1. Dating Relationships and Abstinence
Chapter 2
Dating Relationships and Abstinence

2. Changing Friendships Changes during your teen years include:
Making new friends
Forming new types of friendships
Your physical changes in your teen years cause you to start to see the world in more complex ways.
You see how you will fit into society.
Your relationships become more important than when you were younger.
You seek deeper qualities in your friends.
Trust
Loyalty
You can show respect through simple courtesies. Every relationship benefits!
You begin to develop feelings of attraction.

3. Teen Dating Group Dating Individual Dating
Conversation is generally easier. Talk less and listen more.
Less pressure to engage in risky behaviors.
Less expense because everyone shares the costs.
Individual Dating
Can be more stressful.
You are developing different types of friendships.
A commitment is a pledge or a promise.

4. Teen Dating Affection is the feelings of love for another person.
Holding hands
Hugging
Do something thoughtful for another person
Give a card or a small gift
Some choose sexual activity, but it is more healthful to postpone sexual activity until adulthood and marriage.

5. Healthy Dating Relationships
Healthy Dating Relationships involve healthful boundaries and healthful ways of showing affection.
Friendship includes reliability and loyalty.
Sympathetic means being aware of how someone feels at a given moment.
Communication
Don’t pressure yourself or date to go beyond your healthful boundaries.
The qualities of a healthful dating relationship have much in common with a good friendship.
Consequences are the results of actions.
Limits are invisible boundaries that protect you.
Mutual respect
Caring, honesty, and commitment.
You each bring out the best in each other.

6. Dating Violence
Dating violence is when a person in a dating relationship tires to control his or her partner.
Physical
Emotional
Psychological
If a dating relationship feels uncomfortable or becomes violent, it is important to tell an adult.
If your dating partner becomes violent or abusive, avoid the relationship.

8. Consequences of Teen Sexual Activity
Choosing abstinence is a way to avoid the physical and emotional consequences of sexual activity.
Abstinence is the conscious active choice not to participate in high-risk behaviors.
In truth, most teens avoid sexual activity.
Physical Consequences
Sexually Transmitted Disease (STD)
Unplanned pregnancy
Mental/Emotional Consequences
Emotional Distress - lack of partner commitment.
Loss of self-respect – may go against personal/family values.
Guilt – over hiding their sexual activity.
Regret and anxiety – if sexual activity leads to STD, unplanned pregnancy, or the breakup of the relationship.

9. Consequences of Teen Sexual Activity
Social Consequences
Limits interest in finding new friends.
Eliminate friends
Teen years are a time to meet new people and explore new interests
Unplanned pregnancy can limit future goals.
Eliminate completion of school
Caring for a baby and raising a child must become your first priority

10. Abstinence and Saying NO
Risk Behaviors are actions that might cause injury or harm to you or others.
Commit to abstinence
Talk to the person you are dating
Stay positive
Be clear about your reasons
Be firm in setting limits
Dealing with sexual feelings
Set limits to express affection.
Communicate with your partner
Talk with a trusted adult.
Avoid risky situations
Know where you are going
Avoid places where alcohol is involved
Avoid being alone on a date
Date someone who respects you and shares your values.

11. Abstinence and Saying NO
Refusal Skills are strategies that help you say NO effectively.
Say NO in a firm voice.
Tell why or why not.
Offer other ideas.
Promptly Leave.
Negative peer pressure
True friends do not pressure you to do something that is unhealthful, unsafe, or against your values.
Positive peer pressure
Can help you make hard decisions, improve your overall health and help you feel good about yourself.