The Development of Relationships through Adolescence in the US essay

To begin with, it should be noted that in parallel with the onset of sexual maturity sexual behavior of adolescents also begins to develop. This development is a very complex process and is the result of the interaction of various factors – physical, psychosocial development, exposure to sexual stimuli, groups of social contacts (friends, sports groups, etc..), and specific situations that allow access to the erotic experience. It is essential to note that the onset of sexual development appears in childhood. In particular, children everyday experience an exchange of love and affection, interpersonal relationships and communication about sexuality play an important role in the development of affective and sexual behavior of adolescent and later adult. Also, it is important to note that in families where love and affection are exchanged openly and sexuality is not a taboo teens develop other forms of behavior too, rather than in families in which these issues are avoided and considered as drawbacks.

Teenage sexuality – is an aspect of sexual development of adolescents during their learning process about the world. At the same time, adolescents consider among other, the problems of psychological, cultural, legal content of sexuality. As a fact, children are naturally interested in their bodies, they are curious about where babies are come from etc. They see the anatomical differences between men and women. During this period, child sex games includes display and looking at (research) of their own and other people’s genitals. In primary school children’s interest in sex play is reduced, because most of the energy spent on the knowledge of the world, but during this period it can still remain romantic interest to their peers, and a high level of curiosity. Only during adolescence, children begin to experience the main lift of sexual interest and with the onset of puberty – it begins to appear a libido. Many psychologists consider the adolescent sexuality as an important aspect of his future life, because this is one of the stages of human sexual development. As a fact, relationships start at age of 5-6 years old, and children start calling each other a boyfriend and a girlfriend. This happens because they watch the TV, there is a propaganda of the relationships, and they want to be like grownups.

It should be mentioned that there are several aspects of adolescence sexuality, among which are: biological, emotional, psychological, social and philosophical aspects. I would like to consider each of them more closely. Biological aspect of adolescent sexuality involves fundamental physiological desire for the opposite or same sex in all its forms, which may include sexual contact and committing sexual intercourse. As a fact, biological aspect of adolescent sexuality examines the mechanism of sexual reproduction and the physical means by which it is achieved. It also examines the influence of biological factors, such as organic and neurological responses, heredity, hormonal influences, gender and sexual dysfunction, the display of sexuality. In turn, the emotional aspect of sexuality involves communication that occurs among adolescents, which may be expressed through profound feelings, emotions and experiences, even cause physical or medical concerns. Further, psychological aspect of sexual behavior in adolescents is important because, according to some theorists, acts as a central source for the formation of human personality. In sociological aspect of juvenile sexuality may address the cultural, political and legal issues. Moreover, teenage sexuality can also be understood as part of the social life of people, managed to implied rules of behavior in a particular situation. In other words, sociological aspect explores the impact of social norms on adolescent sexuality and the opposite effect. In turn, in philosophical aspect, adolescent sexuality can encompass moral, ethical, theological, spiritual or religious issues, according to Michael F. Mascolo (2009).

It can be said that teenage sexual behavior includes sexual practices or sexual activity during which adolescents experience their sexuality and express it. As a rule, such sexual practices include a wide range of activities:

• Strategies to identify and attract a sexual partner (dating or demonstration of merits of his personality).
• Interaction between individuals.
• Physical or emotional intimacy.
• Sexual contact.

It is important to note that adolescents can experience sexual pleasure from any kind of sexual activity: from erotic pleasure during lovemaking to fetishism and directly the orgasm. In addition to biological factors, adolescent sexual behavior also affect cultural norms of society, social control issues, legal norms in the form of the age of sexual consent, the authority of the majority people, opinion of their peers, their sexual orientation, sex education, and other, according to Adolescent Sexual Behavior (2012)

Human intelligence and complex organization of human society has created one of the most complex sexual behaviors observed in nature. In many societies, some sexual activity defined as inappropriate (wrong person, inappropriate activity, inappropriate location, etc.). Moreover, sexual behavior is directed by social norms that match the culture and vary widely. These social norms include sexual morality (what can be done according to the rules of society and what is not) and appropriate sexual norms (what is expected and what is not expected). Sexual ethics, moral and rules include issues of deception, honesty, compliance with the law, fidelity and consent to sexual activity. Also, another issue in the relationships is the money. People find themselves spending more money in the relationships because this is an indispensable part of the relationships in the modern world and people just can not live without money.

Further, I would like to consider sexual behavior of adolescents in the U.S. It can be said that changes in the expression of adolescent sexuality in the United States have their origins in the sexual revolution, and are the focus of “culture wars”. According to the Center for disease control and prevention of the U.S., less than half of high school students had sexual contacts. Thus, in 2010, 46% of students in secondary schools reported that they had sexual contact. As a fact, this study showed a tendency to decrease in comparison with similar study in 1991, when the proportion was 54.1%. According to another survey, organized by “News and People” magazine and NBC channel, the vast majority of adolescence aged 13-16 years, namely 87% reported that they had not sexual intercourse and 73% said they had not even sexual intimacy. Three-quarters of them have expressed that did so because they felt that it was too young, and as many have expressed that they made a conscious choice not to engage in sexual intimacy. The same survey found that only 27% of 13-16 year olds was involved in intimate or sexual activity and 8% of them said that their sexual intercourse was accidental. I believe that this is a profound shift in the culture of school dating and sex in high school, according to Wyndol Furman (1999).

