosenthal (1993), Wielandt et al (1989) carried out a follow up study to confirm the age of the partner for the individuals first experience of intercourse, they accepted that the self-reported age was likely to be valid, the findings suggested that young girls were likely to perceive their partner to be older than he was. This trend was not apparent in boys. This is just an example of how the reporting of statistics can be corrupted by inaccurate recollection or intentional distortion of the facts. It is therefore advisable to be cautious with the facts presented, due to the unpredictable nature of this generation concerning the subject matter. In many incidents of sexual intercourse for the first time the reasoning may be to fit in with what the adolescent believes is commonplace among their peers. A study undertaken in Australia by Collins (1974) cited in Moore and Rosenthal (1993) stated that teenagers were highly likely to overestimate the sexual experience of their friends. The dangers risked here are conformation to norms that are based on rumours. If the teenager feels that they do not have the same level of experience as their peers then the self-identity and self confidence of the individual will suffer negatively. As Moore and Rosenthal (1993) state it is, ‘…especially important that the adolescent be able to integrate his or her sexual feelings, needs and desires into a coherent and positive self identity…’ As stated above a persons sexual identity is incorporated into their self-identity, so in a society that boosts the self-esteem of men for being promiscuous and looks negatively upon women that engage in the same behaviour, (Lees, 1993) what is reported concerning sexual behaviour will be dependent upon the consequences on the person. Relating this to the adolescent in school, every person who has experienced school life knows how hurtful school taunts can be. Adolescents can be especially cruel, during a time when girls experience a drop in self-confidence; any behaviour that can be inferred sexual will be and can be a source of abuse. As Lees (1993) describes: ‘…girls lose confidence because their identity rests to such an extent on their sexual reputation, which is precarious and crucial to them.’ In this kind of situation the boys can’t really lose, in fact their self-identity can be boosted by promiscuous relationships, which may be why they report higher rates of casual sexual intercourse than girls. The adolescent girl on the other hand has to weigh up the consequences firstly of engaging in casual intercourse and secondly the reaction of other people when they find out. For these reasons it might be that girls either abstain from casual intercourse, preferring to wait until they are in a steady relationship as the figures above have shown this appears to happen more often in girls, or do not admit experiencing sexual intercourse in such studies that have taken place. Waiting until they are in a steady relationship (usually classed as three or more months) helps them to establish their self-identity and not risk the abusive taunts they might otherwise experience. It could be that information is accurately recalled and girls do generally wait longer before experiencing intercourse. Discussing sexual promiscuity in adolescents is a very broad topic and requires the author to generalise across many boundaries. It can only consider the average adolescent and not those affiliated to a particular sub-culture or family type, an example would be including those involved seriously in religion and African-American’s. Both of these sub-cultures have been shown to display very different patterns of sexual behaviour in adolescence. Every individual can be said to be linked to a sub-culture and it is for this reason it is necessary to include the sexual behaviour of adolescents in specific sub-cultures of society and only then can a decision be made about the promiscuity of adolescents. Perhaps the most important influence that has been found upon adolescent sexual behaviour is that of the family. Several studies have found links between the circumstances of the family and the behaviour of the adolescent offspring. Newcomer and Udry (1983) cited in Moore and Rosenthal (1993) found that the relationship between the mother’s sexual...