These days it often appears that issues of sex and sexuality have become much more important in our lives than ever before.

And that observation is perhaps most true in the case of teenagers, many of whose lives seem heavily focused on matters of sex, sexuality and interpersonal relationships.

In fact, the lives of even the most attractive and superficially extrovert and happy young people raise some fascinating issues and questions – sometimes of a physical nature, sometimes emotional or psychological and frequently a combination of all.

Many aspects of teenagers’ sexual identities and practices become apparent as the body changes dramatically at adolescence – the very time when many young people are beginning to experiment sexually. And some may need to be investigated – and possibly resolved – swiftly if they are not to go on to cause major difficulties throughout adulthood.

We at the Institute for Teenage Sexuality therefore dedicate ourselves uniquely to exploring the sexual activities and practices of boys and girls in the 18-21 age range in their full diversity, hoping, thereby, to assess more accurately and deeply the scope and quality of their sex lives.