ADOLESCENT SEXUAL DECISION-MAKING: THE INFLUENCE OF GENDER AND PUBERTAL DEVELOPMENT ON MORAL REASONING

Moral choices, as currently defined in the field of psychology, do not include decisions in the sphere of sex; rather morality is seen to involve those decisions wherein a universal "Justice" ethic can be applied (Kohlberg, 1984). It appears that this conception of the moral domain may not incorporate female conceptions of sexual values since research including women calls attention to an ethic of "Care" in responding to moral problems (Gilligan, 1982). By exploring gender differences in adolescent moral reasoning about sexual behavior, this research extends and empirically tests Gilligan's theory of Care and Justice Reasoning in the sexual domain. A secondary area of investigation is the influence of pubertal development on moral reasoning about sex. In constrast to Kohlberg's assertion that sexual choices are not "moral" decisions, 56% of the adolescent girls in the Pilot Study spontaneously identified sexual dilemmas when asked about moral choices in their lives. In the Gender Study, male and female high school students (N = 39) were asked about their sexual decision-making and completed a Pubertal Development Scale, a self-report inventory for measuring pubertal status. Interview material was coded on two modes of describing sexual decisions, Contractual (Justice) and Attachment (Care) reasoning. Evidence of gender differences were found in adolescent conceptions of sexual morality. Furthermore, girls were significantly more likely to use Attachment reasoning, and boys were more likely to use Contractual reasoning in describing their sexual decision-making. The importance of this research is that it challenges us to re-think the current construction of the moral domain and of sexual morality. It also contributes toward the development of a positive value framework based on the interpersonal aspect of sexual decisions.