To be fair to the students, they did ask about causes of abstinence, too. It is hard
to word such a question in a politically correct way. Either way you put it, it will
imply something negative. Putting it in the realm of hormones seems to imply an
absence of responsibility for actions or personal choice ("boys will be boys" or
"girls gone wild"). Asking about causes of sexual activity evidently makes it sound as
if it is not natural (I guess things that are natural have no causes). Even if we all
agree that sexual activity among teens is morally neutral (and the original question
did not carry an implication of moral judgment), as a natural phenomenon, both
abstinence and sexual behavior must have causes (although our research methods may not
be up to the task of uncovering them just yet).
As to Mike's comment about God playing a joke on teens, I think that our advanced
technological society and its requirements for advanced education probably get most of
the blame there. Especially when students are encouraged to get their career started
before they get married. It is obvious that we were not created (or we have not
evolved if you prefer) to live in this society. There is an obvious mismatch between
biology and culture when you become capable of reproduction (and begin to have sexual
urges) at 13 and are constrained from getting married before the age of 26. It has,
obviously, not always been so.
Rick
Dr. Rick Froman
Associate Professor of Psychology
John Brown University
2000 W. University
Siloam Springs, AR 72761
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
(479) 524-7295
http://www.jbu.edu/academics/sbs/faculty/rfroman.asp
-----Original Message-----
From: Paul Smith [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
Sent: Wednesday, February 25, 2004 9:43 AM
To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences
Subject: Re: Questions about adolescent sexuality
(Removing tongue from cheek) It seems to me that the to-be-explained
phenomenon is why teens refrain from sexual activity, not why they
participate in it.
Paul Smith
Alverno College
Milwaukee
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