Love and
dating are important aspects of adolescent development; it is during this time
that romantic relationships are often initiated, and many people have their
first sexual experience during adolescence. Sexual relationships and use of
contraception has been the focus of much research, often because of the health
implications of early or unprotected sex among young people. However, romantic
feelings and relationships are important aspects of adolescent emotional
well-being that are often overlooked in the focus on sexual risk-taking. In the 2014 HBSC study for England, 63% of boys and 54% of
girls said that they had ever been in love, and around 60% said that they had
been involved in a relationship with someone, compared to 21% who said they had
ever had sex.1 Romantic interest and attraction may be for a
person of the opposite gender, someone of the same gender, or both.
Last week, a paper on patterns of same and both-gender love and dating among adolescents across Europe was published by members of the HBSC Sexual Health group2.
This shows that the proportion of 15-year olds who say they have been in love
with, or dated, people of the same gender or people of both genders was similar
across eight countries in Europe. Girls were more likely than boys to say that
they had ever been in love with people of both genders, and although sexual
orientation has been found to be fluid during adolescence3, this
mirrors findings from research with adults which suggests that women are more
likely to identify as bisexual than are men4.
The paper
also highlights some findings that are particularly relevant to English young
people. First, although patterns for same- and both-gender love and dating were
similar across countries, boys and girls in England were the most likely out of
the eight countries to say that they had been in love with people of both
genders. English girls were also most likely to report having had romantic
relationships with both boys and girls. Secondly, 15-year olds in England were
significantly less likely to say that they had ever been in love with a person
of the opposite gender compared to young people in other countries, and
significantly more likely to say that they had never been in love with anyone.
Among English boys, 39% said they had never been in love, while in the other
countries no more than 10% of boys said they had never been in love. Among
girls, 45% in England had never been in love, which is more than twice the
proportion of the country (FYR Macedonia) with the second highest proportion
(21%) of girls saying they had never been in love.
Research
with adults show that there are cultural differences in how love is perceived
and expressed5, and the data from HBSC suggests that this difference
exist also among adolescents. Since the experience of being in love can be such
an important aspect of overall health and well-being, we hope to soon find out
more about why young people in England appear to experience this less than
their peers in other countries!
1.
Brooks, F., Magnusson, J., Klemera, E., Chester,
K., Spencer, N. & Smeeton, N. (2015). HBSC England National Report. Hatfield, UK: University of Hertfordshire
2.
Költő,
A., Young, H., Burke, L., Moreau, N., Cosma, A., Magnusson, J., Windlin, B.,
Reis, M., Saewyc, E.M., Godeau, E. & Nic Gabhainn, S. (2018). Love and Dating
Patterns for Same‐ and Both‐Gender Attracted Adolescents Across Europe. Journal of
Research on Adolescence. Published online 15 April 2018.
3.
Ott,
M. Q., Corliss, H. L., Wypij, D., Rosario, M., & Austin, S. B. (2011).
Stability and change in self-reported sexual orientation identity in young people: Application of mobility metrics. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 40, 519–532.
4.
Gates,
G.J. (2011) How Many People are Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender? The Williams Institute, UCLA
5.
Wilkins, R. & Gareis, E. (2006). Emotion expression and the locution “I love you”: A cross-cultural study. International
Journal of Intercultural Relations. 30, 51-75
