Rites of passage.(teenagers and initiation of sexual activity)

Sex is part of virtually everyone's life. For adults and teenagers alike, having sex can have positive or negative consequences. On the positive side, it can bring pleasure; draw a couple closer together; and lead to a desired pregnancy and wanted children. In different circumstances, however, having sex can engender a sense of shame or guilt; push a couple apart; raise unrealistic expectations of further commitment and marriage; or be a form of abuse. It can also result in an unintended pregnancy or infection with a sexually transmitted disease (STD), including human immunodeficiency virus (HJV).

Ironically, while sex is one of the most intimate of behaviors, sexual references and innuendos are openly and widely used to entertain and to sell products. Moreover, many people care intensely about the sexual behavior of others. We discuss, argue about and even legislate boundaries of appropriate sexual behavior.

Delaying sexual intimacy; achieving lasting, loving relationships; and understanding and accepting the responsibilities and costs that accompany sexual activity--these are difficult under the best circumstances, but can be especially hard for adolescents.

For teenagers and their families, as well as for society as a whole, adolescence is a period of growth, challenge and opportunity. It is a time of testing and experimentation, as young people adopt new roles and an independent identity. Overtime, society's definitions of childhood and adulthood have changed, however; so, too, have the timing, length and context of adolescence.

Young people represent the country's hopes for a brighter future. Yet, the world in which teenagers grow up today is very different from that of their parents' and grandparents' youth, and many adults are concerned about the pressures on adolescents. Perhaps no area is of greater concern, has more implications for an individual's life and future well-being or is more fraught with ambiguity than sexual relationships.

The Turning Point

Society has little tolerance for emerging sexuality during childhood, but accepts--indeed, expects--that adults have intercourse. Consensus evaporates, however, on the point in an individual's life at which society should shift from treating sex as inappropriate to considering it acceptable behavior.