Adolescent Sexuality and Positive Well-Being: A Group-Norms Approach

The link between adolescent sexual activity and psychological well-being is a controversial issue in developmental psychology. This cross-sectional study investigated the association between three aspects of teenage sexuality (genital sexual experience, age of sexual onset, and number of sex partners) and positive well-being (hedonic, eudaimonic, and overall) in a sample of 475 high school seniors (48% female; 89% White) from a single school district in a rural upstate New York community. Based on a group-norms perspective, we expected higher well-being in adolescents whose sexual behaviors followed group-normative patterns. As expected, sexually experienced and on-time (at age 16) students reported higher well-being than sexually inexperienced or late-onset (17 or older) students. Contrary to expectations, a high number of sex partners and an early sexual onset (15 or younger) were not related to lower well-being. Early-onset girls reported higher levels of well-being than normative-onset peers. Findings are discussed in relationship to theoretical perspectives and past empirical findings of teenage sexuality as a developmental asset versus risk.     

The market for social norms

This article presents a semirigorous model in which a new normarises out of the workings of a market for norms. Change istriggered by a shift in either cost-benefit conditions or groupcomposition. Because individuals are heterogeneous in importantrespects, they respond differently to these triggering events.The first persons to supply new norms generally are individualswho have either superior technical knowledge of cost-benefitconditions, superior social knowledge of group dynamics, orspecial endowments that provide them with unusually high tangiblebenefits from norm reform. Members of the social audience observethe competing efforts of these norm suppliers and reward themost meritorious ones by conferring on them either esteem or,according to an alternative conception, new exchange opportunities.Under optimal conditions, members of the audience - key participantsin the demand side of the market for norms - do not free-ridebecause they incur no net costs when conferring their rewards.     

Dominance hierarchies in groups of middle to late adolescent males

Two cabin groups (N=5 and 6) of 14- to 17-year-old males were observed during a five-week camping session. Recorded were all instances of dyadic dominance behaviors occurring between group members in three behavior settings. Various group sociometric exercises and life history data were also available. Similar to previously studied early adolescent groups, the current middle and late adolescents formed a group dominance hierarchy that remained relatively stable during the camp session and in the behavior settings. In marked contrast to early adolescents, however, physical variables such as pubertal maturation, athletic ability, and physical fitness no longer predicted relative ranking among group members. Rather, individual variations in intelligence, creativity, crafts skill, cabin spirit, peer popularity, and camp experience predicted the group structure. Physical means of expressing dominance status were rare among the older adolescents.Received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago, Committee on Human Development, in 1977. Current teaching and research interests include early adolescence, the ecology of self-esteem during adolescence, and a biopsychological/ethological approach toward adolescence. Correspondence should be sent to the author at the above address.     

An exploratory study of dominance interactions among adolescent females at a summer camp

One bunk of eight 16- to 17-year old females was studied over a four-week camping session. Instances of dyadic dominance behaviors between group members were recorded in three settings. Although participants formed a cohesive group dominance structure that remained relatively stable throughout the camp session, the structure was not rigid or hierarchical. A new term, “cohesive dyarchy,” was coined to describe intracabin dominance relations. In contrast to many studies of adolescent females, popularity with boys and physical attractiveness were not found to be major predictors of dominance status. A variety of personality traits emphasizing interpersonal skills, athletic ability, and self-reported self-esteem predicted dominance status. Implications of these findings in terms of female adolescent development and future research are discussed.     

Biological and ecological factors in the expression of adolescent self-esteem

The relationship between self-esteem and pubertal maturation is examined based on results of the first two years of a six-year naturalistic longitudinal study of the ecology of self-esteem during adolescence. A random sample of 40 seventh-grade adolescents of both sexes from all socioeconomic classes was selected from a local junior high school. Four measures of pubertal maturation level were obtained for participants during each year of the study. Self-esteem was assessed by means of a repeated measures self-report technique. Each adolescent carried a beeper paging device and responded in writing to beeps that occurred on a random schedule eight times daily. Males were significantly higher in self-esteem than females. The developmental pattern for the relationship between self-esteem and pubertal maturation differed between boys and girls. Three ecological contextual variables were explored: setting, activity, and participants. Physical setting was significantly associated with level of self-esteem. Activities and participants present were not significantly predictive of self-esteem. Results are discussed in terms of the onset and timing of pubertal maturation and its influence on self-esteem.This paper is a revised version of a paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, Montreal, September 1–5, 1980. The research project is supported by a grant from the Spencer Foundation, Chicago, to the second author.University of Notre Dame. Received her Ph.D. from Cornell University. Major interest are adolescent and human lifespan development, and divergent thinking.Received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. Major interests are adolescent development, self-esteem, and ethology.