THE IMPACT OF ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS ON

THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS:

A QUALITATIVE STUDY

A Clinical Dissertation

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Presented to the Faculty of

The California School of Professional Psychology

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San Francisco Bay Campus

Alliant International University

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In Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements of the Degree

Doctor of Psychology

By

Allison T. Stefan

February 2006

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 UMI Number: 3200232

Copyright 2006 by
Stefan, Allison T.

All rights reserved.

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 THE IMPACT OF ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS ON

THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS:

A QUALITATIVE STUDY

This clinical dissertation, by Allison T. Stefan, has

been approved by the committee members signed below
who recommend that it be accepted by the faculty of the
California School of Professional Psychology - San Francisco Bay Area

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Campus in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of
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DOCTOR OF PSYCHOLOGY
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Clinical Dissertation Committee:

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Chairperson

Marie-Nathalie Beaudoin, PhD.

Date ' ’

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© Copyright by Allison T. Stefan, 2006

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 1

ABSTRACT

THE IMPACT OF ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS ON

THE ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE OF HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS:

A QUALITATIVE STUDY

ALLISON T. STEFAN

California School of Professional Psychology

San Francisco Bay Area Campus

This interview study examines the effects o f dating on the academic performance

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of high school girls. It also explores the societal pressures for these girls to date, as well

as the academic pressures they experience. Ten heterosexual girls between the ages of 15
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and 18 were recruited from a volunteer website. Seven girls were Caucasian and three

were of Asian descent. Based upon their parents’ occupations, the girls socioeconomic
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status ranged between middle and upper middle class. The girls ranged from high school

freshmen to graduates, and had varying amounts of dating experience.

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This study found that there is great societal pressure for girls to date and that girls

are powerfully influenced by teen magazines. Girls often feel “weird” or not normal if

they do not date. Dating has both negative and positive effects on the girls’ academic

performance, depending on the academic values o f the boy and the girls’ academic goals.

Dating or spending time with boys serves as a distraction to the girls, even those who

place a high priority on academics. Other negative effects are avoidance o f schoolwork

to impress boys and to alleviate school stress. A positive effect o f dating results when the

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person the girl is dating has high academic goals and motivates the girls to work harder or

do better.

Girls whose parents have encouraged them to do well in school since early in life

appear to value academic performance. Girls feel different academic pressures

depending on the level o f competition in their schools and are strongly influenced by

their peers. The girls also notice sexism in their schools; some notice that teachers favor

boys or that smart girls are not appreciated as much as boys.

Three case studies are presented that illustrate the different levels of dating

experience and effects o f dating on the girls. The first girl has dated a great deal and her

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grades have suffered; the second has not dated at all but feels odd for not doing so; and

the third has a serious boyfriend who had a positive influence on her academic
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performance.

This study concludes that adolescent girls are socialized to believe that dating is
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the norm in high school and that girls are not aware o f the extent of this socialization.

This societal pressure may lead girls into dating even if that is not their preferred choice.
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Clinicians, school counselors, and other people working with teen girls should be aware

of this pressure to date and the effects of dating on academics. The use of deconstruction,

or questioning, of the cultural discourse o f teenage dating can assist girls in deciding if

dating is their choice or the result of socialization.

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 Dedication

This dissertation is dedicated to teen girls.

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 Acknowledgements

This dissertation could not have been completed without the following people in my life:

Aram Sarkissian, my husband, whose love, patience, and endless encouragement have
sustained and motivated me throughout this dissertation, from start to finish.

My parents, Gary and Ingrid Stefan, and brother, Adam Stefan, who have always loved
and believed in me. They knew this day would happen even if I didn’t.

The Sarkissian family, whose warmth and support, as well as Armenian cooking and
games of canasta, eased the stress along the way.

My friends, for understanding why they haven’t seen me in months while I was working
on this project.

My committee chairperson, Dr. Valory Mitchell, for providing me with the guidance,

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understanding, and masterful editing that I needed to conquer this enormous task.

