Adolescence And Puberty

Study reveals prevalence of sexting
(14 June 2024)
Twenty percent of high school students have sent a sexually explicit image of themselves and around twice that many said they had received sexually explicit images...

Protective bacteria found in male urinary tract
(6 June 2024)
New research contradicts the accepted notion that pre-sexual men do not have bacteria in their urinary tracts...

Decline in online sexual harassment
(13 February 2024)
Unwanted sexual solicitations and unwanted exposure to pornography have both declined, according to a national survey of youth aged 10 to 17...

Adolescent sex parties a concern, say medicos
(19 December 2011)
Nearly 10 percent of adolescent girls report having a group-sex experience, leading public health officials to voice concerns about potentially damaging sexual behaviors...

Report slams abstinence-only education
(30 November 2011)
An analysis of states that prescribe abstinence-only sex education programs shows they have significantly higher teenage pregnancy rates than states with comprehensive sex education programs...

Brief puberty linked to behavioral issues
(2 September 2011)
A new study suggests that faster progress through puberty may contribute to both the internalizing depression-type problems and the externalizing problems of acting out...

Boys reaching puberty earlier than ever
(22 August 2011)
Researchers say the age of sexual maturity has been decreasing by about 2.5 months each decade since the middle of the 18th century...

Adolescent sexuality influenced more by parents than peers
(22 June 2011)
In a surprising Canadian study, parents emerged as the main sexuality role models for teenagers, with celebrities having the least influence of all...

Lack of sleep linked to low testosterone
(1 June 2011)
Young men suffer a dramatic reduction in testosterone levels when they sleep for less than five hours...

Bone disease linked to late onset of puberty
(31 January 2011)
US researchers have determined that age of onset of puberty was the primary influence on adult bone strength, a finding that provides valuable clues in assessing osteoporosis risk...

Body dysmorphia recovery "takes years"
(17 January 2011)
US psychiatrists say that given enough time, patients with body dysmorphic disorder usually recover, but recovery can take more than five years...

Getting ripped? Heavy weights don�t help
(16 August 2010)
The secret to muscle building is not heavier weights, say scientists, but to pump iron for longer with lighter weights until you reach muscle fatigue...

Timing of puberty can trigger aggression in boys
(24 May 2010)
When puberty arrives earlier or later relative to their peers, adolescent boys may suffer a chemical imbalance linked to antisocial behavior...

Alarming rise in mumps-related testicle problems
(12 April 2010)
Boys who did not receive the MMR vaccine during the 1990s are at high risk of developing mumps orchitis and long-term fertility problems...

Risk-taking ramps up around pretty women
(22 March 2010)
A new study involving skateboarders found that the presence of an attractive woman elevated testosterone levels and physical risk taking in young men...

Puberty delayed by extra weight
(8 February 2010)
Obesity can trigger puberty earlier in girls and researchers now believe the opposite may be true in boys, where the extra weight contributes to a later onset of puberty...

Genetic risk factors for testicular cancer found
(6 July 2009)
Scientists have uncovered variations around two genes associated with an increased risk of testicular cancer...

Survey identifies reasons behind inconsistent condom use
(10 September 2008)
The widespread failure by adolescents to routinely use condoms has been linked to partner disapproval and the fear of less sexual pleasure...

For Adolescents, Abstinence Doesn't Work
(12 August 2008)
Abstinence-only programs do not have strong effects in preventing teenage sexual activity, according to a new research paper...

Testicular Trauma: No Laughing Matter
(25 July 2008)
Boys involved in any kind of sporting activity should wear protective cups � no matter what their age, urges a pediatric urologist...

Short Birth Length Increases Risk Of Suicide
(17 January 2008)
Size does matter, according to a new study that found short male babies run more than double the risk of a violent suicide attempt as an adult...

Early Sexual Activity Not So Bad
(15 November 2007)
Turning accepted wisdom on its head, psychologists say that teens that have sex at an early age may be less inclined to exhibit delinquent behavior...

