Girl Talk: The Process by Which African American Late Adolescent Females Make Sexual Decisions

Little has been written concerning loss of virginity and initial sexual decision-making among African American late adolescent females. Yet, according to the World Health Organization, approximately 50% of all new HIV cases are among young people aged 10-21, and the number of female adolescents infected is three times greater than males. In the United States African Americans, are an estimated 12% of the population but make up approximately 50% of all new HIV cases reported in the country.

This paper presents input from sexually active late adolescent African American women about their ‘first time.' This information could help young women make safer decisions about their sexual health as well as design an intervention for early adolescent African American girls regarding sexual decisions.

Grounded theory methods and symbolic interactionism – such as exploring with these young women what events, relationships and/or other behaviors or perceptions they experienced -- were used to construct a theoretical model that describes the process by which African American young women experience their loss of virginity. Forty sexually active African American women 18-22 years of age were recruited via purposive, snowballing sampling. Initial participants were recruited by professional contacts and special-interest groups. Recruitment continued until saturation was reached. In-depth, semi-structured interviews were completed and constant comparative analysis procedures were employed throughout the study. 

The young women in the study struggled between their emotional and physical response to their first time. Influences from societal norms led to emotional and physical misconceptions about what sexual initiation would be like. These misconceptions led to increased curiosity, and urgency to lose their virginity but the core category that emerged from the data was a 100% consensus among the participants that their first time was not enjoyable.