Adolescent Sexual Intercourse Research Articles

Influence of neighbourhood collective efficacy on adolescent sexual behaviour: variation by gender and activity participation

Adolescent sexual engagement is a good proxy measure of health risks in the USA owing to a higher prevalence of risky sexual behaviours among sexually active adolescents and to associated undesirable health outcomes. Neighbourhood collective efficacy is considered a potential social process that may prevent or delay early sexual engagement among adolescents. This study examined whether neighbourhood collective efficacy is associated with adolescent lifetime sexual intercourse and whether the association differs by gender, out-of-school activity participation and race/ethnicity. This study is a two-level multilevel analysis of the 2000-01 Wave 1 Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey (L.A.FANS-1) data. Responses of 2671 adults who answered collective efficacy-related questions were used to create a tract-level measure of collective efficacy (65 tracts). The tract-level collective efficacy measure was linked to adolescents 12-17 years old who answered a question on lifetime sexual intercourse (n= 859). Individual and family factors including age, gender, race/ethnicity, parental monitoring, activity participation, family composition and family income were controlled for to estimate neighbourhood effects net of individual and family differences. Interactions of collective efficacy with individual-level covariates were also tested. The protection of collective efficacy against lifetime sexual intercourse was significant only among boys [odds ratio (OR) = 0.67, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.47, 0.95]. The effect differed by participation status in out-of-school activities. The influence of collective efficacy was significant only in boys who did not participate in out-of-school activities (OR = 0.46, 95% CI = 0.29, 0.73). The association of collective efficacy with the outcome was similar across racial/ethnic groups including Latino adolescents. This study indicates the role of neighbourhood collective efficacy in protecting against adolescent sexual engagement with variation by gender and activity participation status. Findings point to the importance of considering specific neighbourhood characteristics and cross-level interactions in developing effective policies and programmes.

Gender and the Influence of Peer Alcohol Consumption on Adolescent Sexual Activity

I consider the alcohol consumption of opposite-gender peers as explanatory to adolescent sexual intercourse and demonstrate that female sexual activity is higher where there is higher alcohol consumption among male peers. This relationship is robust to school fixed effects, cannot be explained by broader cohort effects or general anti-social behaviors in male peer groups, and is distinctly different from any influence of the alcohol consumption of female peers which is shown to have no influence on female sexual activity. There is no evidence that male sexual activity responds to female-peer alcohol consumption.

Sexual Intercourse Among Adolescents Maltreated Before Age 12: A Prospective Investigation

To examine whether child maltreatment (physical, emotional, and sexual abuse, and neglect) predicts adolescent sexual intercourse; whether associations between maltreatment and sexual intercourse are explained by children's emotional distress, and whether relations among maltreatment, emotional distress, and sexual intercourse differ according to gender. The Longitudinal Studies of Child Abuse and Neglect was a multisite, longitudinal investigation. Participants ranged from at-risk to substantiated maltreatment. Maltreatment history was assessed through Child Protective Service records and youth self-report at age 12. Youth reported emotional distress by using the Trauma Symptom Checklist at the age of 12 years and sexual intercourse at ages 14 and 16. Logistic and multiple regressions, adjusting for gender, race, and site, were used to test whether maltreatment predicts sexual intercourse, the explanatory effects of emotional distress, and gender differences. At ages 14 and 16, maltreatment rates were 79% and 81%, respectively, and sexual initiation rates were 21% and 51%. Maltreatment (all types) significantly predicted sexual intercourse. Maltreated youth reported significantly more emotional distress than non-maltreated youth; emotional distress mediated the relationship between maltreatment and intercourse by 14, but not 16. At 14, boys reported higher rates of sexual intercourse than girls and the association between physical abuse and sexual intercourse was not significant for boys. Maltreatment (regardless of type) predicts sexual intercourse by 14 and 16. Emotional distress explains the relationship by 14. By 16, other factors likely contribute to intercourse. Maltreated children are at risk for early initiation of sexual intercourse and sexually active adolescents should be evaluated for possible maltreatment.

