Sexual Trajectories During Adolescence and Adjustment in Emerging Adulthood

This study examined how adolescents’ sexual trajectories are associated with achievement of emerging adulthood developmental tasks (educational attainment, full-time employment, romantic involvement) and psychosocial outcomes (problems with alcohol, depression, self-esteem). Trajectories (identified...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inEmerging adulthood (Thousand Oaks, CA) Vol. 9; no. 4; pp. 281 - 291
Main Authors Rossi, Erika, Poulin, François, Boislard, Marie-Aude
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01.08.2021
Sage Publications Ltd
Subjects
Adolescents
Adults
Alcohol
Developmental tasks
Educational attainment
Employment
Males
Men
Mental depression
Psychosocial factors
Self esteem
Sexual behavior
longitudinal
sexual development
trajectories
alcohol use/abuse
life course
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:This study examined how adolescents’ sexual trajectories are associated with achievement of emerging adulthood developmental tasks (educational attainment, full-time employment, romantic involvement) and psychosocial outcomes (problems with alcohol, depression, self-esteem). Trajectories (identified in a previous report by Rossi, Poulin, & Boislard) based on annual number of sexual partners from ages 16 to 22 (i.e., abstainers, low-increasing, medium-increasing, multiple partners’ trajectories) were compared on outcomes measured at age 22. Results showed that youths in the two less sexually active trajectories achieved higher levels of education than those in the two other trajectories, and females (but not males) in the multiple partners’ group reported more problems with alcohol than all other participants. The absence of significant differences in depression and self-esteem suggests that the impact of adolescent sexual trajectories on psychological outcomes might take longer to emerge.
ISSN:2167-6968
2167-6984
DOI:10.1177/2167696819893550