Adolescent Risky Behavior Research Articles

Antiretroviral drug access and behavior change

Assessing the impact of antiretroviral-drug access on future HIV infections in Sub-Saharan Africa requires identification of the behavioral response. This paper combines geocoded information about the timing of introduction of ARVs in Kenyan health facilities with population surveys to estimate the impact of proximity to ARV providers on adolescent risky sexual behavior. A variety of difference-in-difference strategies yield a range of estimates of behavioral effects on pregnancy rates and self-reported sexual activity among 15-18 year-olds in areas where ARVs were introduced, from small to quite large. A simulation combining estimated behavioral responses with medical evidence regarding HIV transmission suggests increasing ARV access will reduce new HIV infections even with a very large increases in risk-taking.

Parental Monitoring and Adolescent Risk Behaviors: The Moderating Role of Adolescent Internalizing Symptoms and Gender

Parental monitoring can reduce adolescents’ engagement in risky behaviors; however, adolescents’ internalizing symptoms may alter the effectiveness of parental monitoring. The current study examines independent and interactive effects of maternal and paternal monitoring, adolescent’s internalizing symptoms, and adolescent gender on sexual behaviors and substance use with data from 659 of the 15-year-olds enrolled in the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. Results suggest girls who experienced less maternal monitoring and more internalizing symptoms—both independently and interactively—engaged in more risky sexual behaviors. Greater substance use was associated with less maternal and paternal monitoring for girls and boys, more internalizing symptoms for girls, and interactively with less maternal and paternal monitoring depending on girls’ levels of internalizing symptoms. The current study highlights the unique influences of mothers’ and fathers’ monitoring efforts on adolescent risky behavior based on the adolescent’s level of internalizing symptoms.

FAKTOR – FAKTOR YANG BERHUBUNGAN DENGAN PERILAKU SEKSUAL REMAJA DI DESA MEGAMENDUNG KECAMATAN MEGAMENDUNG KABUPATEN BOGOR PROVINSI JAWA BARAT TAHUN 2016

Sexual behavior is all behavior driven by sexual desire either do it by himself, opposite sex or the same sex without the bond of marriage according to the religion,Sarwono (2013). The purpose of this study was to determine the factors related of adolescent sexual behavior, of education, knowledge, resources, understanding of religion, the role of the family, in the VillageMegamendung Bogor. Researches with the variables of cross-sectional design with the population of 250 people and a sample of 154 respondents using simple random sampling technique. Based on the results of research we done in the VillageMegamendung, we get the results of risky adolescent sexual behavior with 88 respondents (57.1%). And significant relationship between behavior teen sexual witheducation p value (0.049), resources p value (0.005), understanding of religion p value (0.000), and the role of family p value (0.010) and not significant related between knowledge with behavior teen sexual p value (0,868). We get the results healthy and suggest that young people in the village must get attentionfrom adults, especially sexual behavior problems.

Links Between Childhood Exposure to Violent Contexts and Risky Adolescent Health Behaviors

PurposeTo assess whether childhood exposure to violent contexts is prospectively associated with risky adolescent health behavior and whether these associations are specific to different contexts of violence and different types of risky behavior. MethodsData come from 2,684 adolescents in the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a population-based birth cohort study of children born between 1998 and 2000 in 20 large American cities. Using logistic regression models, we evaluate whether exposure to 6 indicators of community violence and 7 indicators of family violence at ages 5 and 9 is associated with risky sexual behavior, substance use, and obesity risk behavior at age 15. ResultsControlling for a range of adolescent, parent, and neighborhood covariates, each additional point on the community violence scale is associated with 8% higher odds of risky sexual behavior but not substance use or obesity risk behavior. Alternatively, each additional point on the family violence scale is associated with 20% higher odds of substance use but not risky sexual behavior or obesity risk behavior. ConclusionsChildhood exposure to violent contexts is associated with risky adolescent health behaviors, but the associations are context and behavior specific. After including covariates, we find no association between childhood exposure to violent contexts and obesity risk behavior.

Different Kinds of Lonely: Dimensions of Isolation and Substance Use in Adolescence.

