Psychological Factors in Sexual Consent: A Systematic Review With a Developmental Perspective and Its Legal Applications

Sexual consent in adolescents and young people is a complex issue that requires in-depth analysis from various perspectives. In Spain, current legislation, represented by Organic Law 8/2021 and Organic Law 10/2022, has sought to protect minors from sexual violence, but the use of the term “consent” in this specific context poses significant challenges from a psychological perspective. This study conducts a systematic review to address what psychological and developmental factors shape minors’ capacity to provide sexual consent, and how these findings align with or challenge Spanish legislative assumptions. From an initial 839 studies, 23 met the inclusion criteria to analyse the psychological, developmental, and emotional factors that influence the capacity of adolescents to consent—with a specific focus on the legal threshold of 16 years—in order to identify possible weaknesses in current legislation that contradict current knowledge on the psychological development of minors. The results of this review highlight the need for a critical review of the legislation and for a more nuanced approach that recognises the difference between the capacity to consent of an adult and that of a developing individual, based on scientific evidence and not only on legal criteria. It is hoped that the results of this review will contribute to improving the protection of minors from sexual violence and clarify the ambiguity when speaking in terms of consent between minors.