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Time Out from Sex or Romance: Sexually Experienced Adolescents’ Decisions to Purposefully Avoid Sexual Activity or Romantic Relationships

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Abstract

Researchers have given significant attention to abstinence among adolescents, but far less is known about purposeful avoidance of sexual activity (and relationship involvement). Typically, it is assumed that, once adolescents have initiated sexual activity, they will thereafter engage in sexual activity if given the opportunity. However, it is unclear whether that is true as some research indicates that many adolescents engage in sexual activity intermittently. Sexually experienced adolescents may purposefully avoid engaging in sexual activity for a period of time and, if so, this has implications for understanding their sexual decision-making. We used a mixed methods approach to investigate sexually experienced adolescents’ decisions to purposefully avoid further sexual activity and/or romantic relationships with a focus on how common these decisions are and factors influencing them. Participants were 411 (56 % female) adolescents (16–21 years old) who completed an on-line survey that assessed reasons for each type of avoidance, religiosity, sexual esteem, sexual distress, sexual coercion, and dysfunctional sexual beliefs. Overall, 27 % of participants had engaged in sexual avoidance and 47 % had engaged in romantic avoidance. Significantly more female than male adolescents reported sexual and romantic avoidance. Adolescents’ reasons for sexual avoidance included: lack of sexual pleasure or enjoyment, relationship reasons, negative emotions, values, fear of negative outcomes, negative physical experience, and other priorities. Reasons for romantic avoidance included: effects of previous relationship, not interested in commitment, wrong time, other priorities, negative emotions, no one was good enough, and sexual concerns. Logistical regressions were used to assess associations between age, religiosity, sexual esteem, sexual distress, experience of sexual coercion, and dysfunctional sexual beliefs and having engaged in romantic and/or sexual avoidance. The female adolescents who had avoided sexual activity were more likely to have experienced sexual coercion. The male adolescents who had avoided sexual activity were more religious and likely to have experienced sexual coercion. The male adolescents who had avoided romantic relationships were more sexually distressed and likely to have experienced sexual coercion. No associations were found for romantic avoidance among female adolescents. These results reflect considerable agency in the decision-making of adolescents in intimate contexts. They are discussed in terms of their challenge to current discourses about rampant adolescent sexuality as well as their implications for education and prevention interventions that incorporate personal choice and decision-making into their protocols.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Judy Wuest and Jo Ann Majerovich for their contributions to the design of the research program, Mary Byers for her help with data collection and coding, and Susan Voyer for her help with data coding.

Funding

This study was funded by a grant from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (#MOP210316) to the second author.

Author Contributions

E.S.B. participated in the design of the study and development of the coding scheme, coordinated data coding, conducted the data analysis, and drafted the manuscript; L.F. coordinated the larger study, and participated in the design of the study, development of the coding scheme, and revision of the manuscript; L.B. identified the research questions and participated in the design of the study, development of the coding scheme, and revision of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of New Brunswick, P.O. Box 4400, Fredericton, NB, E3B 5A3, Canada

    E. Sandra Byers & Lucia F. O’Sullivan

  2. Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, University of British Columbia, 2775 Laurel Street, 6th Floor, Vancouver, BC, V5Z 1M9, Canada

    Lori A. Brotto

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  1. E. Sandra Byers
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  2. Lucia F. O’Sullivan
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  3. Lori A. Brotto
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Correspondence to E. Sandra Byers.

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This study was reviewed by the Research Ethics Boards of the University of New Brunswick and the University of British Columbia in accordance with the Canadian Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Byers, E.S., O’Sullivan, L.F. & Brotto, L.A. Time Out from Sex or Romance: Sexually Experienced Adolescents’ Decisions to Purposefully Avoid Sexual Activity or Romantic Relationships. J Youth Adolescence 45, 831–845 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-016-0447-9

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