Sex remains largely a taboo topic in India. As a consequence, much of the work that has been done in the area of adolescent sexuality in India focuses on the sexual behaviours of adolescents or alternatively on attitudes towards and awareness of sexually transmitted diseases. The aim of this paper was to gain insights into the attitudes of adolescents towards sex through a focus group discussion. Using convenient sampling, adolescent boys and girls between the ages of 17 to 19 were identified to be a part of the focus group discussion; the group comprised of 5 girls and 4 boys. The topics discussed pertained to premarital sex, attitudes of parents and peers towards sex, influential factors in the formation of sexual attitudes and concerns that adolescents have regarding sexual behaviour. The participants’ responses were analyzed using thematic analysis, and the following themes emerged- Issues connected to the two generations, issues connected to gender, definition of love versus definition of sex, influence of parents, peers, self, media and other factors on adolescent sexual attitudes, deterrents to teen sex, issues and solutions.
