Learning Objective #1: Describe bombarding seductive influences that promote sexual activity in adolescent females

Learning Objective #2: Correlate other current findings with this research regarding adolescent sexual decision making to provide a basis for evidence based practice

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While the US leads all industrialized nations in the rates of sexually transmitted infections and teen pregnancy, helping adolescents make safe sexual choices is a concern worldwide. To better understand the views of high risk adolescents a qualitative study was conducted with 19 incarcerated females. The purpose of the study was to generate a substantive theory using grounded theory methods, to explain the sexual decision-making of high risk adolescent females. Through semi-structured interviews, the data were collected and analyzed using constant comparison, until saturation occurred. The participants in this research described being bombarded by seductive influences which encouraged them to be sexually active. Eight bombarding seductive influences were identified. Three of these influences originated from within the participants: personal determination, denial of risks, and their personal sex drive. Five influences were in the external world of the participants: peers, partners, drug & alcohol use, various forms of media, and opportunities for sexual encounters. In response to these influences, these participants normalized sex, viewing sexual activity as normal teen behavior. They did this by surrendering to situations, perceiving “everybody’s doing it,” and wanting to belong. The purpose of this presentation is to discuss the seductive influences that bombarded these adolescents within the context of other research findings from related quantitative studies involving thousands of participants. These findings are complimentary, with the larger studies providing an impersonal view, while this research explains these findings more personally. Together these provide a basis for evidence based practice with adolescent females. This topic is of international concern since many of the seductive influences that bombard adolescents worldwide originate in the US. Recognizing these influences and how they lead adolescent females to view sexual activity as normal teen behavior will be discussed as well as strategies to help others recognize them as well.