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Sex and the American Teenager
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16835 |
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Section : |
MODERN THOUGHT
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| Issue
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9 / 1989 |
6,745 Words |
| Author
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Wanda Franz
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Research into the sexual functioning of teenagers provides us with some interesting information: The majority of adolescents who arrive at abortion clinics with unwanted pregnancies know about birth control but don't use it. Or, that teens who had taken "sex ed" courses increased their knowledge of sexuality information but were unable to identify the time in the woman's menstrual cycle when she is most likely to become pregnant. Why? Are teenagers not able to process information in an effective way? Do most sexuality education programs ignore the limited competencies and special needs of adolescents? Does the cultural milieu provide messages conflicting with healthy sexual development? Are too many American adults acting as poor role models for America's teenagers? I shall address each of these questions and, in addition, discuss the impact of harmful conditioning on the sexuality development of our young.
What are the competencies of American teenagers? Do they logically function and systematically evaluate and analyze the choices available to them, making rational decisions? If this were so, we could provide them with the range of options available to adults in our culture and expect them to function in an effective way. In many ways, our culture has taken this position. But is this a reasonable position to take?
Recent statistics on American teenagers suggest that it might not be a realistic position. Increases in sexual activity, unplanned pregnancy, and abortion among our teens indicate that there are serious problems that must be addressed. If teens have knowledge, why don't they use it to make the effective choices? We tend to assume that if people know something about a topic, they will use that information to make effective decisions. With American teenagers, that does not appear to be the case--at least not when it comes to sex. While such dysfunction is not limited only to the sexual life of the American teenager, my discussion will focus on those problems specifically associated with adolescent sexuality.
Adolescent Cognitive Functioning And Sexual Behavior
What is described above is an example of limited cognitive functioning. Cognition is defined as the mental ability to analyze and evaluate ideas, apply concepts to specific problems, and make rational decisions. Limited cognitive functioning is certainly evident in any teenager who knows how babies are made but then cannot extrapolate that information to predict the fertile times in the woman's menstrual cycle. The problem is that we have provided teenagers with information that we expect them to use in making adequate cognitive judgments when, in fact, they cannot be counted on to make them.
Developmental psychology offers an explanation for this state of affairs. It sees human development, including cognitive functioning, proceeding in an organized manner though predetermined states. Each stage is characterized by a unique way of interacting with the environment. The interaction process is governed by the internal abilities of the person and the environmental demands placed on the individual. When a person cannot meet the demands of the environment because of limited understanding two options are available.
In the first option, the person responds to the environmental demand by changing the environment itself; that is, by distorting it to fit
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