Developmental Aspects of Adolescent Sexuality as Reflected in Reactions to Sexually Explicit Humor

Abstract

Male and female appreciation of sexual humor was assessed at the stages of early, middle, and late adolescence. 30 males and 30 females from Catholic schools served in each age group. Age, sex of subject, and sexual content explicitness of humor material were significant factors affecting enjoyment of sexual humor. Convergence in the appreciation of sexual humor between males and females occurred in middle adolescence, but dissimilar patterns of appreciation divergence appeared in early and late adolescence. The differential patterns of appreciation evidenced by the males and females of different ages was discussed in terms of the current patterns of sex-role restraints on the expression of sexuality during adolescent years and how these restraints have changed from those in preceding generations.