Where do young people learn about sexual pleasure and does the source make a difference?

Pleasure is integral to our sexual lives, and young people report wanting to learn more about giving and receiving sexual pleasure. There has been little comparative research examining young people’s perceptions of the sources and quality of information about sexual pleasure they receive from formal and informal sources. The current study assessed reports of a sample of 345 young adults (18–25 years) about the quality and quantity of information learned about sexual pleasure from four formal (school-based sexual health education, parent[s]/guardian[s], healthcare professionals, religious institutions) and four informal (peers/friends, partner[s], media/internet, pornography) sources. The results suggest that young people are getting most of their information about sexual pleasure from informal sources. However, they did not perceive any sources, formal or informal, as providing high-quality information. Canonical correlation analysis indicated that the quantity and quality of sexual pleasure information from informal, but not from formal, sources, was associated with a range of positive outcomes related to sexual pleasure, including a broader conceptualization of sexual pleasure, more frequent dyadic sexual activity, and more pleasurable first and current sexual experiences. Findings are discussed in terms of implications for ensuring that young people’s sexual rights to information about sexual pleasure are met.