Although adolescents' sexual health is generally better when parents and adolescents communicate about sex and sexuality, researchers have found parents can be reluctant to engage adolescents in conversations about those topics. To better understand why, we reviewed prior literature and identified four types of parent-based barriers to…

Evolutionary psychologists explore the adaptive function of traits and behaviors that characterize modern Homo sapiens. However, evolutionary psychologists have yet to incorporate the phylogenetic relationship between modern Homo sapiens and humans' hominid and pongid relatives (both living and extinct) into their theorizing. By considering the…

Purpose: This paper aims to examine whether greater consideration should be given to the timing of sexual health interventions within the calendar year. Design/methodology/approach: The paper uses a review of the literature. Findings: The evidence points to seasonality in a number of areas of sexual health among young people, including: the timing…

This document reviews research concerning the factors affecting premarital sexual attitudes and behaviors of adolescents and young adults. Trends in the literature prior to 1980 are discussed briefly together with summaries of literature reviews from the decades of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. Studies from 1980 to the present are reviewed in some…

Tests a theory positing a role of sexual maturation and behavioral self-regulation in the development of early onset substance use disorders. The rate of maturation in adolescent males across three timepoints was found to be associated with parental substance use disorder (SUD). Parental, especially maternal, SUD was related to the sons' SUD.…

Reviews developmental sexual behavior of young children; intense preoccupation with sex is the most universal indicator of sexual abuse in children. School counselors are called upon to play a critical and unique role, including setting standards of practice for recording, referring, and coordinating cases. (Author/JDM)

A human sexuality course was offered to students at the university level. It was hypothesized that the course would result in decreased levels of sex guilt and would increase permissiveness toward premarital sexual intimacy. Findings suggest a decreased level of sex guilt for males and an increase in females' attitudes of permissiveness. (JN)

A review of the literature of the decade focuses upon two broad issues: the epidemiology (prevalence and incidence) and the etiology (correlates and causes) of premarital sexual attitudes and behavior. A research and theory agenda for the 1980s is presented. (Author)

Questions are raised about the difficulty of defining normal and atypical sexual behavior. Variations from normalcy that students, parents, and educators are most likely to encounter are discussed. The importance of dealing with variations in ways that are best for the individual and the group is emphasized. (PP)

A review of 20 United States studies of adolescent sexual behavior was undertaken to integrate data accumulated over the past three decades. Several methodological incongruities made comparisons difficult, so suggestions are made for future research. Available data suggest a gradual evolution, not a revolution, in adolescent sexual behavior.…

Reviews research examining the predictive aspects of childhood sex-typed behavior for sexual orientation. Prospective studies suggest that childhood cross-typed behavior is strongly predictive of adult homosexual orientation for men, whereas retrospective studies are useful in determining how many homosexual individuals displayed cross-sex…

Although inconsistent, research findings indicate that men and women self-disclose differently in terms of depth and frequency and interpret disclosures differently during varying stages of their relationships. A review of the literature concerning communication within stable, enduring relationships reveals that, overall, there are no apparent sex…

Men and women continue to be physiologically capable of sexual functioning throughout old age, although interest in and actual sexual activity decline with age in most older persons. Older men are more interested in sex and more active sexually than older women. (Author)

Evidence suggests that sexual abuse has serious long-term effects; but specific effects, independent of force, threatened force, or family variables such as parental psychopathology, are not yet clarified. Effects among adults in terms of their relationship to sexual dysfunction, depression, anxiety, fear, multiple or borderline personality…

After a number of years of study by many experts, adolescent sexual intercourse, pregnancy, and childbearing have continued to elude understanding and control. Orthodox students and clinicians have studiously avoided the moral dimensions of such behavior, in spite of the social reality of values and expectations that reject precocious sexuality.…