Abstract
Youth sexuality has been primarily studied with a focus on its potential public health issues, such as sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancies, and its comorbidity with other risky behaviors. More recently, it has been studied as a normative step in romantic partnerships, either pre- or post-marital, as well as outside the context of romantic involvement. In this paper, we review the extensive literature on sexuality in adolescence and early adulthood both within and outside romantic relationships (i.e., casual sexual relationships and experiences; CSREs). Furthermore, the recent recognition of youth sexuality as a developmental task has led to a renewed interest from scholars in youth who abstain from sexual encounters, whether deliberately or not. A brief overview of the literature on cultural differences in sexuality, and sexual-minority youth sexual development is also provided. This paper concludes by suggesting future directions to bring the field of youth sexuality and romantic relationships forward.
Highlights
Research on the psychosexual development of adolescents is generally characterized by two main streams
Most adolescents and young adults engage in sexual behaviors within the context of a romantic relationship, it is striking that in all the research on youth romance and sexuality, it is the field of sexual behaviors outside of committed romantic relationships, that has been expanding the most rapidly over the past decades, especially among emerging adults
This paper reviewed the extensive literature on sexuality in adolescence and early adulthood both within and outside romantic relationships, as well as on sexually inexperienced youth
Summary
Research on the psychosexual development of adolescents is generally characterized by two main streams. Adolescent (or premarital) sexual activity has been investigated as potentially risky and harmful, and examined from a public health perspective for a long time [1,2,3,4] This traditional line of research is of critical importance, considering the high prevalence rates of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and unwanted teenage pregnancies in countries such as Great Britain and the United. The field of youth sexual development has recently shifted toward an increased recognition of sexual intimacy with one’s partner as a developmental task in adolescence and emerging adulthood [15,16,17] In this expanding second line of research, scholars do focus on potentially risky aspects of young people’s sexual behavior and on positive outcomes associated with sexual activity in adolescence and emerging adulthood. This is in line with the World Health Organization’s [29] claim that sexual health is not merely the absence of illness or sexual problems, and encompasses physical, mental, emotional, and social well-being in relation to sexuality
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