My committee member, Dr. Marie-Nathalie Beaudoin, who has served as a mentor to me

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for the past three and half years. She has nurtured my growth as a therapist and as a
person.
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 Table o f Contents

Page

Dedication................................................................................................................................iv

Acknowledgements................................................................................................................. v

List of Tables......................................................................................................................... viii

CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................... 1

CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE............................................................ 3

Adolescence................................................................................................................. 3
Identity............................................................................................................. 3
Adolescence fo r Girls.................................................................................... 6
Adolescent Relationships.............................................................................14

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Girls and Academic Performance............................................................................19
Romantic Relationships and Academic Performance...........................................21
Focus of this Study...................................................................................................22
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CHAPTER III: M ETHOD...................................................................................................23

Sample.........................................................................................................................23
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Procedure.................................................................................................................... 23
M easures.................................................................................................................... 24
Data A nalysis............................................................................................................25

CHAPTER IV: RESULTS....................................................................................................28

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Sample..........................................................................................................................28
Description o f Sample...................................................................................28
Parents and Family....................................................................................... 30
Romantic Relationships versus Academic Performance....................................... 30
Academics Important fo r Later Success.....................................................31
High School Romantic Relationships not Serious..................................... 31
Dating and Romantic Relationships.........................................................................32
Meaning o f Having a Boyfriend................................................................... 32
Reasons fo r Dating or Wanting to Date.......................................................34
Reasons fo r Not Dating................................................................................. 35
Pressure to Date............................................................................................. 36
Effects o f Dating on Academic Performance...........................................................41
Negative Effects o f Dating on Academic Performance.............................. 41
Positive Effects o f Dating on Academic Performance............................... 45
Dating Had No Effect on Academic Performance......................................45

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 Must Girls Act Less Smart To Interest Boys?.............................................. 46
Reasons Not to Pretend You ’re Less Sm art................................................. 47
Reasons to Pretend You ’re Less Sm art.........................................................48
Girls and Academic Performance................................................................................48
Influences on Girls ’Academic Performance............................................... 50
Girls ’ Perceptions o f Society’s Views o f Girls and School........................ 52
Girls ’ Perception o f Gender Differences in Math and Science.................54
Girls and Grades.............................................................................................55
Girls and Classes.............................................................................................55
Girls ’ Plans fo r the Future..............................................................................56

CHAPTER V: CASE STUDIES.............................................................................................57

“Rachel” ......................................................................................................................... 57
“Kate” ............................................................................................................................ 60
“Jessica” ......................................................................................................................... 63

CHAPTER VI: DISCUSSION...............................................................................................67

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Significant Them es...................................................................................................... 67
Pressure to Have a Boyfriend........................................................................ 67
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Effects o f Teen M agazines............................................................................. 68
Effects o f Romantic Relationships on Academics....................................... 69
The Importance o f Academic Performance................................................. 70
Effects o f Patriarchy and Sexism...................................................................71
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Clinical Implications................................................................................................... 72
Limitations and Directions for Future Research.......................................................73
Conclusion.................................................................................................................... 74

REFERENCES.......................................................................................................................... 76
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APPENDIX A: Script for Online Recruitment.....................................................................80

APPENDIX B: Pre-Interview Phone Script......................................................................... 82

APPENDIX C: Consent Form ...............................................................................................84

APPENDIX D: Assent Form .................................................................................................87

APPENDIX E: Demographic Questionnaire........................................................................ 89

APPENDIX F: Interview Guide............................................................................................ 92

APPENDIX G: Post Interview Phone Script........................................................................95

APPENDIX H: Verification o f Interview Completion and Funds Received....................97

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 List o f Tables

Page

1. Participants’ Views on Dating......................................................................................... 33

2. Effects o f Dating on Academic Performance................................................................ 42

3. Participants’ View on Academic Performance.............................................................. 49

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CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION

Adolescence is the period between childhood and adulthood (Matlin, 1996).

