Attitudes and Beliefs Concerning Sexual Relationships Among Minority Adolescent Women

Abstract

Learning about one's sexuality is an important developmental task for the adolescent and has implications for a lifelong process of becoming a sexual being and reaching sexual maturity. Learning about intimacy in relationship with others is another important developmental task for the adolescent. The occurrence of interpersonal violence, particularly sexual, physical, or psychological violence, disrupts the development of intimacy which informs the process for becoming a sexual being. Society can assist adolescent females experiencing interpersonal violence to understand their sexual nature and make informed sexual decisions throughout their lifetime. This assistance requires a contextual understanding of the relationship between adolescent sexual development and the effects of interpersonal violence on this process. This study presents the groundwork needed to understand the contextual meanings of sexual relationships of adolescent females with a history of interpersonal violence and discusses the evolution of these adolescents' attitudes and beliefs for sexual health promotion.