ABSTRACT
This chapter reviews the recent trends in sexual behavior, the role of other risk behaviors in sexual behavior, the negative health outcomes from unprotected coitus, and directions for prevention. Pubescence, adolescence, and sexuality are interactive. Puberty is the maturational stage of the life cycle during which time the organism goes from a state of reproductive immaturity to full reproductive competence. Sexual behavior does not arise de novo with the onset of adolescence. Autoerotic experiences such as sexual fantasy, nocturnal orgasms with emissions, and masturbation occur during adolescence and are influenced both by hormonal and psychological factors. The incidence of sexual activity increased dramatically from 1971 to the late 1980s in both younger and older age cohorts of adolescents. Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are the most common pervasive and destructive infectious diseases among adolescents.