Social isolation is broadly associated with poor mental health and risky behaviors in adolescence, a time when peers are critical for healthy development. However, expectations for isolates' substance use remain unclear. Isolation in adolescence may signal deviant attitudes or spur self-medication, resulting in higher substance use. Conversely, isolates may lack access to substances, leading to lower use. Although treated as a homogeneous social condition for teens in much research, isolation represents a multifaceted experience with structurally distinct network components that present different risks for substance use. This study decomposes isolation into conceptually distinct dimensions that are then interacted to create a systematic typology of isolation subtypes representing different positions in the social space of the school. Each isolated position's association with cigarette, alcohol, and marijuana use is tested among 9th grade students (n = 10,310, 59% female, 83% white) using cross-sectional data from the PROSPER study. Different dimensions of isolation relate to substance use in distinct ways: unliked isolation is associated with lower alcohol use, whereas disengagement and outside orientation are linked to higher use of all three substances. Specifically, disengagement presents risks for cigarette and marijuana use among boys, and outside orientation is associated with cigarette use for girls. Overall, the adolescents disengaged from their school network who also identify close friends outside their grade are at greatest risk for substance use. This study indicates the importance of considering the distinct social positions of isolation to understand risks for both substance use and social isolation in adolescence.

Intervention based on Temporal Orientation to reduce alcohol consumption and enhance risk perception in adolescence

Alcohol consumption is a prevalent risky behaviour in adolescence. A way of prevention is to obtain information about the cognitive components involved, such as Temporal Perspective (TP), which refers to the tendency to be oriented towards the past, the present or the future. The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between TP, risk perception and alcohol consumption (Study 1) and to determine whether an intervention programme based on emphasizing a Future orientation can reduce alcohol consumption and increase risk perception (Study 2). Seventy-five adolescents participated in the study. Results showed that a bias toward the Present can enhance the probability of incurring in risk behaviours, while a Future orientation might act as a protective factor. Half of the adolescents took part in the intervention programme, and their risk perception increased, suggesting that TP can be a tool to minimize the probability of incurring in risk behaviours.

The Interplay of Peer, Parent, and Adolescent Drinking.

To explore variability in the link between peer and adolescent drinking by parental drinking. Stress and differential susceptibility perspectives led to hypotheses that adolescents with drinking parents would be more reactive to peer drinking but also to peer abstention. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health, regressions estimated whether the association between peer alcohol use and increased drinking among adolescents was moderated by parental drinking. A regions of significance test identified the level of peer drinking that predicted adolescent drinking in the context of parental drinking. Adolescents with binge-drinking parents were more likely to increase drinking at every level of peer drinking, supporting the stress perspective; such adolescents did not accrue benefits from abstaining peers, going against the differential susceptibility perspective. Far from monolithic, peer influences on adolescent risky behaviors may require family environments and genetic predispositions conducive to those behaviors.

Negative consequences of corporal punishment of children are unequivocal

Multiple avenues of clinical research demonstrate that dating violence has negative consequences. The causes of dating violence likely are multifactorial. Use of corporal punishment of children by parents seeking to correct or control behavior is commonly practiced. Temple et al, in this volume of The Journal, note that existing literature associates corporal punishment of children with negative childhood outcomes (eg, increased aggression), but is confounded by inclusion of multiple types of maltreatment, including physical abuse of children. They sought to obtain more granular data about consequences of corporal punishment alone. In this study they sought to assess whether corporal punishment in childhood was associated with dating violence in adolescence. The study population derived from 1042 students recruited at grades 9-10 from 7 urban and suburban public high schools in southeast Texas. The students were followed longitudinally, annually, to study adolescent risky behaviors. The current study was a cross-sectional analysis that included 758 participants who completed the follow up 5 years later (Wave 6), the first study Wave in which questions about prior corporal punishment were included. A significant positive association between corporal punishment and perpetration of dating violence was found, with an odds ratio of 1.3 (95% CI, 1.07 and 1.59). In multivariate analysis controlling for broad potentially confounding variables, corporal punishment remained a significant predictor of perpetration of dating violence. Another noteworthy finding in the study, consistent with existing studies, was that females were more likely than male counterparts to perpetrate teen dating violence. The authors posit that although society can continue to argue about the use of corporal punishment, its negative consequences are unequivocal, and outweigh any possible benefits. Article page 233 ▶ Childhood Corporal Punishment and Future Perpetration of Physical Dating ViolenceThe Journal of PediatricsVol. 194PreviewTo test whether experiencing childhood corporal punishment is linked to later perpetration of dating violence. Full-Text PDF