Sexual activity among Turkish adolescents: Once more the distinguished male

The mean age of first sexual intercourse in Western countries is around 17 years and decreasing. Although Turkey is a bridge between East and West, embracing different cultures, little data are available on sexual issues in the population. A questionnaire was administered to all students in the study year 2004-2005, collecting demographic data, sexual activities, sexual and contraceptive attitudes, and contraceptive knowledge. Of 7,657 applicants invited, 3,970 questionnaires could be analyzed. Median age of the participants was 18 years (48.0% female, 52% male). Median age at first sexual intercourse was 17 years for females and 16 years for males. 46.5% of the males and 3.0% of the females had sexual intercourse experience. While 68% of the girls had their first sexual intercourse with their lovers, this ratio was 44.8 % for males (Chi square = 59.963, p <.001). Significantly more girls than boys were planning to have their sexual partner as future spouses (Chi square = 55.569, p <.001). Three fourth of the males approved premarital sex for males; this ratio was reversed for females (Chi square = 574.838, p <.001). Although both sexes disapproved premarital sexual intercourse of women, girls were significantly more conservative in this regard (78.6% vs. 92.5%) (Chi square = 110.460, p <.001). Although the adolescent sexual intercourse rate in Turkey is low compared with Western countries, there is a tendency to increase. Therefore, sexual education is needed. When augmenting sexual education programs in undergraduate education, gender difference and cultural factors should be further evaluated.

Ten years of longitudinal research on U.S. adolescent sexual behavior: Developmental correlates of sexual intercourse, and the importance of age, gender and ethnic background

We integrated findings from 35 recent, longitudinal studies of the onset of heterosexual intercourse. Correlates of adolescent sexual intercourse onset, whether in early (before age 16) or middle (ages 16–18) adolescence, included living with other than two biological parents, being less monitored by parents, having more advanced physical maturity and more involvement in dating behavior, and having more permissive attitudes toward sex. When studies were organized by age of participants, the onset of intercourse was more strongly associated with alcohol use, delinquency, school problems and (for girls) depressive symptoms in Early studies (sexual intercourse by age 15 or before only) than was found in studies classified as Middle (assessment of sexual intercourse up to age 18) or Late (knowledge of those who delayed until after age 18). Although more research is needed, additional factors were associated with delaying first sexual intercourse until after age 18, including religious attitudes and anxiety, with some factors more relevant for girls and some more applicable to boys. In total, the evidence suggests there are many similarities, but also some important differences, in the correlates associated with early versus middle versus later onset of sexual intercourse. This seems to signify more than one pathway (set of distal and proximal correlates) associated with sexual behavior during adolescence that should be tested in future research. Throughout the review, we highlight differences in the correlates of girls’ versus boys’ sexual intercourse and how race/ethnicity moderates associations. These gender and racial/ethnic differences were found largely in analyses of family processes, school and religion, and parent education. We end by summarizing several priority areas for future research.

Une histoire de l'éducation sexuelle en France : une médicalisation progressive de la sexualité (1945–1980)

Sex education takes place in a broader historical process, in which, in the seventies, French sexologists became famous, in the course of the renewal of French sexology: at the time, the use of contraception became widespread, abortion was liberalized and the works of two major American sexologists, Masters and Johnson became famous. This article traces the history of sex education in France since 1945. During the first significant period, physicians, pedagogues, and psychologists were united to decry teenagers' sexual manifestations (masturbation and sexual intercourse). Their argumentation was based on a Christian inspired morality and on prevention against venereal diseases (sexually transmitted infections). During a second period psychoanalysts and psycho-pedagogues put forward the notion of psychosexual development to justify the need for limiting adolescent masturbation and sexual intercourse. Eventually, the emergence of sexologists in this field in the mid-seventies was marked by more liberal attitudes towards masturbation. They continued using the psycho-sexual argumentation to postpone teenage access to sexual intercourse. These sexologists' positions gave way to a great public debate opposing traditional morality proponents and those who were engaged in the sexual liberation process. The paper opens a discussion about the relations between normative arguments based on science (and on psychology) and sexual morality.

Respecting adolescents’ confidentiality and reproductive and sexual choices

Adolescents, defined as between 10 and 19 years old, present a growing challenge to reproductive health. Adolescent sexual intercourse contributes to worldwide burdens of unplanned pregnancy, abortion, spread of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV, and maternal mortality and morbidity. A barrier to contraceptive care and termination of adolescent pregnancy is the belief that in law minors intellectually mature enough to give consent also require consent of, or at least prior information to, their parental guardians. Adolescents may avoid parental disclosure by forgoing desirable reproductive health care. Recent judicial decisions, however, give effect to internationally established human rights to confidentiality, for instance under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which apply without a minimum age. These judgments contribute to modern legal recognition that sufficiently mature adolescents can decide not only to request care for contraception, abortion and STIs, but also whether and when their parents should be informed.

Contraceptive use and pregnancy risk among U.S. high school students, 1991-2003.

