Adolescent Sexual Behavior: Context and Change

Abstract

The study evaluates the proposition that there have been substantial changes in the incidence of adolescent sexual experimentation and in the normative context which facilitates this activity. The stratified, random sample is comprised of 2,064 white adolescents aged 14-17 living in Illinois households. Comparing their self-reported incidences of coitus with those obtained for Kinsey's samples, the data support in-tergender convergence, with the unanticipated finding that a substantial reduction in the incidence of male adolescent pre-marital coitus has occurred. A negative relationship obtains between the incidence of coitus and educational aspirations and religiosity. The incidence of coitus is positively related to alienation from parents and, for males, with involvement with peers. For females, the incidence of coitus is associated systematically with extent of dyadic involvement. For both males and females, there is a positive relationship between the incidence of coitus and participation in delinquent activities.