Chapter Eight
Childhood & Adolescent Sexuality
Agenda
 Researching Childhood Sexuality
 Beginnings: Birth to Age 2
 Early Childhood: Ages 2 to 5
 Middle Childhood to Preteen: Ages 6 to 12
 Adolescence: Ages 12 to 18
 Sexuality Education
Class Discussion
 What did you learn about sex during
childhood?
 What did you learn from your parents?
 What did you learn from same-sex peers?
Other-sex peers?
 Where else did you learn about sex (doctors,
siblings, media, school, religion)?
 Did you ever get caught playing sex games?
What happened? How did you feel about it?
Introduction
 Children’s sexuality is not equivalent to adult
sexuality
 Should not attribute adult motives to
children’s actions
 Children desire love and try behaviors as a
forerunner to adult sexuality
Researching Childhood
Sexuality
Overview of Research on Childhood
Sexuality
 Society in the U.S. limits research on
childhood sexuality, believing it may cause
undesired sexual behaviors in children
 Four large-scale studies conducted in the
U.S.
 More research is needed
Studying Childhood Sexuality
Four large scale studies in the U.S.
 National Survey of Family Growth (1973-2001):
household survey & interviews; participants are 14-44
years old
 National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Males
(1988, 1990-1991, 1995): surveys, interviews, &
some urine testing; 15-27 years old, single males
 National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health
(1994-1995, 1996, 2000): surveys & interviews of
adolescents in grades 7-12, parents, and school
administrators; examined social context
 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (data
collected every 2 years): longitudinal survey of youth
risk behaviors, grades 9-12
Studies of Childhood Sexuality.
Class Discussion
 At what age do you think children should
learn about sex?
 Who do you think should be their primary
educators?
 If you decide to have children, will you talk to
them about sexuality? If so, when and how?
Infancy: Birth to Age 2
Physical Development
Psychosexual Development
Sexual Behavior
Infancy: Physical Development
 Many behaviors are due to curiosity; not to be
termed “sexual”
 Male fetuses and newborns are capable of
erections
 Female newborns are capable of vaginal
lubrication
 Young children are capable of orgasm,
although young boys do not ejaculate
Infancy: Psychosexual Development
 Mother-child bond: assists child in obtaining
food, warmth, and anxiety reduction
 Infants need physical affection, warmth, and
security from caregivers
 After 24 months, gender identity is in place
 Gender constancy will take a little longer
Infancy: Sexual Behavior Influenced by
Curiosity
 Children are learning about their bodies and
how to control them
 Penile and clitoral erections, and vaginal
lubrication may all occur
 Self-stimulation is common after 3-4 months;
frequency varies
 This is a soothing and tension reducing
behavior; not to reach orgasm
Early Childhood:
Ages 2 to 5
Physical Development
Psychosexual Development
Sexual Behavior
Sexual Knowledge and Attitudes
Early Childhood: Physical Development
 Critical time period to learn the basic physical
skills we use in life
 Continued learning about the body, how it
functions, and how to control it
Early Childhood: Psychosexual
Development
 Interest and questioning nature about the
genitals, bodily wastes
 Discovering what it is to be a “girl” and “boy”
Early Childhood: Sexual Behavior
 Girls and boys self-stimulate, although
reports indicate boys do so more than girls
 More common at this age than in later
childhood; increases again after puberty
 Parental reaction is important;
disapproval may lead to shame of self
rules of appropriate conditions should be
provided
Cont …
Early Childhood: Sexual Behavior
 Child sex play may involve:
Exposing genitals
Undressing and touching
Asking questions
Rub bodies against each other
 Often with same sex child
Early Childhood: Sexual Knowledge and
Attitudes
 Learn genitals are a unique part of the body
and there are privacy issues
 Boys are taught the name penis for their
focus of sexual pleasure
 Girls are not taught about their focus of
sexual pleasure (clitoris)
 Girls are often taught incorrect terms for their
genitals
Middle Childhood to
Preteen: Ages 6 to 12
Physical Development
Psychosexual Development
Sexual Behavior
Sexual Knowledge and Attitudes
Sexuality and Relationships
Middle Childhood to Preteen: Physical
Development
 External signs of puberty begin around 9-10
 Girls: breast buds, pubic hair, menarche
 Boys: pubic hair and semenarche (after girls
develop the similar aspects), frequent
erections to various stimuli
Middle Childhood to Preteen:
Psychosexual Development
 Socialization about acceptable sexual
behaviors
 Bodily privacy becomes a concern
 Sexual interest and activity increases
throughout this time period
Middle Childhood to Preteen: Sexual
Behavior
 Sexual Fantasies: can begin at 4-5, and lead to
physical arousal at 6-10
 Sexual Contact:
heterosexual and homosexual play;
curiosity and some incomplete knowledge.