During this period, individuals grow in many different developmental domains, including

cognitively, physically, and morally (Sturdevant & Spear, 2002). Adolescents are also

sorting out their identity, learning who they can be and what sort o f adult they would

prefer to be (Erikson, 1968, 1982; Marcia, 2002). While some research (Erikson, 1968,

1982; Marcia, 2002) supports the idea that adolescents’ identities develop by

individuating and becoming autonomous, others (Gilligan, 1982; Stern, 1991) believe

that girls develop their identities through relationships with others.

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In Western culture, early adolescents learn to have intimate same-sex friendships,

and then learn to have other-sex friendships during middle adolescence (Connolly,
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Furman, & Konarski, 2000; Brendgen et al, 2002). By late adolescence, teens transition

to romantic relationships (Quatman, Sampson, Robinson, & Watson, 2001). While

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having romantic relationships with partners o f the other sex is seen as developmentally

normal for both sexes, girls often feel more pressure to have a boyfriend (Basow &
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Rubin, 1999; Peirce, 1990). Some research shows that parental relationships have the

most influence on these romantic relationships; others theorize that same- sex peer

relationships impact them the most (Seiffge-Krenke, Shulman, & Klessinger, 2001;

Brendgen et al, 2002; Connolly, Furman, & Konarksi, 2000). Up to half of adolescents

have romantic relationships (Connolly, Furman, & Konarski, 2000).

The effect o f romantic relationships on academic performance has been shown to

be negative, particularly for girls (Quatman, Sampson, Robinson, & Watson, 2001;

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Brendgen et al, 2002). The goal o f this study is to explore girls’ expectations and beliefs

about dating and academic performance.

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CHAPTER II: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

Adolescence

The word adolescence is derived from the Latin verb adolescere, meaning “to

grow into adulthood” (Steinberg, 1998). The literature in this chapter reflects

adolescence as defined and described in Western culture. Cognitively, adolescents move

from concrete styles of thinking involving the solid and tangible, to more abstract forms

of thought involving ideas and possibilities (Sturdevant & Spear, 2002). Morally,

adolescents progressively grow from seeing punishment and rewards as the reasons to

control behavior, to behaving according to personal standards and universal ethics

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(Sturdevant & Spear, 2002). Physically, adolescents develop secondary sex

characteristics that enable them to have reproductive ability.

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Adolescence has been divided into three stages: early, middle, and late

(Steinberg, 2001, Sturdevant & Spear, 2002). Teens in early adolescence respect adult
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authority, use concrete reasoning skills, and undergo discomfort due to the changes in

their bodies (Steinberg, 2001). In middle adolescence, teens are seen to challenge adult
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authority, rely more on peers for standards o f appearance and behavior, have more

abstract reasoning, and start experimenting in romantic and sexual activities (Steinberg,

2001). In late adolescence, teens are able to rely more on their own values rather than on

peers, they have the ability to plan for the future and solve life problems, and to maintain

a long-term intimate relationship (Steinberg, 2001).

Identity

Erik Erikson (1968) views adolescence as the time when individuals are in the

fifth of eight psychosocial stages, called identity versus identity confusion. The main

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 task of this stage is to develop an identity that will prepare for and carry one through

adulthood. Erikson sees adolescence as the last stage of childhood, complete only when

an individual embraces adult commitments (Erikson, 1968). Identity confusion is when

teens are unsure o f the roles they will take in life. Erikson (1982) describes identity

confusion as a “necessary and normative experience that forms a core disturbance”

(p.72). This confusion tempts many teens to fall in with cliques and crowds, in which

they lose their individuality (Erikson, 1968). Adolescence, as well as the college years,

can be seen as a psychosocial moratorium— a time when one is sexually and cognitively

mature, but not ready for adult responsibilities (Erikson, 1982). Instead, the adolescent

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postpones these commitments, and experiments with different roles, in hopes o f finding

his or her own niche (Erikson, 1968).

