An exploration of the relationship between real-world sexual experience and online sexual activity among 17 year old adolescents

Vol.5,No.1(2011)

Abstract
The aim of this study was to explore the degree of correspondence between sexual behaviour in the real world and that on the internet, among seventeen year old Czechs. The adolescents, 237 girls and 225 boys, completed a computer-administered questionnaire which examined sexual behaviour offline and sexual activities on the Internet. Individuals who reported any offline sexual experience tended to engage in online sexual activities more often than those who did not. The use of the Internet for sexual purposes was similar for those who had experienced kissing and/or petting, it then increased, being similar for those who had experienced oral sex and/or sexual intercourse. Findings suggest that the relationship between the gradual extension of sexual experience offline and the gradual extension of using the Internet for sexual purposes is rather weak.

Keywords:
adolescence; sexuality; Internet; Czech Republic
Author biographies

Anna Sevcikova

Author photo Anna Sevcikova, Ph.D. is a postdoctoral researcher in the Faculty of Social Studies at Masaryk University in Brno, Czech Republic. Her research interest includes sexuality on the internet and psychosexual development. She also specializes in researching online risks among children and adolescents.

Štěpán Konečný

Stepan Konecny.JPGŠtěpán Konečný works for the Institute for Research of Children, Youth and Family, Faculty of Social Studies within Masaryk University (the Czech Republic). He is in a PhD. programme at the Faculty of Arts in the field of general psychology. His main interest is adolescent's Internet use and psychology of computer crime.
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