Adolescence: Change and Continuity

Biological Change: Sexuality

Sexuality And Biological Changes

Heather McElwain

This section is a basic summary of adolescent sexuality in relation to puberty and biological changes.

Historical Changes Related to Sexuality: (The following reflects AVERAGES. Individuals may vary.)

Today puberty occurs at a much earlier age compared to a hundred years ago.

Presently, women reach puberty (begin menstruating) at age twelve and a half, and first marry at age twenty-four.
For men, puberty begins at age fourteen, and first marriage occurs at age twenty-six.

Because of these trends, the time between puberty and first marriage has increased significantly since the turn of the century.

Early Maturity vs. Late Maturity:

Although on average puberty lasts about four years, there is a great deal of variability in how fast individuals go through it and how long the process takes to complete. Early puberty usually occurs around age 8 in girls and age 9 ½ in boys. Late puberty occurs around age 13 in girls and age 13 ½ in boys (Steinberg, 1996). Early maturers, both boys and girls, may engage in adult behaviors, such as sexual intercourse, relatively early compared to late maturing peers (Chilman, 1980). Early sexual behavior could be attributed to overall physical changes and its impact on dating. By late adolescence, differences between early and late maturers in dating and sexual behaviors disappear.

Peer Groups and Sexuality During Puberty:

Social factors (peers) affect sexuality in the following ways:

Pubertal development is a signal for social encouragement of sexual behavior (Bancroft and Reinisch, 1990).
Initiation of sexual activity is closely associated with the norms of one's peer group.
Having sexually permissive friends is a major factor contributing to adolescent premarital sex.
Compared to peer groups from other cultures, pre-pubertal intercourse is becoming more frequent among American boys.
Social influences have a much greater influence on sexual behavior than homes do (Chilman, 1980).

Direct vs. Indirect Effects of Sexuality Due to Biological Changes:

Direct effects include:

Puberty is attributed to the effects of an increased amount of hormones on the nervous system.
In boys, levels of increased testosterone are related to sexual intercourse.
Increases in hormones and increases in sexual behavior occur at the same time (Bancroft and Reinisch, 1990).

Indirect effects include:

Physical maturity makes adolescents more sexually attractive to the opposite sex. This preceding indirect effects contribute to the likelihood of sexual intercourse (Katchadourian, 1990).

For additional information on adolescent development and sexuality refer to the Siecus Web Site at: http://www.siecus.org/

This site was produced by students taking HDFS 433: The Transition to Adulthood and HDFS 239: Adolescent Development at the Pennsylvania State University. Feedback can be sent to the individual authors or to Nancy Darling (darling@bard.edu).

Last updated 4/16/01.