Moobs
(2 April 2007)
It's been estimated that 65 percent of adolescent males develop some degree of enlarged breast tissue. There's even a term for it - gynecomastia, meaning, literally: "woman's breasts." An odd choice given that it's women who normally have breasts. It's like calling an enlarged clitoris a man-dick...

Anti-Gay Slurs Damage Heterosexuals As Well
(4 October 2007)
Middle-school students who are called anti-gay names suffer significantly higher levels of anxiety, depression, personal distress, and a lower sense of school belonging...

Macho Attitudes Undermining Adolescent Sexual Health
(12 April 2007)
Traditional notions about what it means to be a "real man" can jeopardize the health of adolescent boys, who often view medical care as a sign of weakness...

Adolescents Freaked Out By Condoms
(22 March 2007)
Adolescents need help feeling more comfortable and less distressed about discussing and using condoms, say health researchers...

Study Suggests Many Adolescents Are "Heavy Porn Users"
(28 February 2007)
Thanks to the Internet, porn is a major presence in the lives of young men, and experts are worried by new figures showing that one-third of male adolescents are heavy pornography consumers...

Lavender Causes Breast Growth In Boys
(7 February 2007)
Researchers report that repeated topical use of products containing lavender oil or tea tree oil may cause enlarged breast tissue in boys prior to puberty...

Social Expectations Frustrating Safe Sex Message
(6 November 2006)
Around the world, young people are reluctant to talk openly about sex and condom use, relying instead on an individual's appearance to gauge their HIV status...

Early Adolescence Creating Public Health Conundrum
(19 October 2006)
The increasingly early onset of puberty, driven by a range of environmental and societal factors, could soon lead to a public health crisis...

Depression At Root Of Risky Sex
(7 September 2006)
Health experts say that treatments to address depressed mood in adolescents could have a significant impact on risky sexual behaviors that might lead to HIV infection...

Many Teenagers Clueless About Condoms, Survey Finds
(10 August 2006)
Getting adolescents to use condoms may be only half the battle as it turns out that many teens are not using them correctly, according to a survey conducted in England...

Health Systems Failing Male Sexual Abuse Victims
(29 June 2006)
Male survivors of childhood sexual abuse face unique challenges that many health care practitioners do not recognize and understand, say Canadian researchers...

Romance Difficult For Adolescent Boys
(15 May 2006)
The confidence that teenage boys like to exhibit to the world often hides an emotionally vulnerable and awkward individual who is ill at ease with matters of the heart...

Selective Memory Spoils Adolescent Virginity Pledges
(4 May 2006)
Teenagers who sign a virginity pledge and then go on to have premarital sex are likely to deny having signed the pledge in the first place; and others are likely to misreport prior sexual activity when signing a pledge...

The High Cost Of Getting Bigger
(23 March 2006)
It�s estimated that nearly half-a-million American children aged between 4 and 15 could benefit from growth hormone therapy, but at a cost of 40 billion dollars, who�s going to pay?

Positive Body Image Not So Good For Men
(16 March 2006)
Young men who had a positive view of their appearance also tended to have multiple sexual partners and frequently engaged in unprotected sex, whereas the opposite was true for young women...

Anabolic Steroids Appear To Be Addictive
(15 December 2005)
In laboratory experiments, hamsters exposed to androgenic-anabolic steroids displayed addictive behavior towards testosterone, nandrolone and drostanolone...

Tall Teenagers Earn More As Adults
(18 August 2005)
It�s true, size does matter, or at least that�s what a new study into earning power suggests. Researchers say that your height as a teenager can predict how much money you will earn as an adult...

Anti-Gay Bullying Widespread In U.S. Schools
(25 March 2005)
A majority of gay, lesbian or trans-gendered students feel unsafe at school and over 80 percent of teachers take little or no action when students are verbally abused or harassed...

