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A Prospective Study of Young Females’ Sexual Subjectivity: Associations with Age, Sexual Behavior, and Dating

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Abstract

Sexual self-perceptions are important aspects of sexuality, which can undergo significant change during adolescence and early adulthood. The purpose of this study was to describe these changes among girls (N = 251; ages 16–25) over one year, and to examine associations of sexual self-perceptions (sexual subjectivity) with age, sexual behavior, and romantic status. Sexual body-esteem, perceptions of entitlement to desire and pleasure, sexual efficacy, and sexual self-reflection were investigated as elements of sexual subjectivity. All sexual subjectivity elements were higher among girls who had more sexual experience and/or had steady romantic partners during the study. Perception of entitlement to desire and pleasure increased over time, whereas sexual body-esteem showed the most stability and had minimal associations with sexual or romantic experiences. The greatest increases in sexual subjectivity were found among girls who began the study with the least sociosexual experience and self-reflection also increased for girls who had first coitus after the start of the study. Overall, girls who had sexual intercourse the earliest (before age 16) had the highest sexual subjectivity, but sexual subjectivity increased the most among girls without coital experience or who had more recent first coitus.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Haley Fowle for her assistance with the follow-up of participants and for expert data entry. The participants also deserve our recognition and immense appreciation for their commitment to this project.

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  1. Griffith Health Institute and School of Psychology, Griffith University, Gold Coast, QLD, 4222, Australia

    Melanie J. Zimmer-Gembeck, Wendy H. Ducat & Marie-Aude Boislard-Pepin

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  1. Melanie J. Zimmer-Gembeck
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Correspondence to Melanie J. Zimmer-Gembeck.

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Zimmer-Gembeck, M.J., Ducat, W.H. & Boislard-Pepin, MA. A Prospective Study of Young Females’ Sexual Subjectivity: Associations with Age, Sexual Behavior, and Dating. Arch Sex Behav 40, 927–938 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-011-9751-3

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