 Masturbation: this age obtains the ability to stimulate
to orgasm
Boys: 2 times per week
Girls: once a month
Boys orgasm more frequently
Boys learn masturbation from each other and may
do so in groups
Girls learn by accident
Middle Childhood to Preteen: Sexual
Knowledge and Attitudes
 Sexual scripts are formed, based on a variety
of sources
Middle Childhood to Preteen: Sexuality
and Relationships
 Parents can become upset and confused
about child sex play
 Peers teach acceptable sexual principles;
typically same-sex peer groups and
experimentation; other-sex peers begin to be
seen as potential boy/girlfriends; may
experience early sexual contact
 Sibling/Relative sexual contact may occur
Adolescence: Ages 12 to 18
Physical Development
Psychosexual Development
Sexual Behavior
Influences
Contraception and Pregnancy
Sexually Transmitted Infections
Hygiene and Sex Education
Sexuality Education Programs
Class Discussion
How Well Do You Understand Childhood and
Adolescent Sexuality? True or False …
1.A person’s sexual equipment begins working when
he or she reaches puberty.
2.Kids are sexual throughout their childhood.
3.Adolescents today have the highest teenage birth
rates ever.
4.Adolescents today have high unmarried teenage
pregnancy rates.
5.Adolescent pregnancy is mainly an urban, minority
problem.
6.Adolescent boys are irresponsible partners who will
abandon their mate if she becomes pregnant.
7.Adolescents with larger or more-developed sex
organs—bigger penises, larger breasts—have a
greater sex drive.
Answers to Class Exercise
1.
2.
3.
False. Male erections and female vaginal lubrication have
been observed in young children, in newborns, and, believe it
or not, are fairly common in the womb!
True. Freud believed that there was a latency period in middle
childhood where the child basically ceased being sexual, but
studies show a great deal of sexual activity, such as
masturbation, thoughts about sex, and sexual activity with
partners of the same and other sex during the school years.
False. A major problem in discussing such things is confusing
teenage pregnancy rates and teenage birth rates. Teen birth
rates have actually been falling since the late 1950s and have
remained stable since. The reason is that a significant
proportion of pregnant teens get abortions. However, there are
many more teenagers today than in decades past, so the total
number of teen births have increased.
Answers (cont.)
4.
5.
6.
7.
True. Teenage pregnancy rates are difficult to determine
accurately, especially due to miscarriages and abortions.
However, few people dispute that rates are high right now,
though they have been leveling off since about 1980. One
major difference with earlier eras is that teenagers who got
pregnant used to marry the father, while now many do not.
False. Teenage pregnancy rates are high among rural youth
as well, and more white teenagers get pregnant each year in
the United States than minority teens.
False. Many teenage males do abandon pregnant mates.
However, others are willing and desire to be responsible
fathers. Those fathers often find that they have few legal
rights to the children, are discouraged by the girl’s parents or
by their own, and often do not have the financial independence
to help economically without their parents’ consent.
False. There is no correlation between size of organs and
sexual drive.
Adolescence: Overview
 Begins after puberty, ends with identity
establishment in adulthood
 Period of physical, emotional, and cognitive
change
 Peer relationships, dating, sexuality all
increase in importance
 Many first experience heterosexual
intercourse
 Sexual orientation often is discovered
Adolescence: Physical Development
 Body matures and establishes reproductive
ability
 Puberty typically begins around:
8-13 for girls; menarche mean is 12
9-14 for boys; semenarche mean is 13
 Changes in cardiovascular, energy, sexual
desire, mood, personality
 Can be an awkward stage for many
Adolescence: Female Physical
Development:
 Develop breasts
 Pubic hair
 Rounding of hips and physique in general
 Increased estrogen
 Oily skin, fat deposits, sweating, bodily odors
 Cognitions regarding menarche are going to
vary depending on social reactions
Adolescence: Male Physical Development
 Growth spurts (can grow 5-6 inches/year) and
increased appetite
 Increased testosterone
 Scrotum darkens; testes & penis enlarge
 Pubic hair, deepening of voice
 Adult physique
 Frequent spontaneous erections
 Nocturnal emissions
Adolescence: Body Image
Adolescence: Psychosexual
Development in Early Adolescence
(12-13)
 Supportive friendships are critical to healthy
well-being
 Cliques are common
 Girls’ body image tends to improve through
adolescence, boys’ body image worsens (the
reverse as each grows older)
Adolescence: Psychosexual Development in
Middle Adolescence (14-16)
 Period of trying different roles
 Experimentation with intimacy and sexual
behaviors
 Exclusivity in relationships increases
 Informal dating, group dating
 Difficult time for homosexual adolescents
Adolescence: Psychosexual Development
in Late Adolescence (17-Adulthood)
 Over the past few decades, age of first
marriage and short-term sexual relationships
have increased
Men and women experience important sexual and reproductive events at similar ages. Source: Alan
Guttmacher Institute, In Their Own Right: Addressing the Sexual and Reproductive Health Needs of
Men, 2002, p. 8.
