Adolescent Sex Research Articles

The Use of LGBT Films in Adolescent Victim-Turned Sex Offender Counseling: The Standard of Care and Professional Clinical Discretion of Psychologists Clinical Discretion of Psychologists

The Use of LGBT Films in Adolescent Victim-Turned Sex Offender Counseling: The Standard of Care and Professional Clinical Discretion of Psychologists Clinical Discretion of Psychologists

The Effect of Educational Media Website and Surveillance on Risk Behavior for Prevention of Premarital Sex and Sexual Violence in Adolescents in Gorontalo Regency High School

The Effect of Educational Media Website and Surveillance on Risk Behavior for Prevention of Premarital Sex and Sexual Violence in Adolescents in Gorontalo Regency High School

A qualitative study on perceptions of adolescents' sexual and reproductive health education in Yogyakarta, Indonesia.

Sexual and reproductive health (SRH) education in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, is contentious due to societal and religious taboos in the Javanese Muslim community and being misunderstood as a potential catalyst for the premarital sex of unmarried adolescents. The existing practice of SRH education cannot guarantee reliable information about adolescent sexuality. The research aims to understand the intergenerational perception of SRH education conducted at high schools, which has not been comprehensively researched. This qualitative study was conducted in 2016 to explore the perspectives of adults and adolescents regarding school-based SRH education. Focus group discussions and individual interviews were used for data collection, while data analysis was conducted using a feminist perspective. The study identified gaps in the delivery of SRH education among Javanese Muslim, Indonesia. SRH education had not adequately addressed how adults and adolescents perceived sexuality as taboo due to moral panic about premarital sex and societal expectations placed on girls to maintain their virginity. Peer counsellors, responsible for imparting SRH information and facilitating communication with adolescents, reproduced adult moral values toward their peers, leading to a reluctance among adolescents to share their issues. Consequently, SRH education failed to reach those experiencing unwanted pregnancy or a toxic intimate relationship. The results of the study indicate the need to challenge intergenerational perceptions regarding sexuality and gender expectations to promote a positive gender perspective within SRH education in Indonesia.

Associations between mother and father involvement with older adolescents: Mediating effects of parent‐adolescent and couple relationships

AbstractObjectiveThis study aims to illuminate the dynamic interplay among subsystems within the family context to understand how mother and father involvement in their adolescent children's lives may be related.BackgroundConsistent with different predictions offered by family spillover and by compensatory conceptual models, whether there is an association between mother and father involvement, as well as the direction of the association, is unclear thus far in the empirical literature. Whether more proximal dyadic relationships, such as parent–adolescent relationships, may mediate the association between mother and father involvement has also been underexamined.MethodThis study was conducted using the adolescent subsample drawn from Wave 3 of the Welfare, Children, and Families Project. A total of 463 ethnically diverse adolescents from low‐income households living with two biological parents were involved in this study.ResultsResults of a structural equation modeling analysis indicated that the total effect from mother involvement to father involvement was significant, but a direct association between them was not significant; closeness in parent–adolescent and coparental relationships mediated the relationship between the two. Study results also indicated that model fits and associations were roughly the same across adolescent sex and ethnicity groups.ConclusionThis study advanced the understanding of the father involvement process. The findings support that parental involvement interventions for parents from low‐income families should focus on developing culturally responsive strategies for promoting their parenting beliefs and healthy functioning.

Adolescent predictors of substance use in young adulthood among individuals with childhood-onset chronic pain: Afollow-up study.