Trends in teenagers' contraceptive use have received less attention than trends in adolescent sexual intercourse, despite the importance of contraceptive use to preventing teenage pregnancy. Sexually active high school students' use of contraceptives and risk of pregnancy from 1991 to 2003 were examined using data from the national Youth Risk Behavior Survey and published contraceptive failure rates. Changes in pregnancy risk were assessed using weighted least-squares regression. Between 1991 and 2003, contraceptive use improved among sexually active U.S. high school students. Improvements among women included an increase in the proportion reporting condom use at last sex (from 38% to 58%) and declines in the proportions using withdrawal (from 19% to 11%) and no method (18% to 12%). Hormonal method use changed little, as a decline in pill use (from 25% to 20%) was offset by use of injectables (5% in 2003). Similar patterns were found among men. Women's risk of pregnancy declined 21% over the 12 years. The largest improvements in contraceptive use and pregnancy risk occurred among ninth graders, and whites and blacks. In 2003, 46% of pregnancy risk resulted from failure to use any method of contraception, and 54% resulted from contraceptive failure. Improvement in the use of contraceptives by sexually active high school students during the 1990s is encouraging. To sustain this trend, programs need to encourage contraceptive use among teenagers who do not use it and to stress consistent and correct use among those who do.

Reciprocal Effects between the Perceived Environment and Heterosexual Intercourse Among Adolescents

This study proposes a transactional model for the reciprocal relationship between increased likelihood of adolescent sexual intercourse and decreased connection with the perceived environment. Connection with the perceived environment is operationalized as higher problem-focused interactions with parents, lower religious attendance, and lower school belonging. Relationship with the perceived environment is further hypothesized to explain the increase in depressive symptoms associated with initiating sexual intercourse in adolescence. Data from Waves 1 and 2 of the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health (one year apart; valid N=10,873) were analyzed using survey-adjusted multiple and logistic regression and path analysis. Hypothesized relationships were confirmed, with an additional finding that relationships with the perceived environment do not improve with the cessation of sexual intercourse. Implications of a possible explanation for this, that this finding indicates sexually active youth earn a stigmatized “non-virgin” label that they cannot easily remove, are discussed.

Contraceptive Use and Pregnancy Risk Among U.S. High School Students, 1991?2003

Trends in teenagers' contraceptive use have received less attention than trends in adolescent sexual intercourse, despite the importance of contraceptive use to preventing teenage pregnancy.Sexually active high school students' use of contraceptives and risk of pregnancy from 1991 to 2003 were examined using data from the national Youth Risk Behavior Survey and published contraceptive failure rates. Changes in pregnancy risk were assessed using weighted least-squares regression.Between 1991 and 2003, contraceptive use improved among sexually active U.S. high school students. Improvements among women included an increase in the proportion reporting condom use at last sex (from 38% to 58%) and declines in the proportions using withdrawal (from 19% to 11%) and no method (18% to 12%). Hormonal method use changed little, as a decline in pill use (from 25% to 20%) was offset by use of injectables (5% in 2003). Similar patterns were found among men. Women's risk of pregnancy declined 21% over the 12 years. The largest improvements in contraceptive use and pregnancy risk occurred among ninth graders, and whites and blacks. In 2003, 46% of pregnancy risk resulted from failure to use any method of contraception, and 54% resulted from contraceptive failure.Improvement in the use of contraceptives by sexually active high school students during the 1990s is encouraging. To sustain this trend, programs need to encourage contraceptive use among teenagers who do not use it and to stress consistent and correct use among those who do.

Parenting dimensions and adolescent sexual initiation: using self‐esteem, academic aspiration, and substance use as mediators

Research has consistently shown that early adolescent sexual intercourse is related to levels of parenting dimensions (responsiveness and demandingness), and to adolescent self‐esteem, adolescent academic aspiration, and adolescent substance use. The present study attempted to link parenting dimensions to early sex, using self‐esteem, academic aspiration, and substance use as mediating variables. Self‐report surveys were administered to incoming college freshman (614 participants; mean age, 17.9 years). Students completed the Rosenberg Self‐esteem Scale, and indexes of academic aspiration, substance use, and parenting dimensions. Through structural equation modeling, substance use was found to be a mediator of the relationship between demandingness and early sex. Whereas self‐esteem and academic aspiration were not significant direct mediators between either of the independent variables and early sex, they were both found to be direct mediators between responsiveness and substance use, and thereby indirect mediators between responsiveness and early sex.

