Adolescence is a moment when sexuality, identity, and relationships are heightened; at adolescence women begin to be vulnerable to losing touch with their own thoughts and feelings. Reporting from a larger study of adolescent girls' experiences of sexual desire, the author focuses on how adolescent girls who have different sexual orientations describe their experiences of sexuality and their responses to their own sexual desire. Cultural contexts that render girls' sexuality problematic and dangerous divert them from the possibilities of empowerment through their sexual desire.
This review details a key innovation across the field of adolescent sexuality research over the last decade—conceptualizing sexuality as a normative aspect of adolescent development. Anchored in a growing articulation of adolescent sexuality as having positive qualities and consequences, we provide an organizing framework for understanding sexuality as normative and developmentally expected. Using this framework, we report on 3 specific areas of research that have developed "critical mass" over the past decade: new views on sexual behavior, sexual selfhood, and sexual socialization in the 21st century. We conclude by suggesting that the next step in the field of adolescent sexuality development is the explicit integration of "positive" dimensions of sexuality with risk management dimensions. Rather than navigating a binary between positive and risky, we propose characterizing the "both/and" quality of adolescent sexuality development as normative. This framework, we argue, encourages empirical research that assumes a wide range of strategies through which adolescents learn about themselves, their bodies, intimate partners, and relationships within contexts where they are required to both manage risks and develop positive patterns for adulthood sexuality. We conclude with considerations for future research and public policy.
This article presents a new scale to measure adolescent boys'internalization of masculine norms as evidenced by their attitudes and beliefs about what constitutes appropriate behavior for males within interpersonal relationships. Framing masculinity ideology within a relational paradigm, the theoretical foundations of the Adolescent Masculinity Ideology in Relationships Scale (AMIRS) emphasize that it is through and within relationships that masculine norms become personally meaningful and directly consequential to adolescent boys. Designed specifically for use with adolescents, the AMIRS derives from adolescent boys'narratives about their perceptions and experiences of masculinity, particularly in their peer relationships. Correlation and regression analyses indicate a negative association between the AMIRS and self-esteem, suggesting the double-edged sword of masculinity. That is, despite the advantages of status, alignment with hegemonic masculinity may hinder adolescent boys' psychological health, for instance, by limiting the ways that they are able to express themselves and engage in their interpersonal relationships.
Research on adolescents' use of sexual media has been dominated by a variable‐oriented perspective, focusing on incremental effects of media exposure on sexual behavior. The present investigation examines the ways in which adolescents select and organize their television viewing. This study used cluster analysis to identify, validate, and describe distinct profiles of adolescent television use. Eight discrete clusters emerged, each with a unique profile of primetime viewing. To validate the cluster solution, participants' television viewing profiles were compared with their music preferences. The study then examined the sexual content consumed by adolescents in different viewing clusters. Content analysis of the most popular programs revealed that participants in all clusters were watching programs that were high in sexual content alongside programs that were low in sexual content. None of the clusters demonstrated an exclusive preference for sexual content.
Frontmatter -- Contents -- Foreword -- Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- Part I. Identity Development -- 1. Hmong American Masculinities -- 2. Frames of Self -- 3. Boys in Men's Clothing -- 4. A Relational Perspective on Adolescent Boys' Identity Development -- Part II. Family Relationships -- 5. Experiences of Trust with Parents -- 6. Psychological Well-Being, School Adjustment, and Problem Behavior among Chinese Adolescent Boys from Poor Families -- 7. The Role of Father Support in the Prediction of Suicidal Ideation among Black Adolescent Males -- Part III. Friends and Peers -- 8. Intimacy, Desire, and Distrust in the Friendships of Adolescent Boys -- 9. Peer Relationships among Chinese Boys -- 10. The Influence of Peer Experiences on Bravado Attitudes among African American Males -- Part IV. Sexuality and Romantic Relationships -- 11. Getting Close, Staying Cool -- 12. Adolescent Boys' Heterosexual Behavior -- 13. Boy-on-Boy Sexuality -- Part V. Schooling -- 14. Immigrant Boys' Experiences in U.S. Schools -- 15. Understanding the Exceptions -- 16. From Preschool to Middle School -- About the Contributors -- Index
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