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PS276 > Chapter 11 - Sexuality > Flashcards

Chapter 11 - Sexuality Flashcards

1
Q

How do biological changes impact sexuality?

A

puberty
- hormones, increased sex drive

physical/body changes

  • impact self and other’s views
  • basis for attraction

reproductive capacity
- changes views on sexual behaviours and outcomes

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2
Q

How do cognitive changes impact sexuality?

A

hypothetical/thinking of possibilities

self consciousness
- confidence, imaginary audience, personal fable

thinking in relative vs absolute

thinking about abstractions
- love, friendship, sexual commitment, freedom

improved decision-making skills
- intention, consent, risk-taking

metacognition

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3
Q

How do social transitions impact sexuality?

A

norms, expectations, appropriate ages

authority over decision making (legal ages)

motivation for sexual behaviour

  • girls: desire for love, serious emotional relationship
  • boys: desire to increase status with peers
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4
Q

What is sexual socialization?

A

process through which individuals are exposed to and educated about sexuality

largely discontinuous and unclear in North America
- not taught until adolescence, very abrupt

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5
Q

What 3 categories did Ford and Beach find in terms of how societies handle sexual development? Where does North America fall?

A

restrictive
- pressure to refrain until marriage or formal adulthood

semi-restrictive
- pressures against adolescent sexual activity but not vigilantly enforced

permissive
- sexual activity during childhood/adolescence not greatly restricted

North America viewed as being semi-restrictive

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6
Q

In what ways is North America a semi-restrictive society?

A

believe sexual activity before 16 is almost always wrong

but it is part of most adolescents’ experiences

adults fine with it until they see it, try to pretend it is not happening
- ex. not letting couples sleep together at home despite knowing they are sexually active

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7
Q

How do parents affect adolescent values on sexuality?

A

strong agreement between adolescent and parental values

shows parents still primary factor behind adolescent sexual views

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8
Q

How has the sexual education curriculum changed in Ontario?

A

revised in 2015 to be more up to date and address current sexual behaviours

  • consent, masturbation, gender spectrum, LGBTQ+, cyber exploitation, etc.
  • sparked controversy

cancelled in 2018, re-introduced in 2019

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9
Q

Historically what has sexual behaviour research focused on?

A

intercourse
- non-coital aspects not recognized until now

concerning/negative aspects and impacts
- early sex, promiscuous sex, unwanted sex, unsafe sex

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10
Q

What 3 factors have contributed to the change in attitude towards sex over the past decades?

A

permissiveness with affection

  • most adolescents believe sexual behaviour is okay as long as it occurs in loving relationship
  • takes it out of “saving for marriage” state and into context of any intimate relationship (though youth may believe their relationship is intimate when it is not)

decline of double standard
- girls previously viewed as a slut if they have sex or a loser if they don’t

shift from conformity to institutionalized norms to emphasis on individual judgement
- ex. shift away from discriminating against same-sex relationships, shift away from waiting for marriage

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11
Q

What is age of consent? What are the ages in Canada?

A

any sexual activity/touching must be done with voluntary permission of every person involved

in Canada youth can consent to sexual activity at 16 years old

  • exceptions if in peer groups or close in age
  • close in age exemption between 14-15 if partner is less than 5 years older
  • close in age clause between 12-13 and partners less than 2 years older
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12
Q

Why was the age of consent increased?

A

to limit adults from praying on youth

NOT to interfere with adolescent rights

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13
Q

What age of consent was reduced?

A

2019 age of consent for anal sex reduced from 18 to standard 16

important for gay and bisexual youth

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14
Q

What is the average age of first intercourse for Canadians?

A

16.5

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15
Q

How has age of first activity changed?

A

most likely to remain abstinent than 20 years ago

- over half of high school students have not had sex

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16
Q

How do the different genders state their sexual activity?

A

males overstate

females understate

reflects double standard
- self-reports either exaggerated or minimized

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17
Q

How does the method of questioning affect answers on sexual activity?

A

when allowed to type versus answer face to face, girls more likely to admit they were not virgins, whereas boys were more likely to admit they were virgins

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18
Q

What are some of the main reasons for more teens being abstinent now?

A

religious or moral commitment

avoid pregnancy, STD

haven’t found the right person

in a relationship but waiting for the right time

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19
Q

What are the effects of delaying sex until their 20’s?

A

report better mental health and greater satisfaction with their relationships than those who have sex during their teen years

have intimacy mastered by the time they approach sexuality

20
Q

Are youth refraining from sexuality/sexual behaviour?

A

no

replace intercourse with other healthy and nurturing forms of sexual interaction

over fear of pregnancy and STIs

21
Q

Who is most likely to engage in earlier sexual activity?

A

those uninformed about sex or their bodies

early maturers

cognitively immature adolescents

those who hang out with older peers

unpopular/low self-esteem

those in single parent families

lack knowledge of other emotional outlets

overly influenced by the media

22
Q

What is more likely the younger a youth is when they have sex?

A

have unprotected sex

lack understanding of and confidence/self-assertion in providing consent

more likely to be manipulated/coerced

23
Q

Why are risks of negative sexual experience especially high in adolescence?

A

lack experience and cognitive development to assess risk and make good decisions under pressure

unprepared, emotionally or practically

24
Q

What are some possible risks of adolescent sexual activity?

A 
negative emotional impact
impact on development of intimacy
psychological/emotional distress
pregnancy
STIs
25
Q

What is the most common STI?

A

chlamydia

highly infectious, rates rising

26
Q

What are the risks of STIs?

