PS276 week 9 sexuality - Lecture notes 9 PDF

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PS276 WEEK 9: SEXUALITY
Deb Glebe 2020/2021
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Sexuality as a psychosocial issue of Adolescence Why is sexuality an ADOLESCENT issue? ● Impacted by biological changes ○ Puberty ■ Hornomes, > sex drive ○ Physical / body changes ■ Impact self and others’ views ■ Basis for attention ○ Reproductive capacity ■ Changes views on sexual behaviours and outcomes ● Impacted by cognitive changes ○ Hypothetical; possibilities ○ Self-consciousness (confidence; imaginary audience; personal fable) ○ Relative vs absolute ○ Abstractions ( love, friendship, sexual commitment / fidelity / freedom) ○ Decision making skills ( intention, consent, risk taking, brain development) ○ Metacognition (introspective/reflective, self-aware] ● Impacted by social transitions ○ Viewed differently; expectations ○ Norms, expectations, appropriate age (dating, romantic involvements) ○ Authority over decision making (legal ages) ○ Erikson (social expectations for intimacy) ○ Motivation for sexual behaviour… ■ Girls: desire for love, serious emotional relationship ■ Boys: desire to increase status with peers Sexual socialization ● The process through which individuals are exposed to, and educated about sexuality North american society ● Discontinuous ● Unclear Ford and Beach (1951) How societies handle sexual development ● Restrictive ○ Pressure to refrain from sexual activity until marriage or formal adulthood ● Semi-restrictive ○ Pressures against adolescent sexual activity, but are not vigilantly enforced ● Permissive ○ Sexual activity during childhood/adolescence not greatly restrained

North America ● Semi-restrictive ○ Prohibitions, but not enforced ● Many adolescents feel confused and ambivalent about their sexuality Behaviours of youth ● Sexual intercourse ○ Part of adolescents experience ○ Part of a progression of sexual behaviours that takes place over adolescence ● Supports semi-restrictive classification

Sexual socialization (sexual education) ● Schools ○ Ontario sex-ed cirriculum revised in 2015 ○ Sparked controversy ○ Cancelled 2018; reintroduced 2019 ● Parents ○ Strong agreement between adolescent and parent values ○ Strongest influence? ● Media

Historical focus ● Sexual beh = intercourse ○ Non intercourse aspects not recognized until now ● Research historically focused on concerning/ ‘negative’ aspects and impacts ○ Precocious (early) ○ Promiscuous (indiscriminate and frequency) ○ Unwanted ○ Unsafe Change in attitude towards sex over past decades 3 factors contributing to the attitude shift: ● “Permissiveness with affection” ● Decline of the double standard ● Shift from ○ Conformity to institutionalized norms TO emphasis on individual judgement

Age of consent ● Any sexual activity must be done with voluntarily permission of every person involved At what age can youth agree to sexual activity? ● Canada = 16 yrs ● Some exceptions under 16 ○ If in ‘peer groups’ ○ Or ‘close in age’ Consent age increase ● Age increase to intended to limit adults preying on youth NOT to interfere with adolescent rights ○ ‘Close in age’ exemption between 14 and 15 ○ Partners less than 5 years older ○ Close in age clause between 12 & 13 ○ & partners less than 2 yrs older ● 2019 age of consent for anal sex ○ Reduced from 18 to 16 Age of activity: canadian stats ● ⅓ of canadian teens 1st time intercouyrse at 15-17 ○ 85% by 18-19 ● Queen's university ○ ½ teens by grade 11 ● Amongst 15-24 yr old canadians ○ Average age= 16.5 Age of activity ● Adolescents more likely to remain abstinent than 20 yrs ago ● 53% high school students have not had sex ○ 15% increase since 1990’s ● Majority opposed to sex at their age Stats… ● Accuracy reflects process and population ● Face-to-face vs written/computer ○ When allowed to type: ■ Girl more likely to admit NOT virgins ■ Boys more likely to admit WERE virgins ● Males overstate; females understate level of sexual activity ● Assume 'everyone's doing it’ ○ Leads to inflated estimates ○ Peer pressure ● self-reports= exaggerated or minimized ● Sexual experience

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○ Means intercourse at least one ○ Does not mean sexually active ALSO ignores other sexual behaviour

Abstinence ● Fewer adolescents sexually active than decades ago ● More likely inactive w/r to intercourse than previous generations ● Most closely associated reason for absences is religious commitment Delaying sex ● Those who do not have intercourse til 20’s report better mental health and greater satisfaction with their relationship than those who have sex during their teen years Low levels of intercourse ● Pregnancy ● STI’s ○ Substitute intercourse with other sexual behaviours ○ Feel safer and less guilty ● Youth do not necessarily refrain from sexual behaviour- they replace intercourse with other healthy and nurturing forms of sexual interaction Early sexual activity ● Precocious activity has declined but still substantial Who is likely to engage in early adolescent sexual activity? Characteristics: ● Uniformed about sex and their bodies ● Early maturers ● Cognitive immunity ● Early adolescents tend to use egocentric magical thinking ○ Personal fable, imaginary audience ● Peer groups ● May feel unpopular ● Early way to gain status among peers ● More common is single parent families ● May lack knowledge of other emotional outlets ● Overly responsive to/influenced by media Concern re: early sexual activity Being sexually active during adol is not associated with any significant psychological problems However, the younger youth are when they have sex, the more likely they are to: ● Have unprotected sex

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Lack understanding of, and confidence / self-assertion in, providing consent ○ More likely to be influenced by manipulation

