若者の望ましくない妊娠や性感染症の予防は、世界保健の最大の課題であって、世界各国の学校性教育においても、緊急度の高い課題であると認識されている。若者の性と生殖の健康をより良い方向に導くために学校で行える、また、若者の学習ニーズや関心に応じた、適時の、適度な教育プログラムとは何かについて、具体性のある有効な提案をすることは、かなり難しい課題である。本論文では、この研究課題の達成に向けて、思春期学的アプローチと社会心理学的アプローチとにおける理論と方法論を統合的に援用して調査研究を行い、得られたアンケートデータに基づいて因果構造モデルの構築とその検証が試みられた。具体的には、生物的・先天的・遺伝的要因と社会的・後天的・環境的要因の相互作用によって規定される関与（関心および情報接触）が、どのように態度形成に関わり、さらにそれが行動に対してどのような影響を及ぼすのかという、関与（態度の規定因）と態度と行動の間に存在している影響関係が検証された。

　Because human sexuality possesses both innate and acquired aspects, durable models of it have been difficult to construct. But in order propose new policies for sex education suited to pupils' needs, it is necessary to investigate their multi-faceted psychology and behavior. To this end, the current contribution reviews the theoretical and methodological approaches of, and problems regarding, previous research in adolescent studies and within the field of social psychology, and taking up involvement (regarding sexual interest and the selection of information) as a principal factor governing sexual attitudes, clarifies the ways in which involvement first shapes attitudes, and how those attitudes then affect sexual behavior.

　Further, in order to test a method for measuring involvement using a questionnaire survey, attention is focused on the influence of sexual interest on the selection of information. Specifically, for youths in their teens, the following information concerning the influence of sexual interest on information selection is clarified through empirical research. A variety of individual difference is observed in the process through which the mutual interaction of biological and social factors influences the structure factor of sexual interest, transforming it from an undifferentiated to an increasingly differentiated state. Further, within each individual, through the selection of information in keeping with her or his own interests, the process in which interest in sexual intercourse accelerates, under the influence of different sources of information, becomes clear.

　In this manner the current research, by focusing on attitude formation, examines the process in which involvement (as a prescriptive factor) governs attitudes, which in turn influence behavior. The view that attitudes are not innate, but formed through postnatal learning has been consistently supported, but prior studies of attitudes have rarely asked through what kinds of experiences are attitudes, which influence behavior, formed postnatally. The results of the empirical research reported herein suggest, however, that a central focus on attitude formation is both important and necessary.