Change in Age-Specific, Psychosocial Correlates of Risky Sexual Behaviors Among Youth: Longitudinal Findings from a Deep South, High-Risk Sample

The current study examined psychosocial predictors of change in intercourse frequency and number of sexual partners among youth within a socio-ecological framework and assessed whether these determinants vary by stage of adolescent development. Longitudinal data were derived from a large, community study of adolescent risky behavior among predominantly high-risk, African American youth. 

Significant predictors of intercourse frequency for early adolescents included age, gender, self-worth, and familial factors; for older youth, age, gender, self-worth, curfews, and sense of community exerted significant effects. 

Among early adolescents, age, gender, self-worth, familial factors, and sense of community predicted change in the number of sexual partners in the previous year, while age, gender, self-worth, parental knowledge, curfews, and sense of community were predictive of change in the number of sexual partners in the previous year among older youth. 

Study implications and future directions are discussed.

Table 4

Results for number of sexual partners in the previous year among early and older adolescents

Predictor	Number of sexual partners
	Early adolescents				Older adolescents
	β	SE	95 % CI	χ2	β	SE	95 % CI	χ2
Intercept	−0.20	0.13	−.47, .07	–	0.63	0.07	.49, .77	–
No. of sexual partners	0.20	0.01	.18, .23	174.64***	0.19	0.01	.17, .20	473.50***
Age	0.24	0.02	.21, .29	155.76***	0.04	0.01	.02, .06	21.48***
Gender	−1.35	0.06	−1.47, −1.23	522.46***	−0.54	0.03	−.60, −.49	390.81***
Self-worth	−0.04	0.01	−.06, −.02	14.85***	−0.03	0.01	−.04, −.02	36.10***
Maternal warmth	0.05	0.02	.01, .08	6.10**	0.005	0.01	−.01, .02	0.30
Parental knowledge	−0.03	0.01	−.05, −.02	15.90***	−0.01	0.003	−.02, −.01	11.59***
Curfew	−0.10	0.02	−.13, −.07	41.75***	−0.04	0.01	−.06, −.03	27.00***
Friend support	−0.01	0.005	−.02, .001	3.23	−0.001	0.003	−.01, .004	0.18
Sense of community	0.02	0.01	.002, .04	4.59*	0.01	0.004	.003, .02	6.49**

*p < .05,

**p < .01,

***p < .001

Read more at: http://ht.ly/Ssism 

By: Tiarney D. Ritchwood, Rebecca J. Howell, Amy C. Traylor, Wesley T. Church, II, and John M. Bolland
Center for Health Equity Research, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 725 Martin Luther King Jr Blvd, CB#7590, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7590, USA;