Adolescent chronic pain is a substantial public health problem, and pain symptoms often persist into adulthood. Young adults with chronic pain are at elevated risk for more frequent tobacco, alcohol and cannabis use, and cross-sectional research highlights the importance of psychosocial vulnerability factors. Limited research has examined how adolescent predictors, including mental health symptoms, pain, sleep and family functioning, impact later, young adult substance use. A prospective cohort of 229 young adults (77.3% female; Mage = 21.0, SD = 1.6) with childhood-onset chronic pain completed measurements in adolescence and a follow-up assessment in young adulthood of past 3-month substance use frequency. Adolescent sleep quality and male sex were associated with more frequent tobacco use; adolescent depression was associated with more frequent alcohol use, and adolescent pain severity was associated with less frequent, and male sex was associated with more frequent cannabis use. Adolescent predictors of young adult substance use among youth with childhood-onset chronic pain represent important factors that may inform assessment, prevention and treatment of substance use in this population. Identifying and testing psychological interventions that target these vulnerability factors may reduce overall substance use risk in young adulthood. This prospective observational study of young adults with childhood-onset chronic pain identified adolescent depression and sleep quality as vulnerability factors associated with substance use. Given the increasing risk for substance use during adolescence and young adulthood, these findings highlight the potential importance of early intervention to reduce substance use among young adults with childhood-onset chronic pain.

Developmental Trajectories of Transactional Sex and Age-Disparate Relationships During Adolescence: An HPTN 068 Analysis.

Transactional sex and sexual relationships with older partners increase HIV risk in adolescent girls and young women (AGYW), yet little is known about how these behaviors co-evolve over time. We characterize temporal patterns of transactional sex and age-disparate relationships among AGYW in South Africa. Longitudinal data are from a randomized controlled trial (HPTN 068) of school-aged, HIV-negative, AGYW who attended ≥ 3 study visits. We used group-based trajectory modeling to identify trajectories of transactional sex and age-disparate relationships (partner ≥ 5 years older) in the last year and assessed the interrelationship (conditional probability) between both trajectories. At baseline, median age was 14 years, 14.5% of girls were sexually active, and transactional sex (2.1%) and age-disparate relationships were uncommon (2.7%). We identified two trajectories for transactional sex ("low" [81.9%] and "increasing" [18.1%]) and two for age-disparate relationships ("low" [91.7%] and "increasing" [8.3%]). In a separate joint trajectory analysis, nearly a third (28%) had increasing trajectories for both transactional sex and age-disparate relationships, but most (53%) had a low trajectory of both outcomes. Baseline reporting of early sexual debut, depression, and inequitable gender norms were highest in the increasing transactional sex group. Prior pregnancy, early sexual debut, and IPV were highest among those with increasing age-disparate relationships. AGYW who engage in transactional sex or age-disparate partnerships in early adolescence are more likely to experience sustained engagement in both behaviors as they transition to adulthood, increasing HIV risk. Engaging girls early may maximize effectiveness of behavioral and biomedical HIV prevention efforts.

Household income mobility and adolescent subjective well-being in China: Analyzing the mechanisms of influence

BackgroundThe relationship between adult happiness and income has been a topic of extensive discussion. However, among children and adolescents, who are not directly engaged in economic activities, the relationship between household income over time and happiness is more complex and remains less explored. MethodsWe used nationally representative data from the China Family Panel Study (CFPS) from 2012 to 2018. The analytic sample consisted of 3,607 Chinese adolescents aged 10 to 19 years in 2018. Using an ordinary least squares model, we investigated the associations of 2-year (2016–2018), 4-year (2014–2018), and 6-year (2012–2018) household income mobility (i.e., upward mobility and downward mobility) with adolescents’ subjective well-being (i.e., happiness and depression) in 2018. We further explored the potential mediating effects of parental care on these associations and whether they were moderated by adolescent age, adolescent sex, and initial household economic status. ResultsWe found that upward mobility in household income was associated with decreased subjective well-being and parental care mediated this association. Furthermore, we found that the effects of upward mobility on adolescent subjective well-being varied by age, sex, and initial household economic status. Additionally, downward income mobility did not significantly impact adolescents’ subjective well-being. ConclusionOur findings emphasized that economic progress and upward mobility should not come at the expense of parental care, as this would decrease adolescents’ subjective well-being. Collaboration between the government and families is crucial to address the conflicts between work and family responsibilities, ensuring that parents are available and supportive to their children.

