STAGES OF PROGRESSION IN NONCOITAL SEXUAL INTERACTIONS AMONG YOUNG ADOLESCENTS - AN APPLICATION OF THE MOKKEN SCALE ANALYSIS

This study attempted to test empirically the tenability of the assumpt ion of a sequential pattern of involvement in noncoital sexual interac tions among white Western adolescents, by following a cohort between t he ages of 13 and 16 years. The results documented that even among 13- year-old adolescents, one can already examine variations in noncoital sexual interaction, and that the various items of noncoital sexual int eractions can be reliably measured. The Mokken scale analysis yielded empirical evidence of a sequential pattern of involvement in such beha viour among adolescents. Furthermore, it suggested that in early adole scence, the development of intimate sexual relationships is a slow, ex perimental, and cumulative process. For most adolescents, this process involves experimentation and the passage of time. The five items of n oncoital sexual interactions form a strong Mokken scale, and were sign ificant predictors of the onset of sexual intercourse.