The development and consolidation of an understanding of one’s self as a sexual person, or sexual self-concept (Andersen and Cyranowski, 1994, Cooley, 1902, Cyranowski and Andersen, 1998, James, 1915, Longmore, 1998, Rostosky et al., 2008, Snell, 1998 and Winters, 1988), is a normative task of adolescence (Gagnon and Simon, 1987, Longmore, 1998 and Rostosky et al., 2008). This understanding helps individuals organize and make sense of sexual experience and provide structure to and motivation for sexual behavior (Andersen and Cyranowski, 1994, Andersen et al., 1999, Birnbaum and Reis, 2006 and Markus and Wurf, 1987). Recent work emphasizes the multi-dimensional nature of sexual self-concept, with individuals evaluating themselves across different dimensions (Garcia, 1999, O’Sullivan et al., 2006, Rostosky et al., 2008, Snell, 1998 and Tolman et al., 2003). Many of these dimensions appear in early adolescence, often months or years before any physical sexual contact (Butler et al., 2006 and Ott et al., 2006).
One dimension is sexual openness, which includes recognition of sexual pleasure or sexual arousal and a feeling of entitlement to pursue specific sexual activities (Horne and Zimmer-Gembeck, 2005 and Nicholson, 1994). Thompson (1995) found a positive relationship between adolescent women’s realistic understanding of romance, their anticipation of sexual desire and their being ready to consent to sexual intercourse and to use condoms. Other research has shown that young women with a person-centered focus on sexuality report increased use of condoms and contraception, lower pregnancy rates and later onset of first sexual intercourse (Eng and Butler, 1996 and Fine, 1988).
A second dimension of sexual self-concept, sexual esteem, involves positive evaluations of one’s sexuality (Snell, 1998), including appraisals of sexual thought, feelings and behaviors (Zeanah & Schwartz, 1996), as well perceptions of body in the sexual context (Horne & Zimmer-Gembeck, 2005). Generally speaking, adolescents with greater sexual esteem feel more assured in sexual situations, more positive about their sexual activity, and somewhat more likely to use condoms and contraception (Buzwell and Rosenthal, 1996, O’Sullivan et al., 2006 and Seal et al., 1997). Among late adolescent women, higher general sexual self-concept was associated with more sexual experience, including coitus and more sexual satisfaction, but was not associated with earlier onset of intercourse or with increased number of partner changes (Impett & Tolman, 2006). It may be that young women with higher sexual esteem place higher value on their sexual being and experiences, and by extension are willing to engage a sexual partner in discussing issues related to sexual encounters, such as satisfaction, emotions and willingness to participate in risk (Oattes & Offman, 2007).
A third dimension, sexual anxiety, refers to tension, discomfort, and other negative evaluations of the sexual aspects of one’s life (Snell, 1998). Sexual anxiety is associated with greater endorsement of abstinence beliefs, lower perceived sexual readiness or likelihood of intercourse in the near future, as well as with fewer reports of having a boyfriend, having been in love or having engaged in kissing, fondling or coitus (O’Sullivan et al., 2006). In this same study, older adolescents had lower negative sexual affect as compared to younger adolescents, suggesting that reduced negativity about sexual matters aligns with increasing sexual experience, perhaps as an anticipatory effect or increased confidence (O’Sullivan & Brooks-Gunn, 2005). It is unclear, however, how a reduction in sexual anxiety may be influenced by a simultaneous rise in positive sexual self-concept, and how long this effect may last, particularly if sexual activity increases over time.