The mediator role of negative and positive automatic thoughts between attachment quality towards significant others and adolescents’ internalizing problems

Previous studies found that the insecure attachment of adolescents towards their mother, father, and peers leads to more internalizing problems and maladaptive cognitive processes (for example, low self-esteem). However, the dynamic between the attachment of adolescents, negative and positive automatic thoughts, and internalizing problems of adolescents is not well understood. The present study proposed and tested a theoretical model in which positive and negative automatic thoughts mediate the relationship between the attachment of adolescents towards their parents and peers and the internalizing problems of adolescents. A clinical sample of adolescents (N=105; mean age = 16.60), diagnosed with internalizing disorders, have filled out the evaluations for this study. All analyses were conducted in RStudio, and the mediation models were tested using Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modeling. Our main results are that positive and negative automatic thoughts mediate the relationship between adolescents’ parents- and peer-related attachment and internalizing problems. The biological sex and age of adolescents did not moderate any of the paths in the model. Parents and peer attachment, along with positive and negative automatic thoughts, explained 57 % of the variance in the internalizing problems of adolescents. The main findings of the paper are discussed, and the main caveats are underlined.

Identifying the relationship between recreation engagement, bullying, and suicidality in high school students

Bullying is prevalent among adolescents causing significant impacts to adolescent health. Engaging in recreation provides an opportunity for positive health outcomes. This study examined associations among adolescent sex and sexual identity, recreation engagement, bullying, and suicidality. The findings from this paper support that suicidality during adolescence remains elevated. Results demonstrated that cyberbullying is more prevalent than in-person bullying but neither form of bullying influenced suicidality for high school students. Recreation engagement did not show a significant interaction with suicidality, but high school students did report a reduction in recreation engagement. Findings suggest that prevention efforts and further research are needed to minimize the high prevalence of bullying behaviors and suicidality during adolescence. In addition, more research is needed to identify programs that can be implemented in schools and communities that provide outlets for adolescents during the adverse experience of being bullied.

Homocysteine as a biomarker of physical activity and exercise tolerance in adolescent children

Purpose: To determine the homocysteine content in children and adolescents with different levels of physical activity, to establish the relationship between homocysteine content, indicators of physical development, level of physical activity and tolerance to physical activity in adolescence. Material and Methods. We examined 83 children aged 11 to 17 years, who were examined by a pediatrician, an endocrinologist, and the girls by a pediatric gynecologist. The study was conducted in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki and approved by the Committee on Bioethics and Deontology. Height, body weight and body mass index were assessed; physical activity tolerance by the Ruffier test; physical activity was assessed using a questionnaire; serum homocysteine was determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results. 81% of adolescents with high physical activity had regular sports training at least three times a week. In the group with low physical fitness, only 25.6 % attended sports sections, and 44.2 % of adolescents were completely physically inactive. The level of homocysteine in the blood did not depend on the sex of adolescents and physical development. Moderate hyperhomocysteinemia was detected in 41 adolescents, 68.3 % of whom had poor and low exercise tolerance and/or low physical activity. Statistically significantly higher homocysteine levels were observed in children with low physical activity (p<0.05), those who did not have sports training (p=0.027) or had reduced adaptation to physical activity (p<0.01). Conclusions. The level of homocysteine in the blood serum of adolescents did not depend on gender, physical development and the presence of somatic pathology. Low physical activity of adolescents is accompanied by increased levels of homocysteine in the blood. On the contrary, adolescents with high physical activity have lower levels. The lowest levels of homocysteine are observed in adolescents with good to excellent exercise tolerance. Unsatisfactory and weak Ruffier test results are associated with elevated homocysteine levels in adolescents

Adults’ Qualitative Accounts of Adolescent Sexual Activity in A Resource-Constrained Urban Setting: What Role Does Social Disorganization Play?

Adults’ Qualitative Accounts of Adolescent Sexual Activity in A Resource-Constrained Urban Setting: What Role Does Social Disorganization Play?

Cultural stressors, acculturation processes, and mental health among adolescents in Korean multicultural families.

