Paper Title
Variation in Sexual Behaviors in a Cohort of Adolescent Females: The Role of Personal, Perceived Peer, and Perceived Family Attitudes
Keywords
- adolescents
- adolescent sexual behavior
- attitudes
- peer influence
- family influence
- abstinence
- sexual decision-making
- risk behavior
- perceived social norms
- sexual development
- sti prevention
- pregnancy prevention
- personal beliefs
- social attitudes
- longitudinal study
- urban youth
- public health
- adolescent health
- sexual risk factors
- behavioral predictors
- sexual socialization
- sexual health education
- relationship dynamics
- protective factors
- sexual exploration
- parental influence
- cultural norms
- psychosocial development
- youth sexuality
- health interventions
- adolescent psychology
- communication about sex
- sexual autonomy
- early sexual initiation
- gender differences in sexual behavior
- condom use
- safe sex practices
- adolescent risk perception
- romantic relationships
- adolescent decision-making
- sexual well-being
- emotional factors in sexual behavior
- school-based interventions
- youth empowerment
Article Type
Research Article
Journal
Research Impact Tools
Publication Info
Volume: 48 | Issue: 1 | Pages: 87–93
Published On
January, 2011
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Abstract
Purpose Little is known about how adolescent sexual behaviors develop and the influence of personal or perceived social attitudes. We sought to describe how personal, perceived peer, and perceived family attitudes toward adolescent sexual activity influence sexual behaviors of adolescent females' over time. Methods Between the years of 1999 and 2006, 358 English-speaking female adolescents, aged 14–17 years, were recruited from three urban adolescent clinics. Participants completed quarterly and annual questionnaires over a span of 4 years. Primary outcomes included engagement in any of the following eight sexual behaviors: kissing, having breasts touched, having genitals touched, touching partners' genitals, oral giving, oral receiving, anal, or vaginal sex. Three attitudinal scales assessed personal importance of abstinence, perceived peer beliefs about when to have sex, and perceived family beliefs that adolescent sex is negative. We used generalized estimating equations to identify predictors of each sexual behavior and compared whether personal, perceived peer, or perceived family attitudes predicted sexual behaviors over time. Results The odds of reporting each sexual behavior increased with age but were lower among those whose personal or perceived family attitudes were less positive. Participants' personal attitudes toward adolescent sex were the strongest predictor of engagement in all eight sexual behaviors even after controlling for perceived peer and perceived family attitudes. Conclusions Female adolescent's personal attitudes toward abstinence appear to be the strongest predictor of engagement in a variety of sexual behaviors. Efforts to influence adolescent attitudes toward abstinence may be an important approach to reducing sexual behaviors that increase the risk of pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections.
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