Amann-Gainotti M
Adolescence. 1986 Fall;21(83):703-10.
It has been shown that during adolescence most information about sexual matters, generally colored with misconceptions, comes from the peer group, since cultural inhibitions often prevent discussion with parents or other adults. In addition, there is abundant evidence from anthropological data of diffuse negative beliefs across cultures concerning menstruation. In order to explore the early socialization of beliefs and attitudes toward menarche, 258 adolescents, aged 11 to 14 years, male and female pre- and postmenarcheal, from southern Italy, were interviewed by way of an open questionnaire method. The results showed a consistent lack of accurate information by a high percentage of subjects, both male and female; negative beliefs were held only by girls, pre- and postmenarcheal, while boys were more likely to ignore the subject. Half of the postmenarcheal girls expressed a negative evaluation of their first experiences with menstruation, generally due to lack of advance information. As to sources of information, importance of the peer group was confirmed, especially for boys; the influence of the mother and the cultural environment accounted for the positive acceptance of menarche. Fathers appeared to be uninvolved in the transmission of information about menstruation to either boys or girls.
研究表明，在青春期，大多数关于性方面的信息，通常带有误解，来自同龄人团体，因为文化禁忌常常阻碍与父母或其他成年人的讨论。此外，人类学数据中有大量证据表明，不同文化中对月经存在普遍的负面看法。为了探究对初潮的信念和态度的早期社会化情况，我们采用开放式问卷调查法，对来自意大利南部的258名11至14岁的青少年进行了访谈，这些青少年有男性和女性，包括初潮前和初潮后的。结果显示，很大比例的受试者，无论男性还是女性，都一致缺乏准确信息；只有初潮前和初潮后的女孩持有负面看法，而男孩更倾向于忽略这个话题。一半的初潮后女孩对她们的首次月经经历表达了负面评价，这通常是由于缺乏预先信息。至于信息来源，同龄人团体的重要性得到了证实，尤其是对男孩而言；母亲和文化环境的影响导致了对初潮的积极接受。父亲们似乎未参与向男孩或女孩传递有关月经的信息。
