AN ANALYSIS OF COLLEGE STUDENTS' PERSONAL STORIES OF THEIR SEXUALITY EDUCATION.
Contributors: University Of Illinois At Chicago, Health Sciences Center.
Published: 1996
Number of pages: 189
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.; Education, Health.; Sociology, Individual and Family Studies.
Description: Because early sexual intercourse among adolescents has important consequences for physical and psychological health, its antecedents must be better understood. In this study, 100 personal stories of growing up sexually were examined. The stories were written by students enrolled in a human sexuality course at a community college. Fifty stories were written by women, and 50 stories were written by men. In each group, 25 stories described first sexual intercourse as occurring at age 15 or younger; and 25 stories described first sexual intercourse as occurring after age 15 or the narrators described themselves as virgins.

Codes representing antecedents and consequences of first intercourse were developed. Each of the stories was coded. Themes were identified. Frequencies of quantifiable antecedents and consequences of first intercourse were determined.

Findings revealed four, interrelated themes--parents as teachers, sex is secret, learning by experience, and first intercourse as a turning point. Narrators said that because sexuality was not discussed at home, they concluded that sexuality was a secret, and they eventually learned about it through their personal experiences. Stories of early onset of first intercourse were characterized by experiences of emotional coercion, rape, and seduction. They also included more negative sequelae than stories of late intercourse. However, delayed intercourse did not necessarily imply healthy sexuality.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 57-11, Section: B, page: 6848.

Thesis (PH.D.)--UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO, HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER, 1996.

School code: 0806.