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Marcia (2002) states that adolescence is that period when identity is added to the

ego structure for the first time. The physical, sexual, cognitive, and moral development
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that the adolescent undergoes, as well as the expectations that he/she will soon be

undertaking adult roles (such as worker, parent, and citizen) lead to this development in
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ego structure. Marcia adds to Erikson’s psychosocial theory o f development by defining

four identity statuses. These identity statuses represent ways an older adolescent might

resolve issues of identity and identity confusion. The four identity statuses are

foreclosure, moratorium, achievement, and diffusion. They were originally developed to

empirically investigate Erikson’s theory (Marcia, 2002). Foreclosure refers to an

adolescent’s “unquestioned adoption o f parental (or other authorities’) plans and values”

(Marcia, 2002, p.202). In the moratorium status, adolescents are exploring possible

futures. Adolescents who begin to make commitments to possible identities are identity

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achieved (Marcia, 2002). Finally, adolescents who are “unable or unwilling to make

commitments” and whose “exploration period is more like aimless wandering” are seen

as having identity diffused status (Marcia, 2002, p.202).

Franz and White (1985) criticize Erikson’s theory o f psychosocial development

for not accounting fully for the development of relationship. Franz and White believe

that Erikson’s greatest limitation is that the theory has only one developmental pathway,

involving individuation. Instead, Franz and White propose extending Erikson’s theory to

include two developmental pathways—attachment as well as individuation. Using

Selman’s (1981, in Franz & White, 1985) interpersonal competence and object-relations

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theory, Franz and White have added attachment crises to each o f Erikson’s eight

psychosocial stages. For adolescents, this is the crisis of mutuality/interdependence

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versus alienation (Franz & White, 1985). The goal for adolescents is to ultimately

“perceive accurately, understand compassionately, and take action on the feelings of self
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and others” (Franz & White, 1985, pp.252-3). This addition to Erikson’s theory

describes how both males and females develop in relationship.

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Steinberg (2001) believes that a person may not establish their identity until the

end o f adolescence or into young adulthood, and focuses instead on adolescents’

development o f self-conceptions (ideas about one’s self). With cognitive development,

adolescents are able to create more abstract self-conceptions (Steinberg, 2001).

Adolescents often find that their self-conceptions vary in different relationship settings;

for instance, a teenager may see him/herself differently in the presence of peers than in

the presence of parents and teachers (Harter et al 1998, in Steinberg, 2001). As an

individual goes through adolescence, these self-conceptions become more differentiated

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and better organized, giving the teen a clearer picture of what his/her identity is going to

be (Steinberg, 2001).

Adolescence fo r girls

Adolescence is a difficult time for girls. The American Association o f University

Women (AAUW) commissioned a poll in 1990 entitled Shortchanging Girls,

Shortchanging America. They interviewed 3000 girls and boys aged 9 to 15 to “explore

the impact o f gender on their self-confidence, academic interests, and career goals”

(AAUW, 1991, p.5). The results of this poll indicated that most girls emerge from

adolescence with “a poor self-image, constrained views o f their future and their place in

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society, and much less confidence about themselves and their abilities” (AAUW, 1991,

p.7). One of the most important findings was that girls’ self-esteem drops 31% between
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elementary school and high school.

Female Identity
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Erikson (1968) believes that adolescence is the time when girls realize their “inner

space” and the role and responsibility of child-bearing associated with it. There can be a
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psychosocial moratorium in adolescence, a delay before taking on adult roles and

responsibilities, for girls as well as boys (Erikson, 1968). During this time, maturing girls

explore identifications with men and women, as well as experimenting with being men’s

counterparts. In this period, girls also pursue education and career goals. Erikson,

writing in the 1960’s, believed that girls’ identities are largely taken up by their

attractiveness and their search for the men they want to pursue them, as well as “those

modes o f activity which include and integrate her natural dispositions” (1968, 290), such

as motherhood. The girls’ psychosocial moratorium ends when, as women now, they

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 have decided which aspects of their experience will best define their identity and have

made a commitment to pursue them.