A

health impacts
- chronic infections, infertility, cancer, health compromises

interpersonal impact

  • future sexual involvements
  • sense of self

stigma
- public and self

27
Q

Why don’t adolescents use safer sex methods?

A

lack of planning

lack of access
- information, availability, anonymity, affordability

lack of knowledge

  • misinformation
  • poor sexual socialization

cognitive limitations

  • limited ability to think about possibilities
  • underdeveloped future orientation
  • egocentric thinking

decision making skills
- orientation to reward

peer norms
- risky behaviour more likely when friends engage

lack of preparation for and inability to manage strong sexual urges and emotions
- cognitive development, emotional development, maturity

developing sense/acceptance of sexuality
- not ready to acknowledge intent to be sexual or accept their sexuality

discomfort in discussing/using safer sex methods

religious beliefs

intentionality
- planned pregnancy

intimacy and interpersonal issues

  • depth/length of relationship
  • issues of trust/fidelity
28
Q

What age group is the fastest growing in HIV transmission?

A

15-29

mostly males

29
Q

What is the “90-90-90 by 2020” plan?

A

90% of people with HIV to know their status

90% diagnosed to receive treatment

90% achieve viral suppression
- low enough level that it can’t be spread

goal to eliminate threat of HIV by 2030

due to rising infection, 2020 goals not met and behind schedule for 2030

30
Q

What makes it difficult to stop the spread of HIV?

A

very long (10-15 year) latency period

many infected as adolescents and remain asymptomatic until their 20s or 30s
- asymptomatic carriers, spread the virus throughout their adolescence

many youth HIV positive but unaware because they aren’t tested

31
Q

What is most adolescent’s first sexual experience?

A

autoerotic behaviour

sexual behaviour experienced alone such as masturbation or sexual fantasizing

most make the transition towards sexual activity with others by high school

32
Q

What is the typical order of events in sexual activity?

A 
holding hands
kissing
making out
feeling breasts
feeling penis
feeling vagina
intercourse or oral sex
33
Q

For whom is the time table for sexual activities faster?

A

adolescents who expect faster timeline of achieving autonomy from parents

those who experiment with drugs and alcohol

34
Q

When are teenagers most likely to lose their virginity?

A

June for anyone
December if in a committed relationship

more likely to be sexually active when the weather is very hot or very cold
- more unsupervised time when on summer or winter break

35
Q

What is the holiday effect?

A

rise in sexual debuts among romantic partners in December

36
Q

How have trends surrounding sexual activity changed over time?

A

attitudes towards premarital intercourse becoming more liberal

today’s teenagers more sexually active
- greatest increase in prevalence of intercourse and greatest decline in age of first intercourse has been among females

percentage of adolescents who use alcohol or other drugs prior to having sex has increased

37
Q

How do androgens affect sexual activity?

A

higher androgens (testosterone) more likely to be involved in sexual activity

  • in boys, level of androgens directly related to likelihood of being sexually active
  • among girls, though androgens are responsible for increased sex drive, estrogen primarily responsible for change in appearance and influences sexual activity through its impact on physical attractiveness to boys (much more determined by social context than biology)

this makes sense! boys develop in an environment much more uniformly tolerant and encouraging of sexual behaviour than girls do

38
Q

How does parental influence affect first sexual encounters?

A

authoritative parenting -> decreased likelihood of risky and early sexual behaviour

parental communication about sex has surprisingly little impact on whether adolescents are sexually active

divorced/single-parent household adolescents more likely to be sexually active earlier

39
Q

When are parent-child conversations about sex most effective?

A

interactive rather than dominated by parents

conversation about contraception

attitudes and values communicated and interpreted appropriately by adolescent

40
Q

What are more important factors to sexual activity than parental communication?

A

opportunities for sex
sexually active friends
being in a steady relationship
use of drugs and alcohol

41
Q

Why are girls from divorced/single-parent households more likely to be sexually active compared to boys from this situation?

A

social influences on girl’s sexual behaviour are stronger

single parent mothers likely to be dating, may unknowingly be role models of sexual activity

girls more likely to go outside the family for alternative sources of warmth and support

same gene that makes men more likely to leave their family may make adolescent girls more likely to enter puberty early and become sexually active earlier

42
Q

What are the effects of virginity pledges?

A

only effective on younger adolescents

high schoolers will often deny having taken one

those who take one less likely to use contraception - encouraging abstinence promotes unsafe sex

43
Q

How do boys development of sexuality and first sexual experiences go?

A

development of sexuality revolves around integrating capacity to form close relationships into already existing sense of sexual capacity

before dating boys likely to keep matters of sex and intimacy separate, first experiences usually viewed in terms of recreation

boys usually initiate sex

44
Q

How do girls development of sexuality and first sexual experiences go?

A

masturbation far less common and practiced, so girls likely to experience sex for the first time with another person

development of sexuality involves integrating sexual activity into existing capacity for intimacy and emotional involvement
- more likely to engage in sex to enhance an emotional connection

45
Q

What are some trends surrounding males and females exploring their sexuality?

A

males more likely to have same-sex relations before identifying as gay/bisexual, opposite is true for females

females more likely to have heterosexual relations before identifying as lesbian/bisexual, opposite is true for males

females who have same-sex contact in adolescence almost always do in adulthood, same is not true for males

46
Q

How do bisexual and homosexual males and females describe their mothers and fathers?

A

bi and gay males more likely to describe fathers as distant and rejecting

bi and gay females more likely to describe mothers as cold and unpleasant

PS276 (12 decks)

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