Affective-sexual reality in adolescents: gender analysis of early sexual practices
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Abstract
The affective-sexual life of adolescents is constantly evolving. In this sense, today we continue to fight for sexual education from an early age. However, although the advances are notable, this sexual education is not so frequent in the classroom or on an individual basis. For this reason, the study seeks to analyze different variables of sexual behavior in the adolescent population, taking into account gender differences. To this end, 250 adolescents (50% female and 50% male), aged between 12 and 16, completed a battery of online questions about their affective sexual history. Among the results, 66.4% of the males had masturbated at some time, with age of onset at 10-11 years (M = 10.22, SD = 4.54). On the other hand, 29% of the females had engaged in this practice, with age of onset more frequent at 12-13 years (M = 12.69, SD = 3.11). 35.2% of men and 37.1% of women had ever had romantic partners, and 36.4% and 47.8%, respectively, currently have romantic partners. Regarding sexual practices, 21.6% of men and 21% of women have ever had sexual intercourse. In conclusion, the results emphasize the need to open our eyes to the reality of the early onset of sexual activity, in order to promote the need for early sexual education.
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