Changes in adolescents' sexuality between 1970 and 1990 in West-Germany

Based on two studies (using semistructured interviews) of 16- and 17-year-old West German urban adolescents, the first in 1970 (N = 602) and the second in 1990 (N = 415), this paper traces the changes in young people's sexual behavior and attitudes during the past two decades: (i) The marked trend in the 1960s towards having coitus and petting at an ever earlier age does not seem to have continued; the changes noted in the incidence of heterosexual experiences since 1970 are minimal. (ii) Boys feel themselves less at the mercy of their sexual urges than they used to and tend to link sexuality with love and a steady relationship more than they did 20 years ago; there was a similar though less pronounced change among girls. (iii) Girls now get less pleasure and satisfaction out of sexual encounters, and in heterosexual situations take the initiative and control more than they used to. (iv) There is no evidence that the problem HIV/AIDs had a marked influence on the changes described. Results of the comparative studies are discussed in the context of current developments in man/woman relationships and the debate on gender issues.