Gender differences in pathways from child physical and sexual abuse to adolescent risky sexual behavior among high-risk youth

This study investigated gender differences in the roles of internalizing and externalizing symptoms and substance use as pathways linking child physical and sexual abuse to risky sexual behavior among youth at risk of maltreatment. Path analysis was performed with 862 adolescents drawn from Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect. Four waves of data collected in the United States were used: childhood physical and sexual abuse experiences (from ages 0–12) were assessed by Child Protective Services reports, internalizing and externalizing symptoms were measured at age 14, substance use was measured at age 16, and risky sexual behavior was measured at age 18. Physical abuse was directly associated with risky sexual behavior in boys but not girls. For girls, physical abuse had a significant indirect effect on risky sexual behavior via externalizing symptoms. Gender-focused preventive intervention strategies may be effective in reducing risky sexual behavior among at-risk adolescents.

Neural activation during delay discounting is associated with 6-month change in risky sexual behavior in adolescents.

Identifying cognitive and neural mechanisms of decision making in adolescence can enhance understanding of, and interventions to reduce, risky health behaviors in adolescence. Delay discounting, or the propensity to discount the magnitude of temporally distal rewards, has been associated with diverse health risk behaviors, including risky sex. This cognitive process involves recruitment of reward and cognitive control brain regions, which develop on different trajectories in adolescence and are also implicated in real-world risky decision making. However, no extant research has examined how neural activation during delay discounting is associated with adolescents' risky sexual behavior. To determine whether a relationship exists between adolescents' risky sexual behavior and neural activation during delay discounting. Adolescent participants completed a delay discounting paradigm during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanning, and they reported risky sexual behavior at baseline, 3-, 6-, 9-, and 12-month follow-up time points. Latent growth curve models were employed to determine relationships between brain activation during delay discounting and change in risky sexual behavior over time. Greater activation in brain regions associated with reward and cognitive control (caudate, putamen, nucleus accumbens, anterior cingulate, insula, orbitofrontal cortex, inferior frontal gyrus, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex) during delay discounting was associated with lower mean levels of risky sexual behavior but greater growth over the period from baseline to 6 months. Neural activation during delay discounting is cross-sectionally and prospectively associated with risky sexual behavior in adolescence, highlighting a neural basis of risky decision-making as well as opportunities for early identification and intervention.

Neural Correlates of Risk Processing Among Adolescents: Influences of Parental Monitoring and Household Chaos.

Adolescent risky behavior is related to developmental changes in decision-making processes and their neural correlates. Yet, research investigating how the family environment relates to risk processing in the adolescent brain is limited. In this study, longitudinal data were collected from 167 adolescents (13-15years, 53% male) who self-reported household chaos and their parent's monitoring practices, and completed a decision-making task during functional MRI at Time 1 and Time 2 (1year apart). Parental knowledge was positively related to insular risk processing only among adolescents in low-chaos environments at both time points. Results highlight environmental correlates of insular risk processing in the developing brain.

Adolescents' Reward-related Neural Activation: Links to Thoughts of Nonsuicidal Self-Injury.

Adolescence is a critical developmental period marked by an increase in risk behaviors, including nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI). Heightened reward-related brain activation and relatively limited recruitment of prefrontal regions contribute to the initiation of risky behaviors in adolescence. However, neural reward processing has not been examined among adolescents who are at risk for future engagement for NSSI specifically, but who have yet to actually engage in this behavior. In the current fMRI study (N=71), we hypothesized that altered reward processing would be associated with adolescents' thoughts of NSSI. Results showed that NSSI youth exhibited heightened activation in the bilateral putamen in response to a monetary reward. This pattern of findings suggests that heightened neural sensitivity to reward is associated with thoughts of NSSI in early adolescence. Implications for prevention are discussed.

