Abstract
SUMMARY Background: Puberty is not necessarily associated with an equivalent psychosocial development. The lack of maturity and characteristics of adolescence may promote the emergence of risk behaviors. Objective: To determine the association between age at menarche and presence of risk behaviors in adolescents. Method: Cross-sectional design study. The sample included postmenarchal adolescents. The instrument was a semistructured survey. Bivariate and multivariate descriptive analysis. Results: The sample consisted of 1844 adolescents, the median age was 16 years and 12 years for menarche. 57% came from middle socioeconomic level, 98% attended school and 52% lived with both parents. 35.1% had early menarche. Sexual abuse occurred in 26.0% in the group of early menarche and 21.4% for no early menarche. The onset of sexual activity before age 15 occurred in 39.4% and 22.3% of adolescents with early and no early menarche respectively (OR: 1.88; 95%CI: 1.46-2.43), associated with family dysfunction (OR: 2.08; 95%CI: 1.45-2.99) and absence of parents (OR: 1.74; 95%CI: 1.09-2.76). The frequency of alcohol consumption was associated with severe family dysfunction (OR: 2.00; 95%CI: 1.34-3.00). Conclusion: Early menarche was associated with early onset of sexual activity. It is important to promote safe behavior from an early age and escort girls in their maturation process.
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