Study shows teens' sexual attitudes
Updated on 05 November 2008
A study of sexual attitudes among 14 to 16-year-olds found teenage boys thought it was acceptable to pressure girls into sex and to use alcohol to get them into bed, a research team has said.
Researchers from Sheffield University said their analysis of groups of sexually active teenagers showed considerable differences between the way boys and girls looked at sexual scenarios.
Mark Hayter, who was part of the team, said: "Male and female attitudes clearly differed.
"The girls' responses were more empathic and complex because they face more complex social pressures when it comes to having sex.
"The young men on the other hand appeared to follow behaviour patterns that included pressuring girls to have sex, often with the use of alcohol.
"We also noticed that the boys often used aggressive language about relationships - an element that was missing from the girls' focus groups. For example, they suggested that a girlfriend who slept around would probably pay a physical price and that using tactics like getting a girl drunk were acceptable."
The team used focus groups to study the attitudes of 35 youngsters who had gone to nurse-led sexual health outreach clinics for contraception.
Dr Hayter said: "In one of the boys' focus groups there was even a suggestion that it was OK for a boy to force his girlfriend to have sex and the group started trying to differentiate between 'just a bit of pressure' and 'proper rape'."
He went on: "The girls who took part in our focus groups were more likely to see their partner's point of view and were more aware of the complex nature of relationships than the boys."
The teenagers taking part attended clinics in areas of high teenage pregnancy rates.
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