59 - Profiles of Social Norms Across Contexts and Adolescent Risky Behaviors

59 - Profiles of Social Norms Across Contexts and Adolescent Risky Behaviors

The Effect of Religiosity on Adolescent Risky Behaviors

We investigate the relationship between religiosity and risky behaviors in adolescence using data from a large and detailed cohort study of 14 year olds that have been followed for seven years. We focus on the effect of the self-reported importance of religion and on the risk of youths having early sexual intercourse, drinking underage, trying cigarettes, trying cannabis, and being involved in fighting at ages 14–17. We use school and individual fixed effects, and we control for a rich set of adolescent, school, and family characteristics, including achievements in standardized test scores at age 11, parental employment, and marital status. We also control for information on personality traits, such as work ethic, self-esteem, and external locus of control. Our results show that individuals with low religiosity are more likely to engage in risky health behaviors. This effect is robust to separate estimations for boys and girls and to the control variables used. The combination of low work ethic, low self-esteem, and low religiosity seems to have particularly detrimental effects.

Autoconcepto, autoeficacia y conductas sexuales de riesgo en adolescentes

In recent decades there has been an increase in risky sexual behaviors that directly affect the health and wellbeing. This trend is present in a greater proportion in the adolescent population, taking into account the characteristics of this stage. The aim of the study was to establish relationships between self-efficacy, self-concept and risky sexual behaviors in adolescents between 14 and 18 years old, from the city of Cali. se llevo a cabo una investigacion de caracter no experimental de tipo descriptivo - correlacional de corte trasversal. A non-experimental cross-sectional descriptivecorrelational study was carried out, with the participation of 133 adolescents. It was evidenced that both self-concept and self-efficacy work as protective factors to avoid risky behaviors for health and as a factor that drives the search for behaviors that benefit it, in this case, risky sexual behaviors. Bearing this in mind, the adolescent, who presents a high index of the variables mentioned above, may opt and put into practice preventive behaviors in the exercise of their sexuality.

Risky Sexual Behavior of Modern Teenagers in Russia. Part I

The article is devoted to the consideration of risky sexual behavior of adolescents and young people. The first part of the article presents an overview of statistical data from Rosstat and the Ministry of Health on the problem of the incidence of adolescents with sexually transmitted infections and HIV. It has been shown that despite a noticeable decrease in the incidence of sexually transmitted infections among children and adolescents in recent years, this age population is a vulnerable risk group. The main trend – against the general decrease in the incidence of sexually transmitted infections, an increase in the incidence of viral sexual infections and their hidden forms is observed. It has been revealed that the age structure among newly diagnosed HIV patients has changed: over the past two decades, there has been a decrease in the incidence of HIV infection among adolescents, and the epidemic is migrating to older age groups. Based on a review of various studies, as well as the results of our own surveys of high school students and college students, the peculiarities of adolescent sexual activity were considered: the prevalence of early sexual intercourse, the use of contraception, awareness of sexual hygiene and sexually transmitted infections. It was revealed that the rate of decline in the average age of sexual debut that has lasted over the last decades has slowed down, but the proportion of sexually active minors is quite large, while many adolescents do not use means of protection, having certain prejudices about their use, and awareness of infections is not satisfactory.

The birds and the bees: do Puerto Rican mothers and daughters talk about sex?

Effective communication skills that foster responsible sexual decisions are known to have the potential to reduce the risky adolescent sexual behavior. It is well understood that maternal communication is a key element in modifying the adolescent sexual behavior. The objective of this qualitative study was to explore if Puerto Rican mothers of adolescent girls have conversations about sexuality with their daughters and the content of such conversations. A total of 22 HIV-seropositive mothers and 22 HIV-seronegative mothers were enrolled. Six focus groups were conducted, sessions were transcribed ad-verbum and coded for specific topics. All qualitative analysis was incorporated into Atlas.ti. Participants in both groups had a similar average age (mean=41 years old); but, the HIV-seropositive mothers were more likely single, less educated and unemployed. Regarding having engaged in conversations about sexuality and the topics covered, however, there were no differences revealed among HIV-seropositive mothers and seronegative mothers. In both groups, mothers understood the importance of these conversations, but most said they were difficult and uncomfortable. These findings reinforce the importance of communication between mothers and daughters for the prevention of STIs, HIV/AIDS, and teenage pregnancy in minority populations.Interventions are needed for mother and daughter to improve communication skills, communication about sexuality, and addressing prevention.

Human Immunodeficiency Virus Risk Factors and Beliefs Reported by Families Presenting to a Pediatric Emergency Department.

