Exploring Teenage Sexuality

One of the main themes of The Rock Star’s Wife series is sex.  When we first meet Cassandra as a high schooler in Sexual Awakening, she’s, well, exploring her sexuality.  But how realistic are her and her friends’ experiences?  To answer this question, I conducted research in teenage sexuality.  Unlike the other research I completed for the series, I did this after writing the book.  Why?  Because Cassandra and crew were going to behave the way they behave regardless of the research.  However, the research proved that the characters’ behavior was spot on.

My sources are at the bottom if you’d like to explore the topic of teenage sexuality further after reading this blog.

Here’s what I discovered:

A sense of gender is established by age three, and awareness of gender identity and roles develops during childhood.  During puberty and adolescence, youth undergo the most changes regarding sexual development.

Early adolescence occurs between ages 10 and 13, middle adolescence from ages 14 to 16 years, and late adolescence from ages 17 to 19 years.   Youth are most concerned about their body image during early adolescence whereas youth develop a sense of identity and sexual interest during late adolescence.

An adolescent’s attitude toward sexuality is affected by parents, peer relationships, culture, media, television, literature and movies with sexuality content, socio-economic factors, politics, spirituality, psychology, and other factors.

Adolescent Sexual Behaviors

More than 90 percent of people lose their virginity before marriage.  Virgins tend to be one of the following:  younger, less physically mature, religious, have parents who disapprove of sex, or have a higher body mass index.  Teens who were still virgins usually stated it was because of religious reasons, because they hadn’t found the right person, or they didn’t want to get pregnant.  The majority would have sex if given the opportunity.

Around the age of 12 or 13, boys and girls begin to show an interest in sexual topics.  They might read about sex or view pornography, nude photos or animals having sex.  They also might spy on others who are changing their clothing or bathing.

Sexual behavior during the ages of 13 and 14 is usually limited to masturbation, sexual jokes or double entendres, talking to other teens about sexual thoughts, playing kissing games, hugging, flirting, and playfully hitting or tickling.

Sexually Active Teenagers

At age 12, 5 percent of adolescents are sexually active.  This jumps to 70 percent by age 19.

Teenagers who date someone steadily are more likely to be sexually active, although less than 10

percent of teens do report having had their first sexual experience with someone they just met.  When one partner is two years older than the other, the likelihood of having sex is 26 percent.  This increases to 33 percent if one of the partners is three years older.  In relationships where someone age 12 to 14 dates someone age 15 to 19, the likelihood of sex activity increases to 47 percent.

A total of 17 percent of male high schoolers and 13 percent of female high schoolers have had more than four sexual partners.

Teen pregnancies comprise one-sixth of all unplanned pregnancies.  Teens ages 15 to 19 are 17 percent of women of reproductive age and account for 18 percent of women having abortions.  Women between the ages of 20 and 24 account for an additional 33 percent of abortions.

Rates of rape and sexual assault are highest among young women.  Of women who have been raped, the crime occurred 30 percent of the time when the females were between the ages of 11 and 17, and 37 percent of the time when they were between the ages of 18 and 24.

Teens also are at risk for sexually transmitted diseases.  Most of the reported cases of chlamydia and gonorrhea were among people ages 15 to 24.

Teenage Sexuality in the 1990s

Sexual Awakening and a portion of Mr. Right is A Myth take place during the 1990s.  Here’s a look at teenage sexuality during the decade.

In 1991, 54 percent of high schoolers had sex.  Teenage pregnancy rates reached a height of more than 100 per 1,000 girls.

In 1995, 18 percent of high schoolers had four or more sexual partners.  Teenage pregnancy rates dropped to 83.6 per 1000 girls.

In 1998, Los Angeles Times reported:

• 4 percent of high schoolers were sexually active.
• 8 percent used condoms.
• 38 percent of teens had sex in ninth grade and 60.9 percent in 12th grade.
• 8 percent of teenage males and 47.7 percent of teenage females had sex.
• Approximately 3 million sexually transmitted diseases annually were diagnosed among teenagers.
• Approximately 1 million girls become pregnant.

The findings were based on surveys of more than 50,000 students during the 1990s.

Birth Control Use Among Teens

Approximately 80 percent of teens used some form of contraception during their first sex experience, with the condom being the most popular contraceptive method for girls followed by withdrawal and the pill.

In 1995, 96 percent of sexually active teenage girls used some method of contraception.  Today, that figure is 99 percent.

The use of hormonal contraception, however, has been shown to be linked to depression, especially among teenagers.

University of Copenhagen scientists studied more than 1 million females ages 15 to 34.  They found that teenage girls on combined birth control pills were 80 percent more likely to be prescribed an antidepressant than girls who didn’t use any hormonal birth control.  The rate increased to 120 percent more likely when taking progestin-only pills.  Girls who used other hormonal methods had triple the risk.

Mood swings are one of the reasons women stop taking hormonal birth control.

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What are your thoughts on teenage sexuality?  Leave a comment below.  Comments close after 90 days.

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Here’s the 4-1-1

This blog is a companion piece to The Rock Star’s Wife, a series about sex, family, and rock & roll.  The series has elements of chick lit, romance and erotica and is best compared to The Vagina Monologues for its frank talk of sex and its consequences.  The series follows Cassandra from her teenage years into her 40s as she navigates relationships (both romantic and platonic) — all with music playing a prominent roll.

Book one, Sexual Awakening, drops February 2023:  Teenager Cassandra Economos loves five things: Her awesome friends. Her big fat, dysfunctional, Greek family. Rock music. Her plan to move to Chicago. And Kurt Cobain.  Soon, she’ll gain another love.  Sex.  Stifled by her family’s rules, how will Cassie explore her sexuality?

Join the mailing list to stay up-to-date on the series and never miss a blog post, book release, cover reveal or special deal.

Cassandra needs your help getting her story out.  Join the street team to help.

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Sources:

Understanding normal development of adolescent sexuality: A bumpy ride

The Development of Adolescent Sexuality

Over Half of U.S. Teens Have Had Sexual Intercourse by Age 18, New Report Shows

CDC: 40% of U.S. teens are sexually active

12 Surprising Teenage Sexuality Statistics

Emerging Sexuality: Do I Have a Sexually Active Teenager?

Sexual Health of Adolescents and Young Adults in the United States

Fewer U.S. Teens Having Sex in ‘90s, Officials Say

The decline in US teen pregnancy rates, 1990-1995

Your Birth Control Pill Might Raise Your Depression Risk