Parent-adolescent concordance in reports of sexuality-related behaviors and attitudes

Conclusions: In contrast to prior studies these parents and adolescents were largely concordant in their reports of adolescent sexual intercourse. This finding may be a function of the sample (parents accompanying adolescent to medical appointments). Nonetheless it suggests that parental report in the context of health care visits may be quite reliable. In contrast to this high concordance there was low agreement between parent-adolescent pairs in terms of worries about future STD risk and anticipated reactions to STD acquisition. Health care providers may be in a unique position to help facilitate better communication about these issues between parent and adolescent. may be an effective way of increasing parent child communication about health sexuality and values. Enhancing parents’ ability to communicate their expectations and values about sexuality may help support children in making healthy decisions about sexual behavior as adolescents. (excerpt)

Family Relationships and Adolescent Pregnancy Risk: A Research Synthesis

This article summarizes two decades of research about family, and especially parental, influences on the risk of adolescents becoming pregnant or causing a pregnancy. Research findings are most consistent that parent/child closeness or connectedness, parental supervision or regulation of children's activities, and parents' values against teen intercourse (or unprotected intercourse) decrease the risk of adolescent pregnancy. Largely because of methodological complexities, research results about parent/child sexual communication and adolescent pregnancy risk are very inconsistent. Residing in disorganized/dangerous neighborhoods and in a lower SES family, living with a single parent, having older sexually active siblings or pregnant/parenting teenage sisters, and being a victim of sexual abuse all place teens at elevated risk of adolescent pregnancy. Several biological factors (timing of pubertal development, hormone levels, and genes) also are related to adolescent pregnancy risk because of their association with adolescent sexual intercourse.

Adolescent Non-Coital Sexual Activity: Comparisons of Virgins and Non-Virgins

This study examined non-coital sexual activity among youth who did and did not experience adolescent sexual intercourse. A sample of 148 female and 57 male participants (ages 18 to 21) from 4 Midwestern public and private colleges and a metropolitan Planned Parenthood agency completed an anonymous questionnaire about their sexual activity during adolescence. Items included sexual behaviors, risk taking, psychosocial motivations and reactions, influences, and demographic factors. Findings revealed that non-coital sex was common among both virgins and non-virgins, and the rates (including those for oral sex) were similar for males and females. Among virgins, total abstainers (from all interactional sexual intimacy) came from a lower socioeconomic status, had fewer social/dating opportunities, lacked a viable relationship, and had lower grades. Two subgroups of virgins, those who came close to intercourse and those who did not, differed only on social/dating opportunities; of those who came close but did not...

Contraception and Adolescents

The risks and negative consequences of adolescent sexual intercourse are of national concern, and promoting sexual abstinence is an important goal of the American Academy of Pediatrics. In previous publications, the American Academy of Pediatrics has addressed important issues of adolescent sexuality, pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, and contraception.1–3 The development of new contraceptive technologies mandates a revision of this policy statement, which provides the pediatrician with an updated review of adolescent sexuality and use of contraception by adolescents and presents current guidelines for counseling adolescents on sexual activity and contraceptive methods.

Adolescent sexual behaviour: results from an Ontario sample. Part 1: Adolescent sexual activity.

In spite of a variety of broad-based interventions, rates of adolescent sexual intercourse remain high. Using data from a large longitudinal study, this paper provides empirical evidence of Canadian adolescent sexual activity rates by age and gender. The incidence of first sexual intercourse among those 13-15 years was higher among males than females; by ages 16-17 years, rates were the same for both genders (25%). Prevalence of sexual intercourse with age; by age 16-17 years, similar rates were reported for both genders (approximately 50%). Analysis of data over a three-year period indicated that at each age, over 80% of adolescents reported intermittent or no sexual intercourse. Different factors predicted the absence of early sexual intercourse for the two genders. These data provide useful information about Canadian adolescent sexual activity, particularly related to identifying high risk groups for targeted prevention interventions.

Adolescent Sexual Behaviour: Results from an Ontario Sample

In spite of a variety of broad-based interventions, rates of adolescent sexual intercourse remain high. Using data from a large longitudinal study, this paper provides empirical evidence of Canadian adolescent sexual activity rates by age and gender. The incidence of first sexual intercourse among those 13-15 years was higher among males than females; by ages 16-17 years, rates were the same for both genders (25%). Prevalence of sexual intercourse with age; by age 16-17 years, similar rates were reported for both genders (approximately 50%). Analysis of data over a three-year period indicated that at each age, over 80% of adolescents reported intermittent or no sexual intercourse. Different factors predicted the absence of early sexual intercourse for the two genders. These data provide useful information about Canadian adolescent sexual activity, particularly related to identifying high risk groups for targeted prevention interventions.

