Teen guys desire intimacy and close relationships: Study

 A new study has revealed that adolescent boys desire intimacy and sex in the context of a meaningful relationship and value trust in their partnerships.

Researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health researchers studied 33 males who ranged from 14 to 16 years of age to learn more about how their romantic and sexual relationships developed, progressed, and ended and found that close relationships were important to the participants and they they desired intimate and caring relationships, expressed vulnerability and dependence, and placed great importance on trust in relationships.

David Bell said that prevailing values in our culture suggest adolescent males want sex, not relationships. However, values and behaviors related to sex and relationships are likely more complex than typically portrayed.

The study was published online in the American Journal of Men's Health.