Sexual self-concept and sexual risk-taking.

Data are presented from a postal survey of 474 randomly selected 16-19-year-olds from one U.K. suburban area. A 14-item Sexual Self-Concept Checklist was used to explore the structure of the differences between male and female sexual identities. Two main dimensions in male sexual self-concept emerged: the socio-emotional (romance, sensitivity, eroticism) and the relational (exploitative, seductive, experimental). Female sexual self-concept revolved around concerns with assertiveness (unwillingness to have sex before marriage, controlling when sex occurs, pretending to enjoy sex). Internally reliable scales were constructed for these aspects of the sexual self-concept and were found to relate to both sexual and other forms of risk-taking likely to endanger health. Males with a high relational emphasis in their sexual self-concept were less likely to have had sex and less likely to use alcohol or tobacco. Females with a greater assertiveness score were less likely to be virgins, had had more sexual partners and consumed more alcohol and tobacco. They were not, however, less likely to use condoms. It is concluded that models seeking to explain health behaviours in adolescence should incorporate estimates of the significance of the behaviour for stable aspects of the self-concept. It is further argued that the structure of the sexual self-concept is significantly influenced by dominant social representations of gender differences and relationships. Both identity and social representational processes need to be considered if a comprehensive model of health behaviour is to be evolved.