SEXUAL ACTIVITY

Sexual Activity

Sexual Activity

Adolescence is characterized as a period of rapid growth involving dramatic change. This stage of development begins with puberty and involves many physical, cognitive, and emotional changes that mark the shift from childhood to adulthood. Girls reach puberty approximately 12 to 18 months earlier than boys do, with the average age range for beginning puberty being 9.5 to 13.5 years for boys and 8 to 13 years for girls. In addition, these changes lead to an increased interest in sex, including masturbation and sexual experimentation. Adolescent sexual behavior, unfortunately, is also associated with certain risks such as sexually transmissible infections and unplanned pregnancy (Crockett, 2003).

With the onset of puberty, adolescents begin to experience changes in many realms of life. For one, during this period teenagers demonstrate an increasing ability to use rational and abstract thought. They start to question authority, rules, laws, and customs, and begin to develop their own theories and viewpoints. Not surprisingly, parents often describe their adolescent children as stubborn and rebellious. Furthermore, adolescence is a time when young males and females attempt to establish a sense of who they are, where they fit into their peer group, and what their goals will be. Many adolescents struggle with the answers to the question “Who am I?” This beginning of identity formation, which can persist into adulthood, leads to many questions, including curiosity about dating, sex, and love (Florsheim, 2003).

Physically, adolescence brings on dramatic changes involving the body. Development often begins with a growth spurt characterized by significant bone and muscle growth, weight gain, and the maturation of the brain, heart, lungs, and reproductive system. Changes in the reproductive system are the hallmark of adolescent development, known as puberty. For males, puberty brings about a growth in the size of the penis and testes; the production of semen; the appearance of pubic, underarm, and facial hair; and also a deepening of the voice. Many males also experience nocturnal emissions, or wet dreams, when sperm production first begins. For females, puberty is a time during which menarche (the first menstrual period) begins, the vagina elongates, the ovaries and uterus grow, breasts begin to develop, and pubic and underarm hair appear as well. All of these developments begin when a part of the brain, the hypothalamus, signals the release of hormones known as gonadotropins. These hormones then direct the production of testosterone by the testes and estrogen by ...