The proposed research is aimed at furthering our understanding of children's and young adolescents' concepts of human sexuality. Thinking about biological aspects of sexuality (e.g., reproduction, contraception) and social aspects of sexuality (e.g., moral and cultural norms, love, marriage) will be investigated. Two methods of assessment will be used: sorting and identification tasks to assess basic biological concepts (e.g., production and reproduction of animate and inanimate objects), and a series of structured questions and probes aimed at assessing how children and adolescents coordinate social and biological knowledge. In addition, the mothers of these subjects will be interviewed about the information they believe they have conveyed to their children about these topics, along with their views regarding what sort of information is appropriate for children at different ages. The accomplishment of these aims would contribute information essential for informed and effective educational efforts towards the prevention of AIDS by elucidating cognitive and social components of the development of sexual knowledge.
