FINAL TSTO Lesa Dec 14.pdf - Flipbook - Page 32
14 to 17
A young person in this age group has two important jobs:
to become an independent person who is separate from their
parents; and
to come to know ‘who am I?’
Part of the task of discovering ‘who am I?’ for a young person is to
get their head around sexuality. Not necessarily the act of sex, but
about feeling attractive, loved, popular, good enough, and one of the
gang.
Friendships at this age mean more than they ever have. Friends
also determine among themselves what’s acceptable sexual
behaviour. Despite all the challenges facing them, young people
in this age group most often report that their close boy/girlfriend
relationships are positive and satisfying.
While this generation of young people is possibly better educated
and more confident than those before them, their sexuality
knowledge is lagging. Research shows that young people highly
value the sexuality education they get from school, although they
say it is too biological and they want more opportunities to talk
about feelings and relationships. They value and want to know their
parents’ beliefs about sex-related issues.2
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