In: Psychology
Describe and discuss in your own words adolescent sexuality. Use own words please
Adolescents is the stage in human development when individuals attain their sexual maturity, discover their gender identities and sexual orientation and involve in intimate relationships. Identifying ones of sexual preferences, orientation and interests, that is the sexuality is normal part of adolescence before reaching adulthood.
The stage of adolescence is marked by puberty, which means that the child is sexually active or ready for reproduction in biological terms. The hormonal changes, physical development, the identity crisis etc causes crisis for the individual at this stage. Becoming sexually active involves discovering one's own sexual interests and identification that may include experimentation with various types of sexual activities. This experimentations exposes the adolescents to the risk of Sexually transmitted diseases, unwanted pregancies,and also to social stigmatization when involved in sexual activities against the social norms.
If the individuals are not able to successfully cross the crisis of sexuality of adolescence, they face many psychological problems in their sexual preferences and behaviors in their future stages of life. But, those who cope successfully the crisis of sexuality in adolescence are able to identify their sexual preferences, identities and orientations. They have higher self esteem regarding their sexuality and are able to establish better intimate relationship in their adulthood.