Sex is the Tabasco sauce which an adolescent national palate sprinkles on every course in the menu.

Mary Day Winn (1888 - 1965) U.S. writer

ADOLESCENT HEALTH

POOR CHOICES IN SEXUALITY

Adolescence is often a period of rapid growth, where adaptation by the individual is necessary though somewhat difficult. Poor choices during this time can lead to unintentional situations in life, which could be prevented with knowledge. Sexuality is defined by the Encarta dictionary, 2008, as the direction of someones sexual desire, and the involvement or interest in sexual activity. Adolescence is an age of maturity; psychological, sexual and reproductive, physical and social. This stage of rapid growth requires and necessitates adequate knowledge to combat and comprehend this most difficult stage of human growth and development. The American psychologist G. Stanley Hall asserted that adolescence is a period of emotional stress, resulting from the rapid and extensive physiological changes occurring at pubescence. With the onset of puberty, primary and secondary sexual characteristics are formed and assist in changing the adolescents view of himself or herself. These physical characteristics are responsible for the appearance of the sex drive. According to Freud, this stage is called the Genital stage where the individual develops mature sexual interests. In adolescence, according to Eriksson, identity vs. role confusion defines the teenagers search for self-understanding. Eriksons theory thus emphasizes the interaction of internal psychological growth and the support of the social world. This

support, though it is necessary, needs to be moderated and checked to ensure that socialization is positive and reaps only benefits to the adolescent.

Since the 1960s, sexual activity has increased among adolescents. Recent studies show that almost 50 percent of adolescents under the age of 15 and 75 percent under the age of 19 report having had sexual intercourse. Despite their involvement in sexual activity, however, some adolescents are not interested in, or knowledgeable about, birth-control methods or the symptoms of sexually transmitted diseases. Consequently, the rate of teenage pregnancy, illegitimate births and the incidence of sexually transmitted infections are increasing.According to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in the United States a teen becomes pregnant every 30 seconds, and every 13 seconds a teen contracts a sexually transmitted infection (STI), Encarta, 2008. A nurse dealing with adolescents should consider that the teen has a knowledge deficit and therefore needs extensive teaching. This though is subjective and the nurse should assess the teens knowledge about adolescence, sexual education and sexual health to ascertain how much education is needed. A detailed study comparing Canada, England and Wales, France, The Netherlands, Sweden, and the United States suggested that the problem of teen pregnancy in the United States may be related to less sex education in schools and lower availability of birth control services and supplies to adolescents.

The nurse should also consider the background of the teenager and how it might cause poor sexual choices. The poor choices may be as a result of problems at home, self esteem issues, drug use and other related or relatable problems, peer pressure, lack of self control and discipline or a cry for help by the teen. A history of abuse could lead to this as well as a history of delinquency and poor family support. This is therefore a quite complex problem and therefore requires extensive assessment of the adolescent before any course of action is taken.