NCJ Number
236526
Journal
Journal of Youth and Adolescence Volume: 40 Issue: 8 Dated: August 2011 Pages: 931-944
Date Published
2011
Length
14 pages
Annotation
This article explores the links between well-being and three aspects of teenage sexuality.
Abstract
The link between adolescent sexual activity and psychological well-being is a controversial issue in developmental psychology. This cross-sectional study investigated the association between three aspects of teenage sexuality (genital sexual experience, age of sexual onset, and number of sex partners) and positive well-being (hedonic, eudaimonic, and overall) in a sample of 475 high school seniors (48 percent female; 89 percent White) from a single school district in a rural upstate New York community. Based on a group-norms perspective, the authors expected higher well-being in adolescents whose sexual behaviors followed group-normative patterns. As expected, sexually experienced and on-time (at age 16) students reported higher well-being than sexually inexperienced or late-onset (17 or older) students. Contrary to expectations, a high number of sex partners and an early sexual onset (15 or younger) were not related to lower well-being. Early-onset girls reported higher levels of well-being than normative-onset peers. Findings are discussed in relationship to theoretical perspectives and past empirical findings of teenage sexuality as a developmental asset versus risk.(Published Abstract)