Objective: The purpose of this study was to explore the contexts in which African American adolescent females were sexually abstinent and to describe how these contexts supported or inhibited abstinence.
Design: The life span developmental approach provided the perspective for this qualitative study. Life histories were obtained to gain an understanding of how the past may have influenced the participants' current state of being.
Population, Sample, Setting, Years: This sample was drawn from a population of urban, African American adolescent females. The sample included 14 sexually abstinent, African American females between the ages of 15 and 18. They represented a variety of family compositions, religious denominations, and family income levels. All participants lived in Milwaukee, WI. Interviews were conducted from September 2000 to March 2001.
Concept: Abstinence was viewed as a state of being that has developed over time in response to a variety of contextual influences. Abstaining from sexual activity is one way that adolescents choose to express their sexuality.
Methods: Life histories were collected during two, 60-minute, semi-structured interviews. Interview transcriptions were divided into narratives then condensed to adequate paraphrases. The paraphrases were coded using NVivo. Coding labels corresponded to the contexts of sexuality, self, family, and religiosity. The life history of each participant was analyzed separately to identify salient features of her history. Then, life experiences were compared across participants to identify unique and common descriptions of the contexts of their lives.
Findings: Analysis revealed descriptions of the contexts of sexuality, self, family, and religiosity. Sexuality: The participants' maturational changes attracted attention from adult and adolescent males and females that irrevocably identified them as soon-to-be women capable of intimacy and reproduction. Their new cognitive powers gained through maturation, provided them with the tools they needed to process their internal changes as well as intense external influences. Much of the information they had about sexuality was myths and stereotypes. They lacked accurate knowledge about reproductive anatomy and physiology. Remarkably, in a short period of time, they set abstinence as the standard for their sexual behavior and then pursued a life consistent with this standard.
Self: Most participants were involved in extracurricular activities that kept them busy so they did not think about having sex. All attended high school and most planned to go to college. Twelve participants possessed one or more personal attributes that promoted abstinence including a personal sense of maturity, ease with being different, and an ability to identify and avoid situations that might end in trouble.
Family: The participants' mothers were their role models of adult women who were mature, independent and strong. Participants maintained sexual abstinence to show that they were becoming mature women like their mothers. Siblings influenced the participants to be abstinent by being each other's role models. Participants wanted to be like their older siblings who had been abstinent throughout high school. Participants recognized that they were role models for their younger siblings, so they set a good example to influence them in a positive way. Maternal grandmothers were able to influence the participants to be abstinent due to the strong emotional bonds between them; participants were abstinent, so they would not jeopardize their relationships. Grandmothers were also role models of mature, strong women.
Religiosity: Faith in God was the central feature of the participants' religiosity. Being abstinent was how they demonstrated their faith. Faith facilitated the transmission of their pastors' teachings about abstinence because they were physically present in church and because they believed in what their pastors were saying. Because they had faith, they attended services and participated in social activities. They developed relationships with other abstinent youth and with adults who expected them to be abstinent both of which reinforced their commitment to abstinence.
Conclusions: The state of sexual abstinence is a complex developmental phenomenon that is influenced by biological, intrapersonal, social and environmental contexts. Adolescents use sophisticated cognitive processes such as perspective taking, futuristic thinking, and translating personal values into lifestyle decisions, to make deliberate choices about their sexuality.
Implications: Individual adolescents respond uniquely to a variety of influences. Thus, there is not one approach to encouraging abstinence that is effective for all teens. Further, this study does not support the practice of withholding certain types of information from teens such as contraception. These participants had information and experiences that supported abstinence and supported being sexually active. They evaluated all of this data and chose to be abstinent. Nurses could assist adolescents with their sexuality choices by providing accurate and complete information about human sexuality and reproduction.
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