Possible risks of sexual activity in adolescence Risks tend to be especially high in adolescence because: ● They lack the experience / cognitive development to assess risk and make good decisions under pressure ● They are often unprepared (emotionally or practically) because sexual involvement is new/infrequent Possible risks of adolescent sexual activity ● Negative sexual experiences ○ Negative emotional impact ■ Self-esteem / self-concept / identity ■ Social relationships ○ Impact on development of intimacy ○ Psychological / emotional distress (moral/religious) ● Pregnancy ● Sti’s ○ 26,838 canadians (15-19) have an ongoing STI ○ Most common: gonorrhea, chlamydia, herpes, HPV ■ Chlamydia - highly infectious, most commonly diagnosed; rates rising ■ HPV - many strains; genital warts ; cause of 90% of cervical cancers ○ Hpv remains highly relevant and of concern Risk of STIs ● Health impacts ○ Chronic infections ○ Infertility ○ Cancer ○ Health comprising/ potentially life-threatening impact (HIV) ○ Cervical health / abnormalities ● Interpersonal impact ○ Future sexual involvements ○ Sense of self (sexual self-esteem) ● Stigma ○ Public and personal/private

Why do adolescents NOT engage in risky behaviour? Why DO they use contraceptive/safe-sex methods? ● Pregnancy prevention ● STI prevention

Safer sex? ● Sexually active teens increasingly using contraception ○ 20% of grade 12 girls are on birth control ○ 10% < or = grade 9 on bc ■ But more likely to use condoms ● Adolescents contraceptive use (particularly condoms) tends to be infrequent and irregular Why don’t adolescents use safer-sex methods? ● Lack of planning ○ emotional/cognitive ● Lack of access ○ Info or ‘devices’ ○ Availability ○ Anonymity ○ Affordability ● Lack of knowledge ○ Misinformation ○ Poor sexual socialization ● Cognitive limitations ○ Limited ability to think hypothetically/possibilities ○ Underdeveloped future orientation ○ Egocentric thinking ■ Personal fable, imaginary audience ● Decision-making skills ○ Orientation to reward ■ pleasure/peer approval ■ status/intimacy ● Peer norms ○ Risky behaviour increases when friends engage in risky behaviour ■ Strong response to exclusion ■ Over-responsiveness to peer reward/approval ○ Peer opinion is powerful ● Lack of preparation for - and inability to manage stong sexual urges and emotions ○ cognitive/brain development ■ Reward, emotional processing/ response inhibition/reasoning/ decision

making Emotional development ■ Self and social understanding/intimacy ○ Maturity (cognitive and emotional) and experience bring control of both emotions and sexual urges Developing sense/acceptance of sexuality ○ May not yet have accepted their sexuality ■ Ie. that they are sexual beings and it is OK ○ Not ready to acknowledge intention to be sexual ○ More complicated for youth who are still exploring/uncertain or not supported in their identified sexuality Discomfort in discussing/accessing/using safer sex methods Intimacy and interpersonal issues ○ depth/length of relationship issues of trust/fidelity suspicions Religious beliefs Intentionality ○ Planned pregnancy, low self esteem ○

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Adolescents and HIV/AIDS ● A global issue ● 12 million youth (15-24) infected 6.000 each day Canadian stats ● 1985-2018: ○ 22,280 youth diagnosed with HIV ○ 26% of diagnoses youth 15-29 ● Overall prevalence in canada = 0.17% ● Prevalence in youth (15-24) ○ Street youth (1%) ○ Youth who inject drugs (3%) ● Rates declining but 2014-2018 increased 25.3% ○ 24% all new 2018 HIV dx were in youth (15-29) ○ 76% youth HIV dx male ○ Since 2014: ■ Canada’s HIV transmission rates rising ■ 15-29 yr olds fastest growing demographic Canada youth rates ● 2015 global strategy ● 90-90-90 by 2020 ○ 90% of people with HIV know their status ○ 90% receive antiretrovira treatment ○ 90% achieve viral suppression ● Eliminate threat of HIV by 2030 ● Rising infection rates = not meeting 2020 goals AND behind schedule for 2030 goals Canadian stats and issues

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14% do not know 20% not in treatment ○ Continued risks of transmission Very long latency period ○ 10-15 years ○ Many infected as adolescents and remain asymptomatic till 20’s or 30’s Many youth HIV positive but unaware Very few adolescents tested

Adolescents extremely vulnerable ● Carriers unknowingly spread the virus throughout adolescence ● Numbers may seem small but adolescents are an extremely vulnerable group ● Ontario health survey > ½ of sexually active 16-24 yr olds said they never use condoms as STI protection ● Survey canadian university students (17-28) ○ ⅓ not concerned about HIV/AIDS ○ ⅓ incorrectly identified the pull as protecting against HIV exposure ● Other incorrect strategies: ○ Pre-ejaculation withdrawal (16.2%) ○ Spermicides or contraceptive jellies (9.5%) ○ Diaphragm (6.7%) Peer-led HIV reduction programs ● Increase understanding of risk and importance of safer-sex methods Thinking positive 20 yr old TRUDY PARSONS ○ HIV/AIDS committee newfoundland ● Travels around rural newfoundland educating youth about HIV/AIDS AS YOU WATCH… ● Sexual risk-taking ○ Why do adolescents engage in risky sexual activity putting them at risk for HIV/AIDS and other STIS ● Stigma “is a huge driver for new infections” ○ How can we change stigma against HIV/STIS and thereby change adolescent norms, attitudes and behaviours?

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