Some Psychosocial Aspects of Adolescent Sexual and Contraceptive Behaviors in a Changing American Society*

Abstract

Enormous changes in adolescent sexual behaviors and attitudes have occurred between 1965 and 1985. Adolescent sexuality may be defined as including the physical characteristics and capacities of adolescents for specific sex behaviors; psychosocial learning, values, norms, and attitudes toward these behaviors; sex role concepts; and the individual teenager’s sense of both gender identity and sex object preference. A more detailed review of attitudes toward adolescent sexuality shows that sharp changes in the United States toward greater sexual liberalism occurred in the early 1900’s and were reflected in the more emancipated behaviors of a sizable proportion of middle- and upper-class women in the 1920’s. The growth of new forms of religion and increased religiosity among a fairly large group of young (and older) people since the late 1960’s is probably creating more conservative sexual attitudes among a portion of the population.