Sabrina Simms Initial Personal Reflection - Summer 2010

In my opinion, having a healthy sexuality can be a challenge to all age groups, but with teens who are coming into their own, going through puberty and other life transitions, there tend to be many fresh barriers that they have to try and overcome. Below, I list some of the barriers to teens having a healthy sexuality, which I believe, are substantial.

- Relationships with parents/caregivers: Teens are going through a period in their lives where they are unsure of themselves and are discovering new things, unsure of how their bodies are changing, and unsure of how their hormonal fluctuations are affecting their lives, to list only a few of their uncertainties during their adolescence. The relationship that a teen has with their parents/caregivers at this time in their life is important because it can determine the knowledge or access that a teen has available to them in regards to their sexual health. It can also determine their comfort level in talking about their sexual health overall and confidence level in gaining sexual health services that promote health wellness. It may not be the case in all instances, but if this relationship is not secure or even present, the teen may rely on information they receive from friends, the internet or other outlets. In many instances, the information that a teen may get from friends or other media may not be correct and can lead to the teen making some wrong sexual health decisions. However, some teens may be intuitive enough to obtain accurate information from clinics or other health care professionals.

- Cultural and religious barriers: Even though these two barriers can be discussed independently, I choose to quickly touch on them together because it is often the case that a religion and a particular culture overlap in their beliefs and values. Some cultures may not equate teens with having a sexual active lifestyle. Both religions and cultures may stress an abstinent approach to this matter or even consider it unacceptable or forbidden and may not offer sexual health outlets for teens in case they do become sexually active before it is seen as culturally appropriate. This can be a barrier to teens who do decide on being sexually active. They may be hesitant to talk with someone, such as a family member, or to visit health care clinics or doctors. These resources may be unattainable for the teens and this can have an influence on their sexuality being healthy.

- Social norms within their community/circle of friends: Often teens buckle under the peer pressure of what their friends are doing or they do what they believe will make them look more advanced or cool to their friends. Teens may not think twice about what sexual health risks they may introduce themselves to and how serious just one small mistake can be. If a new trend enters a teen’s circle of close friends, the teen will often feel pressured or feel obliged to participate in whatever that trend may be, whether it is having the highest number of sexual partners or a competition to determine the longest that someone can “last” without being protected. This is a tremendous barrier that health care professionals need to address and tackle because it takes more than just a one-session encounter to handle; it is a continual process. Teens would need to learn about making healthy independent sexual health decisions and how important it is for them to have the confidence to do so.