Adolescent Identities and Sexual Behavior

An Examination of Anderson's Player Hypothesis

Bibliographic Data

ID2964552
AuthorsP C Giordano (0000-0002-2484-0886, Bowling Green State University, corresponding author), Monica A Longmore (0000-0001-8368-8928, Bowling Green State University), W D Manning (0000-0002-8063-7380, Bowling Green State University), Miriam J Northcutt (Minnesota Department of Corrections)
Year2009
Volume87
Issue4
Pages1813-1843
Publication date2009-06-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueSocial Forces (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0037-7732 • E-ISSN: 1534-7605
PublisherOxford University Press (OUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1353/sof.0.0186
PMID20161097
PMCIDPMC2745159
OpenAlexW2166474771
LanguageEN
Citations received20
References cited45

We investigate the social and behavioral characteristics of male adolescents who self-identify as players, focusing particularly on Anderson's claim that this social role is inextricably linked with poverty and minority status. Results indicate that African American respondents, those affiliated with liberal peers and young men who initially report a relatively high number of sexual partners are more likely to resonate with this identity label. Nevertheless, analyses reveal that a number of players within the sample are not disadvantaged African American youth, and there is considerable variability in their attitude and behavior profiles. Findings based on longitudinal analyses indicate that the player identity is a significant predictor of later variations in self-reported sexual behavior, net of traditional predictors, including prior behavior. Yet results of in-depth interviews conducted with a subset of the respondents complicate these quantitative findings, highlighting that young men's perceptions of this identity are not as uniformly positive as Anderson's depiction might lead us to expect

Depiction · Developmental psychology · Disadvantaged · Human sexuality · Identity (music) · Perception · Poverty · Sexual behavior · Sexual identity · Social group · Social identity theory · Sociology · Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health · Gender Studies · LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy · Psychology · Social and Intergroup Psychology · Social Psychology

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