Multidisciplinary adolescent sexuality research deals mostly with risk- and demographic factors and intervention programs. The social-developmental process through which female adolescents manage relationships to become sexual women has not been defined. This research sought to bring to light the ways in which female adolescents discover, develop, and use management skills to navigate the socio-sexual environment of adolescence. A synthesis of symbolic interactionist and life span developmental frameworks informed the research. Semi-structured interviews yielded data which were analyzed using the constant comparative method. A grounded theory pertaining to female adolescent sexuality management emerged with Relationship Management as its core category. The causal conditions to Relationship Management were named Coming of Age and included Entering Puberty, Noticing Boys and Feeling Ready for a Relationship. The action/interaction strategies were named Dealing With Boys and included Public Presentation of Self, Profiling, Trying to Communicate, and Controlling the Relationship. The consequences of action/interaction strategies were named What Might Happen and consisted of Relationship Outcomes, Physical Outcomes, Effects on Reputation and Effects on the Life Course. The context for the action/interaction activities was named The Kind of Girl I Am and consisted of What I Know About Myself and What I Believe About Others. Intervening conditions were called My World and included Peer Group Influence, Family influence and School Influence. The findings suggest the need to view female adolescents as active managers of their emerging sexuality.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:arizona.edu/oai:arizona.openrepository.com:10150/290078 |
| Date | January 2004 |
| Creators | McKenzie, Naja Elisabeth Kent |
| Contributors | Phillips, Linda |
| Publisher | The University of Arizona. |
| Source Sets | University of Arizona |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text, Dissertation-Reproduction (electronic) |
| Rights | Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. |
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