B. Traeen et Il. Kvalem, SEXUAL SOCIALIZATION AND MOTIVES FOR INTERCOURSE AMONG NORWEGIAN ADOLESCENTS, Archives of sexual behavior, 25(3), 1996, pp. 289-302
The impact of gender differences in sexual socialization on early sexu
al experiences among Norwegian adolescents is discussed. The material
comprises a stratified sample of 920 adolescents ages 16-20 years in a
Norwegian county. Data were collected by means of questionnaires. Of
the respondents, 55.5% were girls and 44.5% were boys. 52.3% of girls
and 41.4% of the boys had coital experience. The most common reasons f
or having had the first sexual intercourse were being in love, curiosi
ty or excitement, and sexual arousal. Findings from a discriminant ana
lysis showed that emotional reasons were more important to girls, wher
eas boys seemed more practical in sexual matters. More boys than girls
reported that the reason for having had their most recent intercourse
was that the partner wanted it. This indicates that if girls do not w
ant sex, boys seldom use pressure. Girls set the premises for sexual i
nteraction but are not as sexually skilled as boys.