To ascertain, among a sample of Korean multicultural adolescents, the longitudinal predictive effects of acculturative stress and parent-adolescent conflict on depressive symptoms and life satisfaction, both (a) directly and (b) indirectly through Korean and heritage cultural practices and identifications. We analyzed longitudinal data from the nationally representative Korean Multicultural Adolescents Panel Study (MAPS; 2011-2016). The sample consisted of 1,433 households at Wave 3 (the first timepoint used in the present analyses), and 92.7% of families were retained until the end of the study. Adolescents completed measures of acculturative stress and parent-adolescent conflict at Timepoint 1, heritage and Korean cultural practices and identifications at Timepoints 2 and 3, and depressive symptoms and life satisfaction at Timepoint 4. Acculturative stress at Timepoint 1 predicted both depressive symptoms and life satisfaction at Timepoint 4 indirectly through Korean cultural practices and identifications. Parent-adolescent conflict at Timepoint 1 directly predicted depressive symptoms at Timepoint 4 and predicted life satisfaction indirectly through heritage-cultural practices and identifications. These links were invariant across adolescent sex. Among Korean multicultural adolescents, acculturative stressors inhibit engagement in Korean cultural practices and identification as Korean, whereas conflict with parents inhibits engagement in heritage cultural practices and identification with the foreign-born parent's cultural heritage. Decreased Korean and heritage cultural practices and cultural identifications predict increased depressive symptoms and lowered life satisfaction. These findings suggest that culturally stressful experiences can impair psychological functioning among Korean multicultural adolescents by undermining acculturation to both Korean and heritage cultural systems. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Associations of Coping Strategies With Glycemic and Psychosocial Outcomes Among Adolescents With Type 1 Diabetes Experiencing Diabetes Distress.

Many adolescents with type 1 diabetes experience diabetes distress which is associated with suboptimal glycemic and psychosocial outcomes. The ways in which adolescents respond to diabetes distress may serve as a risk or protective factor for these outcomes, but few studies have examined the coping strategies adolescents use to manage diabetes distress. To examine the association of coping strategies with glycemic and psychosocial outcomes among adolescents experiencing diabetes distress. Participants included 198 adolescents with elevated diabetes distress who completed baseline data for a randomized controlled trial (Mage = 15.3 ± 1.4, 58% female, 58% non-Hispanic White, MA1c = 9.1 ± 2.1%). Adolescents reported on their use of coping strategies related to diabetes stressors, including primary control engagement coping (e.g., problem-solving), secondary control engagement coping (e.g., positive thinking), and disengagement coping (e.g., avoidance). Adolescents also completed measures of diabetes distress, quality of life, and resilience. HbA1c data were extracted from electronic medical records and at-home kits. Higher use of primary control engagement coping was associated with better glycemic and psychosocial outcomes. Secondary control engagement coping was associated with better psychosocial outcomes but not glycemic outcomes. Greater use of disengagement coping strategies was associated with poorer glycemic and psychosocial outcomes. All associations were significant after adjusting for adolescent sex, age, race/ethnicity, and continuous glucose monitor use. These results build on prior findings by including a more diverse sample of adolescents and highlight the value of promoting engagement coping strategies and discouraging the use of disengagement coping strategies among adolescents experiencing diabetes distress. NCT03845465.

Transforming Adolescent Sex Offender Treatment: Organization-Wide Change Process in a State Residential Juvenile Justice System

A state juvenile justice system underwent a system-wide organizational change process as a result of implementing a new empirically-based residential treatment model for adolescent sex offenders. Because of the significant differences between the new treatment model and the former, the change process required modifications in treatment philosophy and ideology, clinical practice, staff responsibilities and teamwork, and an understanding of applied research and the role of residential juvenile justice providers. A detailed description of the transformative change process is provided and is further examined through the lens of organizational change theory.

Barriers and Facilitators of Treatment Engagement: Perspectives Shared by Survivors of Adolescent Sex Trafficking and Experienced Clinicians

Barriers and Facilitators of Treatment Engagement: Perspectives Shared by Survivors of Adolescent Sex Trafficking and Experienced Clinicians

Associations between emotional reactivity to stress and adolescent substance use: Differences by sex and valence.

