Abstract
Sexually transmitted infections are increasing in Brazilian adolescents and youth. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of self-esteem, self-efficacy, and other psychosocial variables with condom use behavior and sexual debut in a sample of adolescents from Santa Maria-RS. Data was collected with 452 adolescents (57% girls), mean age of 15.9 years (SD = 1.4), using the Brazilian Youth Questionnaire – Phase II. Condom use behavior was not associated with self-esteem or self-efficacy in the logistic regression model, contrary to the main hypothesis. General self-efficacy was positively associated with sexual debut, while religiosity was negatively associated with this outcome. Family support was associated with older age at sexual debut. The findings support the importance of analyzing different sexual behaviors separately, as they may have distinct predictors. Studies should use specific measures of self-efficacy when studying sexual behavior and measure how participants value different sexual behaviors.
Highlights
Resumo: A incidência de infecções sexualmente transmissíveis vem aumentando entre adolescentes brasileiros
Sousa et al (2017), in a study to adapt the condom use self-efficacy scale with Brazilian adolescents and young adults, found that condom use self-efficacy was positively associated with condom use behavior, even for people in stable relationships. These findings suggest that self-efficacy is a possible pathway for changing condom use behavior in adolescence
The results did not support the main hypothesis that self-efficacy and self-esteem would be associated with adolescent condom use behavior
Summary
Resumo: A incidência de infecções sexualmente transmissíveis vem aumentando entre adolescentes brasileiros. Este estudo investigou a associação de autoestima, autoeficácia e outras variáveis psicossociais com o uso de preservativo e o início da vida sexual em adolescentes de Santa Maria, RS. It is common for adolescents to perform exploratory behaviors in the new environments that they are experiencing, searching for novel feelings or peer approval (Cruzeiro et al, 2010). In this setting, the performance of risk behaviors is a concern for families and institutions. This article focuses on the performance of sexual risk behaviors in adolescence, operationalized mainly as the inconsistent use of condoms.
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