Adolescent sexual intercourse.

Preview As sex, drugs, and rock 'n' roll have given way to STDs, HIV, and AIDS, adolescent sex has become an increasingly high- risk behavior. Dr Kay strongly believes that primary care physicians can have a prominent role in educating teens and their parents about the consequences of premature sexual activity and in promoting healthy living. In this article, he presents the case against adolescent sexual intercourse and outlines a concrete approach to dealing with adolescent patients at risk and their families.

Adolescent Sexual Behavior

This study tested a path model, composed of concepts from social control, social learning and differential association theories, to determine its use in explaining frequency of adolescent sexual intercourse. The model was tested using two-stage least squares regression procedures, and it was based on assumptions underlying recent refinements in theoretical models presented in the literature. The model derived from statistical procedures did not differ much from the hypothesized model, and supported recent integrative theory that social bonding impacts adolescent behavior through influence on peer associations. The path model derived accounted for 30% of the variance in frequency of sexual intercourse.

Adolescent Sexual Activity: An Ecological, Risk-Factor Approach

Understanding the factors that influence an adolescent's decision to have sexual intercourse has important implications for theory, policy and practice. Because sexual intercourse is the single most important determinant of pregnancy, a fuller understanding of the factors related to heterosexual sexual activity is central to addressing the issue of teenage pregnancy. In addition, the current AIDS epidemic, along with the proliferation of other diseases that can be transmitted through sexual contact, make early sexual intercourse a potentially serious health hazard. Over the past two decades there has been a steady increase in the number of teenagers who are sexually active (Moore, 1992). In 1988, 52% of females aged from 15 to 19 had had premarital sexual intercourse, compared to only 29% in 1970. The birth rate among 15- to 17-year-old teens increased by 19% from 1986 to 1989. In addition, of the 12 million cases of sexually transmitted diseases that are estimated to occur annually, adolescents account for one quarter of those infected (Moore, 1992). In recent years a growing body of research has reported on the antecedents and correlates of sexual intercourse during the adolescent years. Numerous factors have been identified as being related to heterosexual adolescent sexual activity. They include poor school performance and low educational aspirations, alcohol and marijuana use, early pubertal development, low SES, living in a single-parent family, low religiosity, frequent dating with the same partner, and having a mother who was an early childbearer (Brooks-Gunn & Furstenberg, 1989; Flick, 1986; Hayes, 1987). Other factors that have been less extensively studied but have been linked to early sexual activity are a history of sexual abuse (Butler & Burton, 1990), a lack of positive experiences in school (Quinton & Rutter, 1988), poor neighborhood characteristics (Moore, Peterson, & Furstenberg, 1986), and a perception of poor employment prospects (Dash, 1989). The relationship between some variables and early heterosexual sexual activity remains ambiguous. For example, parental supervision was associated with less sexual activity in one study (Hogan & Kitagawa, 1984) but was unrelated in others (Inazu & Fox, 1980; Newcomer & Udry, 1983). Likewise, evidence regarding the degree to which peers influence sexual behavior is unclear (Hayes, 1987). There is some evidence that suggests that teens are more likely to be sexually active if they perceive that many of their peers are also sexually active (Flick, 1986). While there have been many studies that have examined disparate factors related to early sexual activity, fewer studies have integrated these multiple factors into a unified understanding of the causes and correlates of adolescent sexual intercourse. Exceptions to this include the work of Day (1992) and Udry and Billy (1987). In contrast to these past multivariate studies, the present investigation employs a cumulative risk approach and uses Bronfenbrenner's (1979, 1989) ecological perspective as a framework for organizing the risk factors that are examined. Borrowing from the field of epidemiology, a number of behavioral scientists have begun to employ a risk factor approach to the study of such diverse social problems as drug use (Newcomb, Maddahian, & Bentler, 1986), psychopathology (Rutter, 1978), and low intellectual achievement (Sameroff, Seifer, Barocas, Zax, & Greenspan, 1987). This approach suggests that there are probably many diverse paths to the development of a particular behavior (Newcomb, Maddahian, & Bentler, 1986) and that efforts to find a single cause may not be useful because most behaviors have multiple causes. Werner and Smith (1982) define risk factors as individual or environmental hazards that increase an individual's vulnerability to negative developmental outcomes. The presence of risk factors does not guarantee a negative outcome will occur, but simply increases the probability of its occurrence. …