Interpersonal context as an influence on sexual timetables of youths: Gender and ethnic effects

We investigated whether the nature of the relationship with a partner (a se rious vs. casual relationship) influences youths' sexual behaviors and atti tudes. We asked 452 youths, ages 18-25, drawn from 4 ethnic groups (White, African American, Latino, and Asian American) about their own past sexual b ehavior (personal sexual timetables) and about acceptable ages for youths, in general, to engage in different sexual behaviors (normative sexual timet ables). Students answered these questions twice: once when describing partn ers in a serious relationship and once when the partner was not well known. The results revealed that the interpersonal context had opposite effects o n normative and personal timetables. Although sexual explorations were more acceptable with a serious partner, youth generally began sexual activities with a partner they did not know well. As predicted, the interpersonal con text influenced the sexual timetables of White adolescents more than other groups, although only under certain conditions. Contrary to predictions, th e effect on interpersonal context on sexual timetables was similar for both genders. Additionally, women had more restrictive timetables than men, and Asian American adolescents held more restricted timetables than other grou ps. African American adolescents had less restricted personal timetables th an other ethnic groups, although this result was diminished when sociodemog raphic factors were controlled.