Chapter 6: Sexuality in Childhood and Adolescence – Flashcards

Involves the psychological aspects of sexuality

The first phase of sexual development as suggested by Ernest Borneman, during this period an infant's skin can be considered a "single erogenous zone"

Babies can be observed stimulating their genitals soon after birth. Sexual response starts in utero. Boys can have erections in utero. With girls, vaginal lubrication and genital swelling can be detected soon after birth. Capable of experiencing orgasms.

More than 50% of children will engage in some type of sexual behavior before their 13th birthday. Children become aware of sex and sexuality much earlier than people realize.

As early as age 3, children will explore each other's bodies together. Generally participate in sex play with children of their own sex.

40% of the women college students who were asked and 38% of the men college students remember masturbating before puberty. Masturbation is healthy. Children usually accidentally discover the pleasure of playing with their genitalia. Children begin to conceal their sexuality between the ages of 6 and 10

When sexual behaviors are persistently intrusive, coercive, developmentally abnormal, or abusive, there may be broader issues that need to be addressed

Accept and respect a child's body and nudity. Do not punish or humiliate a child for seeing his or her parents naked, going to the bathroom, or being sexual with each other. Respect a child's need for privacy.

All children and adults need freely given physical affection from those they love. Children should be told, in a nonthreatening way, what kind of touching by adults is "acceptable" and what is "not acceptable." It is not necessary to frighten a child by going into great detail about the kinds of bad things that others might do to them sexually. We should listen to children and trust them.

Puberty and adolescence. Still struggling with they sexuality, sexual feelings, and, possibly, their sexual orientation

The stage of human development when the body becomes capable of reproduction (legally, age 12 for girls and age 14 for boys)

The social and psychological state that occurs between the beginning of puberty and acceptance into full adulthood

Due to an increase in estrogen in girls and testosterone in boys. Girls: menstruation; breast development; growth spurt; pubic and underarm hair; vaginal mucous secretions; acne;rounded body contours and; enlargement of uterus, clitoris, and labia. Boys: ejaculation; growth spurt; hand and foot growth; acne; facial hair; voice change; underarm and chest hair; muscle development; pubic hair and; enlargement of the penis, scrotum, and testes.

the appearance of physical and hormonal signs of pubertal development at an earlier age than is considered typical

"wet dreams" or ejaculation during sleep. Boys going through puberty are usually alarmed when they first ejaculate during a wet dream because they have never experienced the end result before

Children observe their parent's behavior, family dynamics, and characteristics. Involves the connection (or lack of) they have with their parents. Teens say that parents (46%) most influence their decisions about sex. 62% wish they were able to talk to their parents more openly about relationships.

Teens watch about 3.3 hours of TV a day, 70% of that contains sexual content. Balancing it with real life would help protect young viewers. It's also important to remember that the media also offer positive and informative sexual messages and outcomes that can be instrumental in educating young people about sex.

Adolescents receive more information about sex from peers (especially if they are same-sex) than any other source. They may put pressure on each other to carry out traditional gender roles. Teens are more likely to be sexually active if their best friends and peers are sexually active and are older, use alcohol or drugs, or engage in other risky behaviors.

Adolescents who describe themselves as religious and indicate that religion is an important part of their lives are less likely to engage in any form of sexual behavior than those who say they are not religious. Quite strong among those who attend religious service regularly.

2-10% of adolescents start questioning their sexual orientation. Gay and lesbian adolescents usually have heterosexual dating experiences, and some engage in intercourse during their teens, but they often report ambivalent feelings about them. Over 80% of gay and lesbian youth report feeling "very good" or "OK" about their sexuality, however about 5% hate or would do anything to change their sexual orientation

Less common among women than men and more common among Whited than Blacks, Hispanics, or Asians. Among 18-24 yr/old students, it has been found that 78% of males and 60% of females masturbate either alone or with a partner at least once a month. Offers release from sexual tension, but also knowledge of sexual functioning. Many males begin masturbating between ages 13 and 15, it is later in females. Boys do it about twice as frequently as girls. Boys more frequently discuss sexuality openly, while girls do less frequently.

The average age for first intercourse has dropped in the past decade, to 17 years, with a significant percentage of teens being sexually experienced by the time they graduate from high school. After asking 5,300 15 to 24 yr/olds, 28% report having had no sexual contact with another as compared to 22% a decade ago. Of a study of 3,000 university students, the average age for sexual debut was 16.6 and the average age difference between partners was 1.1 years. Both Black and White women were significantly less likely than Black and White men to feel physiologically satisfied. Only 40.1% said they experienced considerable or extreme satisfaction at first intercourse physiologically and 45.1% psychologically. Guilt and anxiety also accompanied the experience for both men and women. Being in a committed relationship greatly increased psychological satisfaction.

experience of first sexual intercourse

The overall teen birth rate fell 9% from 2009 to 2010. 750,00 teens get pregnant in the U.S. every year. About 3 in 10 teens get pregnant by age 20. 81% of them are unplanned, while 22% are planned.