Erikson describes a healthy identity is as autonomous and independent (Erikson,

1968, 1982, Marcia, 2002). While this identity description may fit for boys, research on

female development finds that girls define themselves through their relationships

(Gilligan, 1982). Girls’ and women’s identities do not depend on separation from the

mother or on the process of individuation; instead, attachment, or being in relationship

with others, is used to create female identity (Gilligan, 1982). “Females develop their

identities as they experience themselves through attachment in relationships” (Steiner-

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Adair, 1990, p. 164). When asked to describe themselves, girls often talk about

themselves in relation to others (Gilligan, 1982, Stern, 1991).

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Instead o f seeing relationship and independence as mutually exclusive, Stern

(1991) believes that “separation and connection can be two compatible aspects of a
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person” (p. 84). Independence for girls is intertwined with relationships (Stern, 1991).

Independence is most valuable when it serves girls’ relationships, and through these
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relationships, girls can become more independent (Stem, 1991). For girls, separation

and independence occur within the context o f relationship (Stern, 1991).

Since individualist cultures, such as American society, focus on autonomy, the

importance o f relationships for women and girls has sometimes been seen as a weakness

(Gilligan, 1982). Adolescent girls come to a crossroads where to be a woman would

require relationship with others while maturity would require separation from others

(Stern, 1991). “By adolescence, today’s girls have simultaneously been socialized to

devalue the importance o f relationships and to value independence and autonomy,

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 towards which males are socialized” (Steiner-Adair, 1990, p. 166). Thus a crisis can

occur for girls, as they struggle to stay in relationships, instead of giving them up to

achieve society’s version o f maturity (Gilligan, 1991). Gilligan (1991) notes that seven

and eight year old girls are able to “tell people how they feel, mark relational violations,

and openly respond to what is happening in relationships” (p. 17). By adolescence,

however, they feel pressure to keep quiet about relational violations, such as being

ignored or insulted, because they feel society’s expectation to be nice and not hurt

anyone’s feelings (Gilligan, 1991). Mary Pipher (1994) believes that girls who were

quite confident about who they are, what they are interested in, and what they want from

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life, transform into teenagers who seem to have lost their voice. Pipher is a clinical

psychologist who has worked with adolescent girls for over 20 years. She wrote Reviving
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Ophelia: Saving the Selves o f Adolescent Girls as a way to help herself and her readers

understand the increasing problems that adolescent girls face in a culture she describes as
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“girl-poisoning” (Pipher, 1994, p. 12). Such a culture can lead to a host of problems for

adolescent girls: “Adolescence witnesses a marked increase in episodes of depression,

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eating disorders, poor body image, suicidal thoughts and gestures, and a fall in girls’

sense o f self-worth” (Gilligan, 1991, p. 13).

Girls face the dilemma o f whether to be truly themselves or be what society

defines as feminine (Pipher, 1994). This dilemma can result in a crisis for girls at

adolescence: Pipher states that “girls know they are losing themselves” (1994, p.20).

Fortunately not all girls lose themselves. Girls who are able to hold on to their own

thoughts and feelings and resist societal pressure to adhere to feminine norms are among

the psychologically healthiest (Irvine, 1994).

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Creating a fem ale identity in a patriarchal culture. Adolescent girls grow up in a

patriarchal culture in which girls’ and women’s interests are seen as secondary to the

interests of men (Weedon, 1997). Hamkins et al (2003, p.6) define patriarchy:

The patriarchy is the systems of knowledge and power that privilege men relative
to women. The patriarchy is neither a single institution nor members of one
gender. Rather it is a version o f reality that has powerfully influenced the way we
think, the way we create our culture, and the way we live our lives. The
patriarchy is supported by a wide range o f sexist discourses and practices.