No-Sex Pledges Linked To High-Risk Sexual Behavior
(21 March 2005)
Young people taking so-called virginity pledges are as likely to be infected with sexually transmitted diseases as those who do not take the pledges...

Study Links Melatonin To Gonad Shrinkage
(14 February 2005)
A new study has found that melatonin - an over-the-counter hormone to help counter jetlag - shrinks the gonads of birds. Researchers are pondering what effect it may have on humans...

Body Shaving Helps Spread Bacterial Infection
(23 November 2004)
Cosmetic body shaving helped the spread of a bacterial skin infection among players on a college football team...

TV Ads With Muscular Actors Make Men Depressed
(7 May 2004)
The culture of muscularity in advertisements for colognes and deodorants leaves ordinary men feeling depressed and inadequate...

Young Men Increasingly Victims of Sexual Harassment
(26 March 2004)
Sexual harassment has traditionally been viewed as something men do to women but new research shows that harassment of men and adolescents is on the rise...

Teens Want Relationship Help, Not Just Sex Ed
(18 December 2003)
A new survey has found that when it comes to sexual health, teens have more questions about relationships than condoms or sexually transmitted diseases...

Sexual Maturity Delayed By Pesticide
(4 December 2003)
Young males exposed to the pesticide endosulfan showed delayed sexual maturity compared with similar children who were not exposed...

Male Teens Have Least Distorted Body Image
(27 November 2003)
Girls of high school age tend to see themselves as 11 pounds over their ideal body weight while boys perceive their current and ideal body images as almost the same...

Condom Availability Doesn't Increase Sexual Activity
(29 May 2003)
Making condoms available in high schools does not increase adolescent sexual activity, but it does protect those who are already sexually active from sexually transmitted diseases...

Taking The Risk Out Of Spring Break Behaviour
(24 March 2003)
Advice from health experts may help minimize the fallout from the destructive alcohol, sex and drug fuelled behavior associated with Spring Break...

Testicular Cancer Self-Examinations Rarely Done Behaviour
(6 March 2003)
A self-exam for testicular cancer takes around a minute to perform and about that much time to teach, but usually neither happens...

Family History Does Influence Sexual Behaviour
(23 January 2003)
Sons of men who became teenage fathers, were three times more likely to be sexually active compared with those whose fathers had not been teen dads...

Holidays Bring On Risky Sexual Behavior
(19 December 2002)
The holiday season seems to promote dangerous and risky behavior among a significant number of adolescents who are more likely to drink alcohol, take drugs and have sex...

Teen Sex Linked To Early Friendships
(21 November 2002)
The nature of preteen friendships can play a key role in determining whether or not a child will engage in sexual activity early in adolescence...

50% Of Students Suffer Date Violence
(2 September 2002)
Half of all high schoolers have experienced violent behavior in their relationships. More surprising, the research revealed that females may be inflicting the most serious abuse...

Adolescent Steroid Use Alters Brain Permanently
(12 August 2002)
A tendency toward aggression and impulsiveness may actually linger long after both the steroid use and the muscles and strength developed have waned...

Short Teenage Boys Earn Less
(23 May 2002)
Penis size may not matter but researchers have found that a boy's height at age 16 is a significant determinant of his salary as an adult...

Teen Boys Having Less Sex
(6 May 2002)
Birds do it, bees do it. But fewer teenage boys are doing it. The number of teen boys having sex dropped 8.5 percent, and rates of pregnancy, abortions and sexually transmitted diseases are also falling...

Adolescent Sexual Behavior Linked To Self Esteem
(2 May 2002)
Self-esteem plays an important role in the loss of virginity among adolescents but the effect on boys is opposite the effect on girls...

Sexual Contact Before Puberty Leads To Jail
(4 April 2002)
People who experienced unsolicited sexual touching before puberty stand a greater chance of ending up serving jail time as teen-agers or adults...

