This study examines the values in Latino young adults’ perceptions of messages about sex during their formative years and their current level of sexual exploration and sexual assertiveness. Latino young adults in college ( N = 218) rated the prevalence of four types of messages they heard from parents and friends: Sex is only for marriage (procreational), sex is only appropriate in a loving relationship (relational), sex is for pleasure (recreational), and the sexual double standard. Relational sex was most prominent in parental messages; recreational sex was most prominent in friend messages. Women reported more relational sex messages and men reported more recreational sex messages from parents and friends. Fewer procreational sex messages from parents and more recreational sex messages from friends were associated with higher reported levels of sexual exploration and assertiveness. We propose that sexual exploration and assertiveness are behavioral manifestations of individualistic values embedded in sexual discourses among friends and family.

Greenfield's theory linking sociodemographic change to dynamic cultural values for family interdependence versus individual independence is applied to sexual and gender role socialization and development. The theory explains how cultural pathways for sexual and gender-role development transform in concert with sociodemographic changes: urbanization, formal schooling, capitalism, and communication technologies. As environments become more urban, commercial, and technological, with more opportunities for formal education, sexual development moves away from the ideals of procreation and family responsibility and toward the ideals of personal pleasure and personal responsibility. At the same time, gender-role development moves away from the ideals of complementary and ascribed gender roles and toward chosen and equal gender roles. We present psychological, anthropological, and sociological evidence for these trends in a variety of communities undergoing social and ecological change. © 2014 by the American Anthropological Association.