Patriarchy leads to various constraints in adolescent girls’ lives, including economic

dependence; gendered power relations; fear o f harassment; sexism and violence; norms

of caring, cooperation and appearance; and shared peer group assumptions about

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appropriate behavior for females (Van Roosmalen, 2000). Through the influence of the

patriarchy, adolescent girls may come to believe that the idea o f the perfect girl is one
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who is “thin, controls her sexual desire, silences her voices, and is ‘nice,’ ‘feminine,’ and

accommodating” (Nylund & Ceske, 1997, p.357). In patriarchal culture, adolescent girls
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“believe they have to separate what they love from what they believe they should be

doing, in order to be seen as cooperative, kind, and good— the kind of girls they think
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others want them to be” (Brown, 1991, p.80). Pursuing these patriarchal standards can

lead girls down the path to depression and eating disorders (Nylund & Ceske, 1997).

Patriarchy can also influence girls in other ways, such as defining the roles they

should take as adults. “A fundamental patriarchal assumption is that women’s biological

differences from men fit them for different social tasks” (Weedon, 1997, p.2). Such

social tasks include being a wife and mother, working in service industries and the

“caring” professions (Weedon, 1997). These patriarchal beliefs affect the decisions girls

make as they go through school and decide upon their future. Patriarchal discourse is not

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the only powerful discourse that girls face— it is interrelated with racism, classism, and

heterosexism that all affect girls in various ways (Hamkins et al, 2003; Weedon, 1997).

Female socialization through the media

Through commercials and advertisements, the media have made physical beauty

the standard for women (Peirce, 1990). Great pressure is placed on girls to conform to

conventional standards o f physical attractiveness (Basow & Rubin, 1999). This message

seems to be reaching girls: research indicates that it is usual for girls to be excessively

concerned with their bodies (Steiner-Adair, 1990). Girls are twice as likely as boys to put

their appearance as what they like about themselves, rather than their talents and abilities

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(Orenstein, 1994). Girls are also socialized to rely on others’ acceptance and opinion

(Steiner-Adair, 1990). Because girls develop their identity in the context of relationships,
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they are more dependent on and vulnerable to these outside influences than are boys

(Steiner-Adair, 1990).
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Magazines for teen girls reinforce gender roles. Seventeen magazine is the

teenage magazine with the longest publishing record and the largest circulation record
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(Schlenker, Caron, & Halteman, 1998). For this reason, Schlenker, Caron, & Halteman

(1998) conducted a content analysis o f Seventeen magazine from 1945-1995. They

categorized the articles into six categories. Categories 1-3 were characterized as having

traditional messages about appearance, male-female relations, and home. Categories 4-6

were characterized by having feminist messages about self-development, career

development, and political/world issues. They found that in all issues, the most prevalent

category was appearance. Even in the years that had the most feminist content (1945,

1975, and 1995), at least half o f the articles had traditional content. A separate analysis

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of Seventeen (Peirce, 1990) cited its emphasis on romance, beauty, and fashion, as well as

other traditional subjects like decorating, food, and crafts.

Romantic versus academic priorities. Through teen magazines, girls learn about

boys and romantic relationships (Arnett, 1995). “Popular culture reinforces the ideal that

girls are supposed to be boy crazy” (Van Roosmalen, 2000, p.4). The message to teenage

girls is that having a boyfriend is more important than getting good grades, and that

getting good grades is not conducive to getting a boyfriend (Peirce, 1990). Through her

text analysis o f 875 letters written to the advice column of Teen Magazine, Van

Roosmalen (2000) finds that a major theme is avoiding boyfriendlessness and achieving

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girlfriend status. The definition of success for girls, according to messages from peers

and parents, is to be attractive to men and to marry the right man (Peirce, 1990).
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Women and girls are taught to look outward to lovers or husbands in order to

achieve worthiness (Orenstein, 1994). It appears that girls hear this message: early dating
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and relationships with males are positively linked to self-esteem in high school girls

