Self-Esteem& Sex: How Boys and Girls Differ
Adolescent boys with high self-esteem are more likely to begin
sexual activity early while girls with similar confidence levels
are more apt to delay it, IUSM researchers have concluded.
"This is the first study of its kind of young adolescents
to demonstrate that self-esteem differences among young males and
females are associated with subsequent initiation of sexual intercourse,"
says Gregory D. Zimet, PhD, professor of pediatrics and clinical
psychology. "The study revealed that the level of self-esteem
did not change in males and females following the loss of virginity."
Jennifer M. Spencer, PhD, who completed a pre-doctoral traineeship
at IUSM, was lead author of the study. Co-authors were Dr. Zimet,
Matthew C. Aalsma, PhD, and Donald P. Orr, MD, professor of pediatrics
and director of the IUSM Section of Adolescent Medicine.
One hundred eighty-eight beginning seventh graders at two Indianapolis-area
schools filled out questionnaires and took standardized tests measuring
self-esteem. All reported no history of sexual activity. The students
completed a second questionnaire as they began ninth grade. Results
showed boys with high self-esteem were almost two-and-a-half times
more likely to initiate intercourse than their peers with low self-esteem.
Girls with high self-esteem were three times more likely to delay
intercourse than girls with low self-esteem.
Fifty percent of the boys with high self-esteem in the seventh
grade reported having sex by the time they started ninth grade compared
to twenty-nine percent of boys with low self-esteem. Forty percent
of girls with low self-esteem and eighteen percent of those with
high self-esteem said they had experienced sex before ninth grade.
"Gender differences may reflect a socially based double standard
for sexual activity," notes Dr. Zimet.
The researchers say that since the early initiation of coitus among
girls is associated with greater susceptibility to human papillomavirus
infection and other STDs, prevention programs geared to delaying
the age of first intercourse are necessary and important to their
future health.
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