Adolescents are at greater risk for acquiring human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) due to increased risk behaviors. Parental influence is known to reduce adolescent risk behaviors. We compared HIV risk behaviors reported by adolescents to parents' perception of adolescent risky behavior engagement. We also examined participants' knowledge of HIV transmission and testing preferences. Participants included English-speaking adolescents and parents presenting to a pediatric emergency department. Participants were interviewed separately in private. Modeled after existing instruments, "adolescent" and "parent" questionnaires included multiple choices items, Likert-type scales, and standard yes/no and true/false options. Data were analyzed using a κ statistic and observed agreement to measure discordance between adolescent and parent responses. Participants included 126 adolescents and 110 parents. Many adolescents reported ever having sex (61%), of which 32% reported always practicing safe sex. Comparative analysis revealed low agreement between adolescents' risk behaviors and parents' perception of risk behavior engagement by youth. Discordance concerning tobacco use was greatest (κ = 0.13), followed by drug use (κ = 0.19) and ever having sex (κ= 0.19), and alcohol use (κ= 0.22). There was also poor agreement regarding HIV transmission knowledge (ie, oral sex; κ = 0.16). Participants shared strong agreement regarding parental support for adolescent interest in HIV testing (95.5%). Parents are mostly unaware of adolescents' broad risk behaviors. Participants' knowledge of HIV transmission is limited. Adolescents and parents shared strong agreement regarding HIV testing preferences. Multidimensional HIV prevention strategies aiming to decrease adolescent risk behaviors, increase parental involvement, and improve adolescent and parental knowledge of HIV transmission are needed.

Individualism-Collectivism, Social Self-Control and Adolescent Substance Use and Risky Sexual Behavior

ABSTRACTIndividualism and collectivism are cultural syndromes that have been associated with adolescent problem behavior in studies conducted in the U.S. and Southeast Asia. However, research investigating the mechanisms of how cultural orientation impacts health risk behaviors has been limited. This study tested a new model explaining the relationship between cultural orientation (i.e., individualism, collectivism) and adolescent problem behavior (i.e., substance use and risky sex) in terms of interpersonal self-regulation (i.e., social self-control). As such, the study is rooted in theories of the role of culture in developing self-regulation. Participants were high school students (N = 716) from the Bashkirtostan Republic of the Russian Federation. Adolescents from the Russian Federation tend to show high prevalence of cigarette smoking and binge drinking. People of the Russian Federation in general are traditionally collectivist in orientation, although increased globalization and post-Soviet capitalism may indicate high individualist values in younger generation Russians. Using path analysis we found that in addition to having direct effects, higher individualism indirectly affected substance use and risky sexual behavior through social self-control and negative life events. Higher collectivism was found to have a direct protective effect on risky sexual behavior and a direct effect on social self-control. However, collectivism was not found to have indirect effects on substance use or risky sexual behavior. Higher individualism appears to function as a risk factor for adolescent problem behavior and this relationship may be mediated by lower social self-control. Culturally-tailored prevention programs utilizing the individualism-collectivism framework may benefit from addressing social self-control.

Early childhood parenting and child impulsivity as precursors to aggression, substance use, and risky sexual behavior in adolescence and early adulthood.

The current study utilized a longitudinal design to explore the effect of early child impulsivity and rejecting parenting on the development of problematic behaviors in adolescence and early adulthood. Using a low-income sample of 310 mothers and their sons, we examined the direct and interactive effects of child impulsivity and rejecting parenting at age 2 on aggression and substance use at ages 12, 15, and 22, as well as risky sexual behavior at ages 15 and 22. Results revealed that rejecting parenting at age 2 predicted greater aggression at age 12 and risky sexual behavior at ages 15 and 22. Early impulsivity had few direct effects on later outcomes, with the exception of greater substance use at age 22. Instead, impulsivity emerged as a significant moderator in the link between rejecting parenting and aggression at all three ages and substance use at age 15. Specifically, early rejecting parenting predicted greater aggression and substance use only for children high in impulsivity. Findings highlight the potential for early child and parenting risk factors to have long-term implications for adjustment, with the combination of high impulsivity and rejecting parenting being particularly deleterious for problems of aggression throughout adolescence and into early adulthood.