Having and being an other-sex crush during early adolescence

The Inclusion of Other-Sex Peers in Peer Networks and Sense of Peer Integration in Early Adolescence: A Two-Wave Longitudinal Study

The main goal of the analysis presented in this paper is to examine the dynamics of including other-sex peers in the peer networks of early adolescents, aged 11 (at T1) and 13 (at T2), and the relationship between sex heterophily and changes in the sense of peer integration. The analysis was conducted using the Latent Difference Score (LDS) model with data from a representative nationwide longitudinal study in Poland (n = 5748). With reference to the dynamics related to the heterophilic process, the research confirmed that at the beginning of grade 5 of primary school, heterophily is still relatively rare, yet towards the end of early adolescence, there is a gradual shift, more strongly in girls, towards breaking through the strictly same-sex segregation and embarking on heterophilic relationships. Importantly, the LDS model-even when controlling for different measures of peer network-showed significant and positive (among both girls and boys) relations between establishing cross-sex relationships and the sense of peer integration. The results indicate that the appearance of the opposite sex in the peer network between grades 5 and 6 will improve the sense of peer integration. The findings are discussed in relation to results from other studies in the field.

The Measurement of Female Early Adolescent Sexual Desire

We used the developmental systems model to deduce a definition of female early adolescent sexual desire. We evaluated a measure of this phenomenon with a secondary analysis of data from a randomized group sexual health intervention trial involving low-income, English-speaking, seventh grade Latinas enrolled in a Miami-Dade County public school (n = 542). As part of this study, girls completed a four-item early adolescent sexual desire (EASD) measure. Study findings supported internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = .81 to .82) and stability over a 1-month period (r = .74). Developmental sensitivity was supported by a decline in stability over 12- (r = .66) and 24-month periods (r = .56). Validity was supported by correlations with puberty changes, sexual intentions, sexting, and sexual behavior, and hypothesized mean differences associated with dating and preference for shoes culturally associated with female sexual attractiveness (p < .01). Research implications include validation work with other ethnic/racial groups and using the EASD as a starting point for a measurement continuum tracking development of sexual desire across adolescence and into adulthood. Directions for future research also include measuring the development of sexual desire in boys and transgendered youth across adolescence and into adulthood.

Sexual Attraction and Falling in Love in Persons with Pedohebephilia

Few studies of pedophilia or hebephilia have included questions about romantic attraction. We conducted an anonymous online survey of 306 men who self-reported as sexually attracted to children. The majority (72%) of participants reported they had fallen in love with a child in their lifetime. Participants reported greater feelings of attachment to children than feelings of infatuation. Though sexual attraction and falling in love were strongly correlated, they were not synonymous. Participants who reported pedohebephilia (defined in this study as attraction to prepubescent and pubescent children) were more likely to have fallen in love with a child than participants who reported pedohebe-ephebophilia (defined as attraction to prepubescent, pubescent, and post-pubescent minors). Also, participants with an exclusive attraction to children were more likely to have fallen in love with a child than participants who were equally attracted to children and adults. The results of this study were consistent with the suggestion of Seto (2012) that pedohebephilia could be considered a form of sexual orientation for age, which includes both sexual and romantic attraction.

Being an other-sex crush during early adolescence in India: Investigating socio-behavioral and psychological concomitants

INTRODUCTION

After years of neglect, there is now strong empirical interest in adolescents' romantic experiences. Most studies, however, focus on adolescents' romantic relationships in Western societies and fail to consider other-types of romantic experiences and adolescents who reside in non-Western societies.

METHODS

The present study begins to address these research gaps by examining the social-behavioral and psychological concomitants of being viewed by many other-sex peers as a crush, or having high crush status, in a large (N = 445; 56% male; M_age = 13.77 years, SD = 0.43) longitudinal sample of young adolescents in urban India.

RESULTS

Utilizing self- and peer-report data, results provide the first evidence that being viewed by many peers as an other-sex crush in India is related to some of the same (i.e., physical attractiveness), but also different (i.e., shyness) social-behavioral characteristics relative to what has been found in studies of young adolescents from the United States. Further analysis revealed new evidence regarding the unique social-behavioral (i.e., decreased physical aggression) and psychological (i.e., decreased social anxiety) outcomes associated with high crush status in urban India.

CONCLUSIONS

Taken as a whole, results underscore the importance of considering the larger cultural context in studies of young adolescents' crush experiences.

Indirect Effects of Emotion Regulation on Peer Acceptance and Rejection:The Roles of Positive and Negative Social Behaviors

A growing body of literature indicates that childhood emotion regulation predicts later success with peers, yet little is known about the processes through which this association occurs. The current study examined mechanisms through which emotion regulation was associated with later peer acceptance and peer rejection, controlling for earlier acceptance and rejection. Data included mother-, teacher-, and peer-reports on 338 children (55% girls, 68% European American) at ages 7 and 10. A path analysis was conducted to test the indirect effects of emotion regulation at age 7 on peer acceptance and peer rejection at age 10 via positive social behaviors of cooperation and leadership, and negative social behaviors of indirect and direct aggression. Results indicated numerous significant indirect pathways. Taken together, findings suggest cooperation, leadership, and direct and indirect aggression are all mechanisms by which earlier emotion regulation contributes to later peer status during childhood.

Women's Experiences With Feelings and Attractions for Someone Outside their Primary Relationship

The purpose of this article is to explore women's experiences with attractions and feelings for people outside their primary romantic relationship. In an anonymous Internet-based survey, 160 women answered open-ended questions about crushes. Women had varied experiences with, and diverse strategies for, managing crushes. The majority of women reported the crush did not impact their primary relationship; participants also reported that these crushes improved their desire for their partner. The majority of women in this sample did not communicate with their partners about their crushes. This research can be used by therapists and counselors working with patients experiencing these feelings.

Evaluating the Psychological Concomitants of Other-Sex Crush Experiences During Early Adolescence

Very little empirical attention has been paid to other-sex crush experiences during adolescence. As a result, it is not known whether such experiences, which appear to be relatively common, impact psychological adjustment outcomes. This two-wave (3 month interval) longitudinal study of 268 young adolescents (48 % girls; M age at Time 1 = 11.84 years) examined the psychological concomitants of other-sex crush experiences (having and being viewed by others as a crush). Anxious-withdrawal and gender were evaluated as moderators. Peer nomination measures at Time 1 assessed both types of crush experiences and mutual friendship involvement, and participants completed self-report measures of loneliness and depressive symptoms at Times 1 and 2. The results from regression analyses revealed significant associations between having an other-sex crush and depressive symptoms at Time 1 and loneliness at Time 2, after accounting for the effects of mutual friendship. Two interaction effects also revealed that crush status was a risk factor for depressive symptoms at low levels of anxious-withdrawal but a protective factor at high levels. The findings provide the first empirical evidence that other-sex crush experiences are developmentally significant during early adolescence.

Puberty and adolescent sexuality

This article is part of a Special Issue "Puberty and Adolescence". Sexuality emerges as a major developmental element of puberty and the adolescent years that follow. However, connecting the sexuality that emerges with puberty and elements of adult sexuality is difficult because much adolescent sexuality research addresses the transition to partnered sexual behaviors (primarily coitus) and consequences such as unplanned pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections. This review proposes a framework of an expanded understanding of puberty and adolescent sexuality from the perspective of four hallmarks of adult sexuality: sexual desire; sexual arousal; sexual behaviors; and, sexual function. This approach thus addresses important gaps in understanding of the ontogeny of sex and the continuum of sexuality development from adolescence through the adult lifespan.