Original article
Initiation of sexual intercourse among middle school adolescents: the influence of psychosocial factors

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2003.06.004Get rights and content

Abstract

Purpose

To explore potential psychosocial predictors for initiation of sexual intercourse among middle-school, inner-city youth, using longitudinal data from the Healthy and Alive! project.

Methods

We conducted hierarchical, logistic regression with adjustment for intraclass correlation over two sequential periods, including seventh and eighth grades (N = 3163), to assess the independent influence of psychosocial and demographic factors. Internally reliable scales to assess psychosocial influences were created, based on major theories of behavior. The sample was 52% female, 51% black, 30% Hispanic, 9% white, and 3% Asian. At baseline, 13% of girls and 39% of boys reported already having initiated sexual intercourse.

Results

Personal and perceived peer norms about refraining from sex were a strong and consistent protective factor. Alcohol and other drug use, poor academic performance, male gender, and black race were consistent risk factors. Self-efficacy showed a mixed effect: protective in the seventh grade but increasing risk in the eighth grade. Speaking a language other than English was a protective factor in seventh grade. Both psychosocial and demographic factors provided independent explanatory power.

Conclusions:

Psychosocial factors, particularly norms about having sex, influence initiation of sexual intercourse. These data suggest that programs to delay initiation of sexual intercourse should reinforce norms about refraining from sex.

Section snippets

Methods

This study, reviewed and approved by an Institutional Review Board at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), used data collected between 1994 and 1996 as a part of a two-year, longitudinal study of the Healthy and Alive! intervention. The methodology of collecting baseline (beginning of seventh grade, 1994) data and achieving retention rates of 80% at Time 2 (end of seventh grade, 1995) and 73% at Time 3 (end of eighth grade, 1996) are more completely described in Simkin et al

Results

Of the 2973 students who completed a baseline survey, 48% were males and 52% were female. Fifty-one percent of these students were black, 30% Hispanic, 9% white, 3% Asian, and 6% other. At baseline, most students (84%) were aged 12 and 13 years and males were somewhat older than females. Mother's educational attainment varied widely. More than one-third of the students (36%) were unsure about their mother's education; 18% of mothers were reported to have a college degree, 12% to have some

Discussion

These analyses strongly suggest that psychosocial factors influence the early initiation of sexual intercourse. Consistent predictors included personal and perceived peer norms and the use of alcohol and other drugs. Peer norms about refraining from sex was a strong and consistent protective factor against initiating sexual intercourse during both seventh and eighth grade. On the other hand, alcohol and other drug use consistently increased the risk of initiation. Although self-efficacy showed

Acknowledgements

This work was funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

This paper reflects the contributions of all six authors. The Health and Alive! project worked as a collaborative enterprise with frequent conference calls and meetings to discuss every aspect of project implementation including the intervention, data collection, and data analysis. Our meetings were used to review intellectual and practical issues for the project. The idea for this paper grew out of these meetings, and the

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