Abstract
This exploratory research project investigates the ways in which formal and informal sex education during high school influences an individual’s development of their sexual identity. Due to changes in federal funding, formal sex education curriculum shifted from an abstinence-only model to a medical model, which focuses on information regarding birth control and self-health. Attending to this change, this research focuses on persons who attended high school during two specific periods: 2006-2010 and 2014-2016. After the primary investigator submitted an application to the UCCS IRB, IRB 19-079 and received approval, twelve semi-structured interviews, with six participants in each time period were conducted. This exploratory project used a snowball technique to recruit participants for this study. Based on analysis, participants’ narratives in the 2014-2016-cohort showed movement away from the use of abstinence-only (AO) education. In both cohorts three major themes were visible: a strong use of fear tactics in the delivery of sex education, a “Mean Girl” method of teaching, and a clear connection between messages learned by individuals during high school regarding sex that have contributed to the shaping of their overall and sexual identity. After conducting this research and analyzing the experiences and information shared by participants, it is clear that the formal and/or informal education individuals received from both cohorts was on a basis of fear and shaming tactics, which continues to affect the ways in which these individuals view and engage with sex in their own lives.