Youth's perceptions of models of sexuality: Implications for sex education

This research examined the perceptions of models of sexuality held by youth. With significant changes in societal values, parents and educators may no longer be the significant models they once were. Simultaneously, the media and peers have presented a more distorted model of sexuality. To better understand the relative influence of these sources of sexual learning, 141 college students were asked to identify whom they felt represented models of behavior in general and of sexual behavior in particular. The major trends: 1) parents were perceived as models of general behavior twice as often as they were viewed as models of sexuality; 2) this trend was opposite for both media and peer models; and 3) the judgment of responsible and irresponsible sexual behavior focused upon the context of sexual activity. It urns concluded that adults need to be more active in promoting sexually responsible models for youth, and that the informal sources of sexual learning may dilute the effectiveness of formal education.