Inexperienced Adolescents Research Articles

Greater Expectations: Adolescents' Positive Motivations for Sex

CONTEXT: Effective STD and pregnancy prevention efforts should benefit from knowledge of what motivates adolescents to have sex. Positive motivations, and how they differ by gender and sexual experience, are poorly understood.METHODS: A sample of 637 ninth graders were asked about their relationship goals, expectations of the degree to which sex would satisfy these goals and sexual experience. Three scales measured adolescents' goals for intimacy, sexual pleasure and social status within a romantic relationship. Another three scales measured expectations that sex would lead to these goals. Data were examined in analyses of variance and mixed models.RESULTS: Participants valued intimacy the most, then social status and, finally, sexual pleasure. These relationship goals differed significantly by gender and sexual experience. Females valued intimacy significantly more and sexual pleasure less than males. Sexually experienced adolescents valued both intimacy and pleasure more than sexually inexperienced adolescents. Among females, but not males, sexually experienced adolescents valued the goal of social status less than those with no sexual experience did. Adolescents expected that sex would most likely lead to sexual pleasure, then intimacy and, finally, social status. Females and sexually inexperienced adolescents reported lower expectations that sex would meet goals than did males and sexually experienced participants.CONCLUSIONS: Adolescents view intimacy, sexual pleasure and social status as important goals in a relationship. Many have strong positive expectations that sex would satisfy these goals. Prevention programs and providers should address the risks of sex in the context of expected benefits.

The Association of Sexual Experience with Attitudes, Beliefs, and Risk Behaviors of Inner‐City Adolescents

We compared knowledge, attitudes, and demographic characteristics of 630 sexually experienced and 422 inexperienced inner‐city adolescents aged 14–17 years. Sexual experience was associated with indicators of risk previously reported in the literature: male gender, older age, single‐family home, smoking, drinking, and poorer academic performance. We found lower HIV knowledge in sexually inexperienced youth, which suggested an area of vulnerability compared with sexually active teens. However, most inexperienced adolescents intended to remain virgins for the next 6 months, most had peer groups they also perceived to be virgins, and they were more positive and confident about remaining abstinent. Differences between the groups suggest there may be benefits to developing intervention programs targeted to their different strengths and weaknesses.

Condom use self-efficacy: effect on intended and actual condom use in adolescents

To investigate aspects of adolescents' condom use self-efficacy that affect their intended and actual condom use. Four hundred twenty-four male and female sexually experienced and inexperienced adolescents with a mean age of 17.0 years filled out a questionnaire concerning condom use self-efficacy and intended and actual condom use. Specific condom use self-efficacy scales were constructed from 37 items on the basis of a principal component analysis. The effect of self-efficacy, both as a global measure and in terms of specific scales, on condom use intention and consistency was assessed using multiple hierarchic regression analyses. Six specific self-efficacy scales were constructed: Technical Skills, Image Confidence, Emotion Control, Purchase, Assertiveness, and Sexual Control. In sexually inexperienced adolescents, global self-efficacy explained 48%, the six self-efficacy scales 30%, and both together 51% of the variance in intention, after statistical control for gender, age, and education level. In the sexually experienced sample, this was 40%, 50%, and 57% for intention, and 23%, 29%, and 33% for consistency of condom use. Significant predictors of intention in the final model were gender, age, global self-efficacy and purchasing skills in the inexperienced sample, and global self-efficacy, emotion control, assertiveness, image confidence, and sexual control in the experienced sample, whereas gender, age, global self-efficacy, emotion control, assertiveness, and purchase predicted consistency of condom use in the experienced sample. Condom use self-efficacy is a multidimensional construct. Intended and actual condom use in adolescents are best predicted by self-efficacy measures that include both global and relevant specific aspects of condom use.

Predicting Intentions of AIDS‐Preventive Behavior Among Adolescents

The aim was to predict adolescents' i]ntentions of regular condom use on the basis of an extended version of Ajzen and Fishbein's (1980) theory of reasoned action. Attitude and subjective norm concerning regular condom use were measured along with their antecedent beliefs and evaluations, with fear of AIDS and knowledge about AIDS included as additional variables. A mixed‐gender sample comprising both sexually active and sexually inexperienced adolescents was studied. The results strongly support the impact of attitude toward regular condom use as a determinant of a corresponding behavioral intention. Normative pressures failed to predict intentions of regular condom use, as did fear of AIDS and knowledge about AIDS. The findings are discussed with respect to intervention campaigns aimed at promoting condom use among adolescents as an AIDS‐preventive measure.