Adolescent Girls’ Disclosure About Dating and Sexuality

Abstract

Adolescents disclose information about romantic relationships and sexuality to family members and friends, but little is known about the correlates of this disclosure. We examined adolescent girls' (N = 68; 34 sister dyads) choice of disclosure partner regarding thoughts/concerns about dating and sexuality. Adolescents were more likely to choose mothers and sisters (compared with friends) as disclosure partners regarding dating and sexuality topics. Using multilevel modeling, we also examined romantic relationship and sexual correlates of disclosure partner selection. Adolescents' disclosure to mothers and sisters was associated with positive relationships. We also found that adolescents who selected mothers as disclosure partners for sexuality reported greater romantic relationship intimacy and adolescents who selected friends as disclosure partners for sexuality reported less conservative sexual attitudes than other adolescents. Furthermore, our findings revealed that adolescents' choice of disclosure partner was associated with their sexual attitudes, and these associations differed by topic and sibling status.

Understanding sexual and reproductive health from the perspective of late adolescents in Northern Thailand: a phenomenological study

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Making Choices in Discourse: New Alternative Masculinities Opposing the “Warrior’s Rest”

“…Regarding women’s attraction and influences on partner choice, research has explored the repercussions of social and cultural contexts, such as romantic literature, on the influence on women’s choices and relationship models ( Barros del Río, 2005 ). Beyond the importance of these elements, the influence of social networks and friendship on romantic relationships and partner choice during the start of the relationship and throughout the relationship is clearly crucial ( Wright and Sinclair, 2012 ; Killoren et al, 2019 ; Elboj-Saso et al, 2020 ). Also, research on the language use emphasizes the potential of language in socialization processes ( Burdelski, 2013 ; Rios-González et al, 2018 ; Arnold, 2019 ) and in the transmission of patterns of gender inequalities among children ( da Luz Scherf et al, 2020 ).…”

Perceived barriers, relationship quality, and informal mentors: Adolescents' preference for disclosing about dating violence

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