Although stress is often related to substance use, it remains unclear whether substance use is related to individual differences in how adolescents respond to stress. Therefore the present study examined associations between substance use and daily emotional reactivity to stress within a year across adolescence. Adolescents (N=330; Mage=16.40, SD=0.74 at study entry; n=186 female; n=138 Latine; n=101 European American; n=72 Asian American; n=19 identifying as another ethnicity including African American and Middle Eastern) completed a longitudinal study, including three assessments between the 10th grade and 3-years post-high school. At each assessment, participants reported frequency of alcohol and cannabis use and the number of substances they had ever used. They also completed 15 daily checklists, in which they reported the number of daily arguments and their daily emotion. Multilevel models suggested that more frequent alcohol and cannabis use were related to attenuated positive emotional reactivity to daily stress (i.e., smaller declines in positive emotion on days when they experienced more arguments) for both male and female adolescents. Associations for negative emotional reactivity to stress varied by sex; more frequent alcohol use and use of more substances in one's lifetime were related to greater anxious emotional reactivity to stress among female adolescents, whereas more frequent alcohol and cannabis use and higher lifetime substance use were related to attenuated depressive emotional reactivity to stress among male adolescents. Taken together, substance use was related to emotional reactivity to daily stress within the same year during adolescence, although associations differed by valence and adolescent sex.

School Connectedness and Risk for Sexual Intercourse and Nonconsensual Sex in Adolescence.

The CDC reports that30% of high school students have engaged in sexual intercourse. Evidence suggests biological, personal, peer, societal, and family variables affect when a child will initiate sex. The school environment plays an important role in a child's development. Evidencesuggests that greater attachment to the school community can modify sexual risk-taking activity in adolescents.Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS) comprises a cohort of approximately 4,700 families of children born in the U.S. between 1998-2000, over-sampled for non-marital births in large U.S. cities. Adolescents (N = 3,444 of 4,663 eligible) completed the wave six teen survey at approximately age 15. School connectedness was self-reported with four items measuring inclusiveness, closeness, happiness, and safety felt by the adolescent in their school environment. Sexual intercourse and nonconsensual sex wereself-reported by the adolescent. Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted examining sexual intercourse, nonconsensual sex, risk factors, and school connectedness.In this sample of adolescents (48% female, 49% Black, 25% Hispanic, ages 14-19), school connectedness appears to reduce boys' risk of nonconsensual sex (OR = 0.29,p < 0.01),and reduce girls' risk of engaging in sexual intercourse (OR = 0.55,p < 0.01).Findings suggest gender differences in the association between school connectedness and sexual practices in adolescents. School connectedness may conferprotection for boys' risk of nonconsensual sex, and for girls' risk of engaging in sexual intercourse. Further exploration of the relationship between school connectedness may allow forrecommendations into preventative measures for teenage sexual behaviors.

Gestational PBDE concentrations, persistent externalizing, and emerging internalizing behaviors in adolescents: The HOME study

BackgroundPolybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are ubiquitous environmental chemicals used as flame retardants in commercial and consumer products. Gestational PBDE concentrations are associated with adverse behaviors in children; however, the persistence of these associations into adolescence remains understudied. ObjectiveWe estimated the association of gestational PBDE serum concentrations with early adolescent self- and caregiver-reported behaviors at age 12 years and determined the consistency with previously observed associations in childhood with caregiver-reported behaviors in a prospective pregnancy and birth cohort. MethodsWe measured maternal serum concentrations of five individual PBDE congeners and created a summary exposure variable (∑5BDE: 28, −47, −99, −100 and −153) during pregnancy. At age 12 years, we assessed behaviors for 237 adolescents using self- and caregiver-reports with the Behavioral Assessment System for Children-3 (BASC3). We used multivariable linear regression models to estimate covariate-adjusted associations of lipid standardized, log10-transformed gestational PBDE concentrations with BASC3 scores. We obtained estimates and 95% confidence intervals through a bootstrapping approach. We evaluated potential effect measure modification (EMM) of adolescent sex by examining sex-stratified regression models and estimating the EMM p-values. ResultsGestational PBDE concentrations were positively associated with adolescent-reported BASC3 composite indices for inattention & hyperactivity (BDE-28, -47, −99, −100, ∑5BDE), internalizing problems (BDE-28, -47, −99), functional impairment (BDE-28, ∑5BDE), and emotional symptoms (BDE-28). Gestational PBDE concentrations were positively associated with caregiver-reported BASC3 composite indices for externalizing problems (BDE-28, -47, −99, −100, −153, ∑5BDE) and behavioral symptoms (BDE-99). For caregiver reported behaviors, we observed stronger associations with gestational BDE concentrations among males, especially for executive functioning (BDE-28, -47, −99, −100, ∑5BDE). DiscussionGestational PBDE serum concentrations were associated with self-reported internalizing and externalizing behavior problems in early adolescence. Caregiver-reported externalizing behaviors recognized during childhood remain associated with gestational PBDE concentrations and persist into early adolescence. Internalizing behaviors were less recognized by caregivers.

Age and Sex Differences in Pediatric Neuropathic Pain and Complex Regional Pain Syndrome: A Scoping Review.

Age and sex differences may exist in the frequency (incidence, prevalence) or symptoms of neuropathic pain (NP) and complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) due to biopsychosocial factors (eg, neurodevelopment, physiological and hormonal changes, psychosocial differences) that evolve through childhood and adolescence. Age and sex differences may have implications for evaluating screening and diagnostic tools and treatment interventions. To map the existing literature on pediatric NP and CRPS with respect to age and sex distributions, and age and sex differences in symptomology and frequency. A scoping literature review was conducted. Databases were searched from inception to January 2023. Data were collected on study design, setting, demographics, and age and sex differences in frequency and symptoms. Eighty-seven studies were included. Distribution of participants with CRPS (n=37 studies) was predominantly early adolescence (10 to 14y) and female sex, while NP (n=42 studies) was most commonly reported throughout adolescence (10 to 19y) in both sexes. Forty-one studies examined age and sex differences in frequency; 6 studies reported higher frequency in adolescence. Very few studies (n=11) examined differences in symptomology. Large epidemiological studies are required to further understand age and sex differences in frequency of pediatric NP and CRPS. Age and sex differences must be considered when evaluating screening and diagnostic tools and treatment interventions to ensure relevance and validity to both sexes and across ages. Validated tools will improve understanding of age-dependent and sex-dependent differences in symptoms, pathophysiology, and psychosocial impact of pediatric NP and CRPS.

Sex, gender diversity, and brain structure in early adolescence.

There remains little consensus about the relationship between sex and brain structure, particularly in early adolescence. Moreover, few pediatric neuroimaging studies have analyzed both sex and gender as variables of interest-many of which included small sample sizes and relied on binary definitions of gender. The current study examined gender diversity with a continuous felt-gender score and categorized sex based on X and Y allele frequency in a large sample of children ages 9-11 years old (N = 7195). Then, a statistical model-building approach was employed to determine whether gender diversity and sex independently or jointly relate to brain morphology, including subcortical volume, cortical thickness, gyrification, and white matter microstructure. Additional sensitivity analyses found that male versus female differences in gyrification and white matter were largely accounted for by total brain volume, rather than sex per se. The model with sex, but not gender diversity, was the best-fitting model in 60.1% of gray matter regions and 61.9% of white matter regions after adjusting for brain volume. The proportion of variance accounted for by sex was negligible to small in all cases. While models including felt-gender explained a greater amount of variance in a few regions, the felt-gender score alone was not a significant predictor on its own for any white or gray matter regions examined. Overall, these findings demonstrate that at ages 9-11 years old, sex accounts for a small proportion of variance in brain structure, while gender diversity is not directly associated with neurostructural diversity.