ABSTRACT
The ability to engage in satisfying and responsible sexual relationships constitutes a major developmental goal in adolescence. The traditional restriction of sexual relationships to marriage has long become obsolete in most Western countries, and the age at which young people become sexually active has declined continuously (Moore & Rosenthal, 1993). At the same time, the number of sexual partners has increased, as has the range of sexual activities performed by adolescents. In a recent nationwide survey among German adolescents, 60% of all 14-year-old girls and 63% of all 14-year-old boys reported experience of kissing or cuddling a member of the opposite sex. At the age of 17, 65% of the girls and 59% of the boys had experienced sexual intercourse (Bundeszentrale fur gesundheitliche Aufklärung [BZgA], 1998).