Teen Slang for Having Sex
Adolescence: Sexual Fantasies
 Sexual Fantasies: Method of trying sexual
situations and the potential reaction; often
about those they know
Boys: more visual, explicit, various
partners
Girls: more emotion, romance, committed
partners, physical touch, complex
Adolescence: Sexual Behavior
 Masturbation: increased activity to achieve
orgasm; does not correlate with increased
sexual behaviors as an adult
Boys: 3-5 times per week, less with regular
sexual intercourse
Girls: less than boys, more with regular
sexual intercourse
 Abstinence – to maintain virginity
20% never have intercourse as a teen
Reasons: avoid disease and pregnancy,
parental values, peer values
Adolescence: Sexual Behavior
 Related factors: live with both biological parents,
connected to family, discussed it with parents, higher
intellect
 Boys are more embarrassed about virginity
Sexual Contact: Kissing and Petting
73% of girls and 60% of boys aged 13 have
kissed
20% of boys and 35% of girls aged 13 have
experienced breast touching
By 18, 60% experienced vaginal touching and
77% experienced penile touching
Adolescent Sexual Contact: Oral Sex
 More oral sex than intercourse for current
teens; it is viewed as less risky
 54% of girls 15-19
 55% of boys 15-19
Adolescent Sexual Contact: Sexual
Intercourse
 Most boys (90%) wanted their first intercourse;
mostly due to curiosity, also affection; 0.3% forced
 Most girls (70%) wanted their first intercourse; most
due to affection, also curiosity; 4% forced
 First intercourse is usually not planned
63% have intercourse by age 18; mean age
16.9 years
12% of boys and 3% of girls have had
intercourse by age 12
1st partners for girls are same age, older
1st partners for boys tend to be same age or
older, some are slightly younger
Adolescence: Same Sex Encounters
 Same-sex contact is common at this age
 10-13% unsure about their orientation
 1-6% are homosexual or bisexual
 8-12% had sexual contact with same-sex
partners
Adolescence: Racial Differences in Sexual
Activity
 African American males more likely to lose
their virginity young and have more lifetime
partners than non-African American males
 Females tend to have sex later than males
regardless of racial group
Adolescence: Influences
 Peers: perceptions of peer behavior impact
sexual behavior; lessened with strong family
ties
 Parents: if moderately strict & an open
climate, tend to delay intercourse & use
contraception; mainly mothers discuss sex
 Religion: if religious, tend to delay & have
fewer partners
Adolescence: Contraception and Pregnancy
 Teens don’t consistently use contraception
 The U.S. has the highest pregnancy,
childbearing, and abortion rates of all
developed countries
 Factors in adolescent contraceptive use:
good relationship with mom
 Poor use factors: early intercourse, under 17,
unstable relationship, homosexual
 Teen pregnancy rates have decreased
recently, due to increased contraceptive use;
75%+ are not planned
Adolescence: Contraception and
Pregnancy
 Many problems for teenage mothers:
lower birthweight babies,
difficult labors,
drop out of school,
poorer health, welfare,
children have poorer health and more
behavioral and educational problems
 Unmarried mothers and their children
(regardless of race) are the most likely
population segment to live in poverty
Adolescence: Sexually Transmitted
Infections
 4 million teens in the U.S. are infected each
year
 Teens 15-19 make up 33% of chlamydia and
gonorrhea cases
Adolescence: Sexual Risk Taking
Adolescence: Ages 12 to 18
 Hygiene and Sex Education
Sexuality education increased in the early
1900s to decrease STI rates
The U.S. has opposition to sex education:
Sex is private, not for kids, & discussed
within religion and moral beliefs
Public schools can’t discuss religion
and would provide implicit permission if
sex was discussed
Sex Education
Class Discussion
 What were your experiences with sex
education in school?
 What did you learn, and at what age?
 Do you feel that the sex education you
received was adequate?
 Was it age-appropriate and realistic?
 Did you get all of your questions answered?
 What do you wish was taught?
Hygiene and Sex Education
 Currently, most states recommend or require
sex education in public schools, although the
content varies by state
 Sexuality courses are also offered at colleges
and universities
 Many goals of sexuality education
 Comprehensive sexuality education tries to
develop positive views in students
Evolving Goals of Sex Education
 Guidelines for Comprehensive Sexuality
Education present 4 main goals:
Provide accurate information
Provide opportunity to explore their sexual
attitudes
Help development of interpersonal skills
Help development of responsible sexuality
Why Sexuality Education is Important
 Media and peers often are primary sources of
information; parents and teachers may be
uncomfortable and avoid the topic
 Sexuality education does not cause teens to
become sexual earlier, or increase sexual
behaviors
Sexuality Education Programs
 Variety of abstinence-based programs; tend
to exaggerate the danger and negative
aspects of sexuality
 Majority of U.S. schools teach abstinenceonly programs; can be federally funded
Abstinence-based HIV-prevention
Abstinence-only
Abstinence-only-until-marriage
 Programs tend to assume heterosexuality
Sexuality Education Programs
 Most Americans believe more than
abstinence should be included
 Research evidence suggests the abstinenceonly programs do more harm than good
 80%+ present incorrect information
 They do not significantly change values,
attitudes, or intentions about premarital sex
 Produce poor contraceptive use rates
Sex Education: Effects and Results
 Sexuality program effectiveness measures
include vaginal intercourse, pregnancy, and
contraceptive use
 Comprehensive sexuality programs are most
successful
 Studying Effects and Results
Virginity pledges decrease sexual behavior
immediately following pledge, but
increases STI and pregnancy risks
88% of pledges engaged in premarital sex