Heterosexual experiences of secondary school pupils in Ireland: sexual coercion in context

Abstract

This article reports on data from a wider study on adolescent sexuality in Ireland and focuses particularly on the topic of heterosexual experiences and how these experiences relate to sexual coercion. Data were gathered from 29 focus group interviews with 102 young women and 124 young men, and were analysed using a qualitative research strategy. Drawing on the concepts of social coercion and interpersonal coercion first introduced by Finkelhor and Yllo (1983), we argue that both female and male participants reported a general sense of social coercion to lose their virginity by a certain age. However, narratives of interpersonal coercion were far stronger in the case of the young women compared with their male counterparts, while the young men reported a particular type of social coercion that propelled them to subscribe to expectations of conventional heterosexual male behaviour. We argue that while the distinction between social coercion and interpersonal coercion is far from watertight, it is a useful conceptual tool in identifying broad variations in women's and men's sexually coercive experiences.

A systematic review and qualitative synthesis of adolescents’ views of sexual readiness

“…, Hyde et al . ,b, , Suvivuo et al . , Barrientos Delgado & Silva Segovia , Lesch & Furphy , Chang et al .…”

Sexual behaviour and knowledge among adolescents in Ireland

“…Sexual coercion in adolescence is a recurring theme in the literature [6,11,14,15,16], with the figure reported by young women higher than that reported in a UK study in which approximately a quarter of the young women interviewed referred to sexual violence or various types of pressure to have sex against their wishes [17].…”

“…(Aspects of the wider study are published elsewhere [9,10,11,12,13]). In the wider study, 29 focus group interviews were conducted with 226 secondary school pupils (102 females and 124 males) in Ireland during 2003-4, and after each focus group, participants were invited to fill out a short anonymous questionnaire.…”

Adolescent girls' experiences of unwanted intercourse and unintentional pregnancy: A retrospective study.

“…While much of the feminist research and theorizing on heterosexual violence has interrogated the role of gender norms (DeKeseredy & Kelly, 1993;Hyde et al, 2008;Impett & Peplau, 2003;Impettet al, 2006;LaCasse & Mendelson, 2007;Maxwell et al, 2003;Miller et al, 2007;Mercer, 1988;Morgan & Zurbriggen, 2007), their relationship to adolescent girls' experiences of sexual victimization remains unclear. One study found that males who accepted rape myths were significantly more likely to perpetrate violence.…”

“…Considering the interrelationships between social and interpersonal coercion and unwanted sexual experiences (USEs), Hyde, Drennan, Howlett, and Brady (2008) conceptualize social coercion, heterosexual norms, and discourses as indirect pressure;…”