Discuss the biological and sociological factors involved in adolescent sexuality.
What will be an ideal response?
According to the study conducted by Udry, boys' testosterone levels had a very strong relationship with sexual activity. Sexually permissive attitudes, a social-psychological variable, were related to sexuality among boys, although they had a much smaller effect than testosterone.
For girls, the relationship between testosterone level and sexual activity was not as strong as it was for boys, but it was a significant relationship, and it was testosterone-and not estrogen or progesterone-that was related to sexuality. For girls, pubertal development (developing a "curvy" figure) had an effect, probably by increasing boys' attention; and the effects of testosterone were accentuated among girls in father-absent families. Permissive attitudes and church attendance played a role as well.
Thus testosterone levels have a substantial impact on the sexuality of adolescents. Sociological variables then interact with the biological effects, in some cases magnifying them (father absence for girls), and in some cases suppressing them (church attendance).
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Indicate whether the statement is true or false.
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What will be an ideal response?
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