Adolescents' Sexual Scripts: Schematic Representations of Consensual and Nonconsensual Heterosexual Interactions

Abstract

The characteristic features of adolescents' sexual scripts were explored in 400 tenth and eleventh graders from Berlin, Germany. Participants rated the prototypical elements of three scripts for heterosexual interactions: (1) the prototypical script for the first consensual sexual intercourse with a new partner as pertaining to adolescents in general (general script); (2) the prototypical script for the first consensual sexual intercourse with a new partner as pertaining to themselves personally (individual script); and (3) the script for a nonconsensual sexual intercourse (rape script). Compared with the general script for the age group as a whole, the individual script contained fewer risk elements related to sexual aggression and portrayed more positive consequences of the sexual interaction. Few gender differences were found, and coital experience did not affect sexual scripts. The rape script was found to be close to the "real rape stereotype." The findings are discussed with respect to the role of sexual scripts as guidelines for behavior, particularly in terms of their significance for the prediction of sexual aggression.

The Role of Gender in the Generation of Stalking Scripts

“…We know, for example, how people believe a first date progresses (Bartoli and Clark 2006;Frieze 1989, 1993), how individuals attempt to secure a date (Pryor and Merluzzi 1985), adolescents' scripts for sexual encounters (Krahé et al 2007), scripts relating to sexual intent (Lenton and Bryan 2005), as well as what happens when a relationship ends (Battaglia et al 1998;Honeycutt et al 1992). Results from these studies have allowed investigators to determine that generally shared scripts exist for these relationship events.…”

The Relationship between Rape Myths and Sexual Scripts: The Social Construction of Rape

“…Then they depart, never to see each other again. (Female, 18 years old) Subsequent research showed the key features of rape scripts are the assailant's use of physical violence and the victim's resistance (e.g., Krahé et al 2007;Littleton and Axsom 2003), as well as negative psychological consequences for the victim (e.g., Littleton et al 2007). This is often called the real rape script (e.g., Horvath and Brown 2009).…”

The Role of Sexual Scripts in Sexual Aggression and Victimization

“…For the present analysis, only the risk elements of the scripts will be considered. A full analysis of the scripts as a whole including all categories is reported by Krahé, Bieneck, and Scheinberger-Olwig (2006).…”