Original articleAssessing Relationship and Sexual Satisfaction in Adolescent Relationships Formed Online and Offline
Section snippets
Adolescents and the internet
In an exploration of contemporary adolescent relationships, we cannot ignore one ubiquitous method of communicating and connecting with others–use of the Internet and social networking sites (SNSs). Adolescents are among the earliest adopters and most engaged users of the Internet and spend much of their time communicating through SNSs (e.g., Facebook), instant messaging, chat (e.g., Snapchat, WeChat) and other sharing applications (e.g., Instagram), and blogs [19], [20]. Along with instant
Methods
Data were collected through an audio computer-assisted self-interview (ACASI) as part of a larger study surveying 13–19 year olds visiting a publicly funded clinic in Florida [30]. The purposes of the larger study were to examine the prevalence of online sex seeking and online sexual partnership development among adolescents; to explore the differences in sexual health profiles between teens who do and do not report meeting sex partners via the Internet; and to gather perspectives about
Results
Within this clinic sample of adolescents seeking sexual health care, almost all participants reported engaging in vaginal sex (97.8%), slightly fewer reported oral sex (88.6%), and just over one quarter reported ever engaging in anal sex (28.6%). Differences in sexual health profiles of participants reporting online- and offline-initiated sexual partnerships are described elsewhere [30].
Relatively few (15.4%) participants reported meeting a person online with whom they later had sex offline. Of
Discussion
This study provides preliminary information about relationship and sexual satisfaction among adolescents presenting for sexual health care and examines the differences in satisfaction between their sexual relationships initiated online versus offline. Overall, we found these adolescents reported high levels of sexual and relationship satisfaction in their experiences, although teens reporting their experiences with sex partners met offline showed higher levels of satisfaction compared with
Funding Sources
This research was supported by an American Sexually Transmitted Disease Association (ASTDA) Developmental Award.
References (35)
Unintended pregnancy among U.S. adolescents: Accounting for sexual activity
J Adolesc Health
(2010)- et al.
Romantic and sexual activities, parent-adolescent stress, and depressive symptoms among early adolescent girls
J Adolesc
(2009) - et al.
Predictors of sexual satisfaction in an adolescent and college population
J Pediatr Adolesc Gynecol
(2007) Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance - United States, 2013
MMWR Surveill Summ
(2014)- et al.
Prevalence of sexually transmitted infections among female adolescents aged 14 to 19 in the United States
Pediatrics
(2009) - et al.
The onset and cross-temporal patterning of sexual intercourse in middle adolescence: Prospective relations with behavioral and emotional problems
Child Dev
(1996) ‘They think you shouldn't be having sex anyway’: Young people's suggestions for improving sexuality education content
Sexualities
(2008)- et al.
Normative sexuality development in adolescence: A decade in review, 2000-2009
J Res Adolesc
(2011) - et al.
Late adolescent girls' sexual experiences and sexual satisfaction
J Adolesc Res
(2006) Toward a social science of sexual satisfaction: Commentary on “virginity lost, satisfaction gained? Physiological and psychological sexual satisfaction at heterosexual debut”
J Sex Res
(2010)
A Sex-positive framework for research on adolescent sexuality
Perspect Psychol Sci
Sexuality, schooling, and adolescent females: The missing discourse of desire
Harv Educ Rev
Sexuality education and desire: Still missing after all these years
Harv Educ Rev
Beyond the birds and the bees: Constituting a discourse of erotics in sexuality education
Gender Educ
‘We didn't cover that at school’: Education against pleasure or education for pleasure
Sex Educ
“It's got to be about enjoying yourself” Young people, sexual pleasure, and sex and relationships education
Sex Education
Virginity lost, satisfaction gained? Physiological and psychological sexual satisfaction at heterosexual debut
J Sex Res
Cited by (21)
Validation of the Body Appreciation Scale-2 in cisgender, heterosexual and sexual and gender minority adolescents and sexuality-related correlates
2022, Body ImageCitation Excerpt :The Global Measure of Sexual Satisfaction (Bois et al., 2016; Lawrance & Byers, 1995) was used to assess sexual satisfaction, which provides a global assessment of satisfaction with participants’ overall sexual relationship. This scale has also been used in samples of adolescents previously (e.g., Blunt-Vinti et al., 2016). This questionnaire includes five items whether participants’ sexual relationship with their partner is good (7) versus bad (0), pleasant (7) versus unpleasant (0), positive (7) versus negative (0), satisfying (7) versus unsatisfying (0), and valuable (7) versus worthless (0).
Investigation of the Social Determinants of Sexual Satisfaction in Iranian Women
2020, Sexual MedicineCitation Excerpt :The results of the linear regression model showed that the spouse's job as a laborer (P = .003), a low income (P = .002), insufficient income of the spouse (P = .001), and dissatisfaction with being a woman (P = .001) were the main social predictors of sexual satisfaction (r2 = 0.54) in women (Table 3). The results showed more than half the participants (52.2%) had high levels of sexual satisfaction, whereas less than half (42.2%) had moderate levels of sexual satisfaction, consistent with other studies.4,12,21–23 Comparatively, an Iranian study conducted in Urmia city in 2015 found that the average sexual satisfaction score was low.24
Stigma on the Streets, Dissatisfaction in the Sheets: Is Minority Stress Associated with Decreased Sexual Functioning Among Young Men Who Have Sex with Men?
2019, Journal of Sexual MedicineCitation Excerpt :Having a serious partner, in contrast, was positively associated with interest and global satisfaction. Previous research among both sexual minority and general samples of youth has demonstrated the positive effect of serious partnerships on emotional wellbeing.42–44 In addition, having a regular partner increases availability of sex, which may then increase global satisfaction with one’s sex life.
Assessment of Digital Media Use in the Adolescent Psychiatric Evaluation
2018, Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North AmericaCitation Excerpt :All of these online activities can be understood in the frame of “identity versus isolation,” and the clinician should be attentive to both feelings of connection or loneliness in online activities. Although most teenagers continue to seek sexual or romantic partners offline, a quarter of teens “dating” are reported to have met a partner through digital media.5,30 Teens have also adopted the use of apps specifically created for finding romantic or sexual partners; nearly 10% of Tinder users, for example, are teenagers.31
Adolescent Sexual Well-being in the 21st Century
2016, Journal of Adolescent Health