Comparison of four theories of adolescent sexual exploration

Abstract

This study tested competing theoretical concepts derived from social learning, differential association, social control, and containment theories, using hierarchial regression statistical procedures to examine their use in explaining whether or not adolescents had experienced sexual intercourse. It consisted of cross‐sectional data solicited from 1496 private high‐school students. Bivariate and multivariate analyses supported the assumption that selected concepts from different theories of deviance were relevant to adolescent sexual activity. Concepts from differential association, social learning, and social control theories were supported with evidence, and differential peer association accounted for two thirds of the total explained variance in adolescent sexual intercourse. An integrative theoretical model is proposed, based on the results of this study.