Description
- Abstract:
- Sexual violence is common in adolescence. Education on sexual consent is considered to be a critical component of many sexual assault prevention programs, and it is possible that an understanding of sexual consent assists adolescents in developing healthy dating and sexual relationships. Accordingly, the current study conducted a series of semi-structured interviews (N = 29) to explore perceptions of sexual consent among high school students (ages 14 – 18). Thematic analysis identified three salient themes pertaining to: 1) the definition of consent; 2) verbal and non-verbal strategies for conveying consent; and 3) expectations of how consent would be communication following an initial sexual encounter. In the present sample, adolescents defined consent as saying “yes” sexual activity. Whereas consent was defined as a verbal provision of affirmative consent, both male and female adolescents believed that girls typically conveyed consent non-verbally. Girls indicated that they typically conveyed sexual refusal through non-verbal cues, whereas adolescent males reported proceeding with sexual activity until they heard the verbal expression of “no.” Adolescents shared the perception that adolescents who previously engaged in sexual activity can expect that sexual activity will happen again without the need for verbal consent, particularly within an established relationship. These findings highlight important discrepancies in adolescents’ definition of sexual consent, and how they communicate sexual consent and sexual refusal. Variation in how girls describe communicating sexual refusal, and the signals boys describe as indicating refusal for sex may contribute to unwanted sexual experiences among adolescents.
- Notes:
- Thesis (M. P. H.)--Brown University, 2018
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Citation
Righi, Mary Kirtley,
"A Qualitative Analysis of Sexual Consent among High School Students"
(2018).
Public Health Theses and Dissertations.
Brown Digital Repository. Brown University Library.
https://doi.org/10.26300/dgxe-t085
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Public Health Theses and Dissertations
Theses and Dissertations for the Public Health department....