Masculinity in Adolescent Males’ Early Romantic and Sexual Heterosexual Relationships

Abstract

There is a need to better understand the complex inter-relationship between the adoption of masculinity during adolescence and the development of early romantic and sexual relationships. The purpose of this study was to describe features of adolescent masculinity and how it is expressed in the contexts of early to middle adolescent males’ romantic and sexual relationships. Thirty- three 14–16 year old males were recruited from an adolescent clinic serving a community with high STI rates, and were asked open ended questions about their relationships-- how they developed, progressed, and ended. Participants described a high degree of relationally-oriented beliefs and behaviors related to romantic and sexual relationships, such as a desire for intimacy and trust. They also described a more limited degree of conventionally masculine beliefs and behaviors. These often co-existed or overlapped. Implications for the clinical care of similar groups of adolescents are described.

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

“…, , Bell et al . ). While this resulted in a fair representation of both males and females, there was a notable bias towards sampling adolescents from low economic status and those attending family planning/health clinics.…”

“…This idea of relationships was shared by younger males in the Bell et al . () study who also claimed males desired close, trusting, intimate and caring relationships and at this age, it was females who pursued them to initiate relationships. These younger males lacked the ‘gamesmanship’ of older male adolescents, who, influenced more by peer norms, preferred to pursue females for casual sex only (Volpe et al .…”

“…, Bell et al . ) are included in the review. Various aspects of adolescents’ readiness for sex were examined, for example, some studies investigated sexual values, decision‐making and motivations for initiating sex, others focused on partner selection and communication.…”

“…Exposing males to sexual health messages at a younger age is also supported by Bell et al . () who argue that hegemonic masculinity is learnt and that early to middle adolescence (13‐15 years) may be a critical developmental time frame for this, hence an opportunity to develop a healthier version of masculinity in younger males. This may benefit health strategies for all, as males with more gender‐equitable attitudes may be more likely to experience better quality relationships.…”

“…Findings from sixteen qualitative studies (Gilmore et al 1996, Coleman & Ingham 1999, Smith et al 2003, Allen 2004Andrinopoulos et al 2006, Hyde et al 2008a,b, 2009, Suvivuo et al 2010, Barrientos Delgado & Silva Segovia 2014, Lesch & Furphy 2013, Chang et al 2014, Hartley et al 2014, Laborde et al 2014, Volpe et al 2014, Bell et al 2015 are included in the review. Various aspects of adolescents' readiness for sex were examined, for example, some studies investigated sexual values, decision-making and motivations for initiating sex, others focused on partner selection and communication.…”