Involved Fathers Minimize Adolescent Problems
(7 March 2002)
Good father-child relationships are associated with an absence of emotional and behavioural difficulties in adolescence and greater academic motivation, say researchers...

Exposure To DDT, PCBs May Affect Body Size At Puberty
(24 February 2002)
A mother's exposure to DDE (a product of the insecticide DDT) and PCBs may increase the size of her children at puberty...

Different Treatments For Teen Sex Offenders
(20 February 2002)
Teen sexual offenders may benefit more from interventions focusing on sexual interests and behaviour rather than general delinquency...

When Is A Request For A Date Harassment?
(4 November 2001)
Men and women sometimes differ in their perceptions of what constitutes sexual harassment. Research indicates that women tend to perceive a broader range of behaviors as harassing than men do...

Boys Reaching Puberty Earlier
(14 September 2001)
U.S. boys appear to be reaching puberty earlier. Why that happens is not clear but the health consequences are likely to be negative...

10% Of Female Adolescents Suffer Date Violence/Rape
(26 August 2001)
Nearly one in ten girls report experiencing violence and/or being raped on a date, according to a survey of boys and girls in Minnesota public schools...

Why Nice Guys Don't Get Laid
(17 July 2001)
Ever wondered why women go for jerks? In the psychology of seduction it�s called �nice guy disease� and if you want casual sex with women then you have to cure yourself of it�

Puberty Delayed By Stress
(31 May 2001)
When animals are subjected to stress, the development of their genital organs is delayed and they reach puberty later...

Boys Lag Behind Girls In School
(13 March 2001)
Boys adopt loud and disruptive homophobic, misogynist and violent behaviour to gain status among their peers at the expense of their academic achievement...

Sex Education Unconstitutional
(9 January 2001)
A Cornell Law School professor and an attorney suggest that abstinence-only sex education promotes a religious agenda and violates the First Amendment's "establishment of religion" clause...

Childhood Friendships Are Training Ground For Adult Relationships
(6 November 2000)
Children's friendships are the training grounds for important adult relationships, including marriage...

Dating Violence Affects Both Victims And Perpetrators
(2 November 2000)
Dating violence and forced sex appear to take a toll on the well-being of adolescents - whether they were the victims or perpetrators of the violence...

Sexually Abused Teens, Risky Behavior
(13 July 2000)
Adolescents who have been sexually abused are more likely to smoke, drink, use drugs, have disordered eating habits, and consider suicide than those who have not�

Dirty Little Secret About Sex Ed
(15 June 2000)
Whether public schools teach sex education or not, history shows it neither prevents nor promotes sex for teens...

Sexual Abuse Of Boys More Common Than Believed
(26 May 2000)
Sexual abuse of boys appears to be underrecognized, underreported, and undertreated...

Yoga, Meditation Help Teen Sex Offenders
(22 May 2000)
Yoga and meditation techniques could be valuable tools in helping teenage sex offenders reduce or control their deviant impulses, according to new research...

Smarter Teens Delay Sexual Relationships
(15 May 2000)
Researchers have found that smarter adolescents start having sexual relations later than teens of average intelligence...

Sex And Violence Linked Among High School Males
(10 May 2000)
High school males who have been involved in a pregnancy are more likely to engage in behaviors that increase their risk of injury or death...

Plastics Behind Early Puberty And Reproductive Problems?
(9 May 2000)
Estrogen, used to make plastics, could be a culprit in reproductive deformities and the number of youth reaching puberty at early ages...

How TV Moulds Teen Attitudes To Sex
(8 May 2000)
Young women who watch more than 22 hours of prime-time TV sitcoms and dramas a month are more likely to indulge in recreational sex...

Doctors Find Muscle-Builder Cream Caused Sex Development In Toddler
(14 April 2000)
When a young North Carolina father tried to boost his muscle development artificially, he had no idea he might put his 2-year-old son's health at risk, but that's just what he did...