There are certain psychological problems that people face in a relationship when they do not satisfy their partner. This can have different reasons and the cause of argues. It is a common situation when a girl is not satisfied to her partner but she thinks that he will eventually become better person due to the fact that he has relationships with her. Although, in most cases such behavior is wrong and both partners feel themselves devastated after such a relationship. However, there is also a tendency that teenage sex is increasingly taking place outside the context of a romantic relationship, but purely as a sexual “relationship”. In 2002, the government carried out “re-examination of adolescent health” and revealed a dramatic trend to early sex. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics’ early sexual intercourse among American adolescents represents a major public health problem.  In particular, pregnancy rate among the U.S. teenagers is much higher than in many other developed countries. For example, after the steady decline since 1991, the incidence of teenage pregnancy in 2006 increased by 3% to 41.9 births per 1000 teens. This followed a 14-year downward trend in which the teen pregnancy rate has declined by 34% from a peak of 61.8 births per 1000 teens in 1991. Officials from the public health expressed concern that sexually transmitted diseases (STD) and risky behavior, including “just sex” among teenagers was rampant. As a fact, there are 18.9 million new cases of STDs each year, 9.1 million (48%) occur among 15-24-year old people, and this despite the fact that this age group represents only a quarter of sexually active population. In a study conducted in 2008 by the Centre for control and prevention of diseases, one of every four surveyed girls suffered at least one STD for a period of time.

It should be mentioned that there is also a tendency of increase the frequency of oral sex among teenagers. Particularly, oral sex was slightly more common among adolescents than vaginal sex in the past ten years. Just over half (55%) of 15-19 year olds were engaged in heterosexual oral sex, 50% – in vaginal sex, and 11% – anal sex. Among sexually active 15-19 year olds 83% of women and 91% of men reported having at least one contraceptive method at last sexual intercourse, according to Social and emotional changes in adolescence (2011).

As a fact, the most common form of contraception among adolescence remains condoms and combined oral contraceptives. In 2009, 61.1% of high school students reported of usage a condom during their last sexual intercourse, which is higher compared to 46% in 1991. Centers for Disease Prevention of the U.S. also traced the share of students who said that before sex they have had drugs or alcohol. During the period 1991-2001the overall risk in adolescent behavior has increased, from that period, it showed a decrease trend. However, the behavior risk, reported by high school students, in 2009 was 21.6%, as it was at 1991. It is essential to note that most teens (70%) reported that they had received some information about sex and sexual relationships, from their parents. Other sources of information include friends (53%), TV and movies (51%), magazines 34%. The despite feature lies in the fact that girls mentioned school and magazines more often than boys, and sexually active adolescents as sources more often mentioned their friends and partners, according to Wyndol Furman (1999).

It should be noted that 431 schools in 50 districts in the U.S. (0.35% of total area and 2.2% of the total number of secondary schools in the country) was performed the school program of providing adolescents with condoms. This program included the distribution of condoms, training, and information on their usage, peer support, education about sex and STDs, the involvement of parents, staff, partners and doctors. Research has shown that such programs in high schools can reduce the risk of HIV, STD and teen pregnancy. After the introduction of programs, the usage of condoms by all students of all schools has increased, while the sexual behavior of students remained the same, according to Carrie Mulford (2008).

Although early sexual activity can cause a variety of factors, it is believed that a significant role in this process is played by the media. Among the leading sources of information about sex, teens mentioned media as a second after school programs. Nowadays, it is clear that the media affect on teenage sexuality is extremely significant. Internet, TV, music products, video products contribute to adolescents’ sexual activity and behavior. It is important to note that only 9% of the total number of sex scenes on programs of 1300 U.S. cable channels are subject for discussions and channels take into account the negative consequences of sexual behavior in such scenes. However, I think that the most “dangerous” in this matter is Internet. As a fact, anonymous Internet interactivity for adolescents is the possibility of getting the wrong information on health, sexuality, sexual violence in the world of intimate sexual relations. The impact of sexually explicit media on youth provides them with a view of women as an object and use as a platform and the traditional perception models of gender identity and is the probability of negative perceptions of women.

Considering the issue of discovering what ages are more prone to having breakdowns and issues through life because of a relationship, it can be said that it can happen at all ages. There is no age in a relationship to be able to determine its success.

Many people can influence us on having a relationship, because this desire can be based on personal experience of family and friends and also social norms also influence us.

To sum it up, I would like to say that relationships are an indispensable part of our lives, and we have many kinds of relationships with different people – friends, family, relatives, and also romantic relationships. It should be noted that the development of the relationships is a very complex process and is the result of the interaction of various factors – physical, psychosocial development, exposure to sexual stimuli, groups of social contacts. People make relationships work when they want it, and when they see certain advantages in the process. Of course, all relationships have so-called “difficult” times and crises mainly due to the fact that there is a need to adapt, get used to the partner, as well as take into account his desires and needs. However, if people are in love and respect each other, I believe that they will be able to overcome all problems and contradictions even I they are only adolescences.