(Basow & Rubin, 1999). The dating relationship may serve as a means of status
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achievement (Furman & Wehner, 1994). According to Teen Magazine, becoming

someone’s girlfriend is the experience that gives teen girls’ lives meaning and importance

(Van Roosmalen, 2000). The girls that wrote letters to Teen Magazine felt that being

without a boyfriend is problematic (Van Roosmalen, 2000). Often adolescent girls

become dependent on their boyfriends (Peirce, 1990). “Once girls have a boyfriend, the

pressure to remain in that relationship is equally powerful. Girls realize that they have a

lot to lose if they end a relationship, regardless of the actual content o f that relationship”

(Van Roosmalen, 2000, p. 5).

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Puberty

During puberty, the body is transformed from the physical appearance of a child

to that o f an adult (Dubas & Petersen, 1993). Three views on the psychosocial effects of

puberty have been formulated (Dubas & Petersen, 1993). The first is called the “stressful

change hypothesis,” which assumes that all change is stressful, in particular the physical

transformation that girls go through during puberty (Dubas & Petersen, 1993). This

hypothesis implies that most females will encounter some problem during adolescence.

The second is the “off-time hypothesis,” which states that girls undergoing puberty

earlier or later than the average are more likely to experience difficulties during

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adolescence (Dubas & Petersen, 1993). Third, the “early timing hypothesis” suggests

that girls who undergo early pubertal development are prone to difficulties because they
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are seen as young women, and society’s expectations of women do not match their

emotional and cognitive levels of functioning (Dubas & Petersen, 1993). Compared to
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middle and late maturing girls, early maturing girls have poorer body image, are less

satisfied with their weight, and have less positive feelings about their pubertal timing
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(Dubas & Petersen, 1993). Early maturing girls also have more eating problems (Dubas

& Petersen, 1993).

Sexuality

“A young woman’s sexual identity develops in social contexts characterized by

gendered power relations, peer group identity, sexual hierarchy, male dominance,

negative attitudes, and labels o f deviance” (Van Roosmalen, 2000, p.2). The media

portray the message that girls and women only have value as sexual objects (Schlenker,

Caron, & Halteman, 1998).

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Female sexual desire has been missing in Western patriarchal culture’s

conceptions of female sexuality (Tolman, 1991). Girls live in a culture that “obscures,

denigrates, silences and is silent about their desire” (Tolman, 1991, p.61). Adolescent

sexual desire is rarely addressed in schools or in the literature o f developmental

psychology (Tolman, 1991). This absence contributes to girls’ impression that they are

not supposed to feel sexual desire. “Sexuality has been very effectively policed,

especially for teenagers (girls in particular), whose lives are fairly rigidly controlled and

who have little economic and social power” (Irvine, 1994, p .133).

“Females are supposed to look sexy and attract males’ sexual interest, but

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sexually active females are often viewed negatively” (Basow & Rubin, 1999, p.33). In

the school world, girls are not allowed to express their desire— to do so would cause them
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to be labeled as a “slut” (Orenstein, 1994). Instead, their role is to be desirable—to look

sexy, yet not have sex, to attract boys’ desire and ignore their own (Orenstein, 1994).
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Teenage girls often justify their sexual activity by saying they are doing it out of love,

rather than to fulfill their sexual desires, and often focus on the desires o f their partner.
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(Durham, 1998). Sexual activity becomes a way to confirm their self-worth and

lovability, through someone else (Orenstein, 1994).

When adolescent sexuality is addressed, it generally is associated with risk,

disease, and death, often in relation to the AIDS epidemic (Irvine, 1994). Another

concern of adolescent sexuality is pregnancy. “Adolescent sexuality, especially the

visible manifestation o f pregnancy, serves as a condensed symbol for social upheaval

associated with gender roles, the role o f sex and pleasure, and inequities of race and

socioeconomic class” (Irvine, 1994, p.7).

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