Child sexual abuse and premarital intercourse among high-risk adolescents

This study examined the extent to which child sexual abuse was associated with an increased likelihood of premarital sex among adolescents at high risk of sexual abuse. The sample consisted of 177 teenage girls who, because of evidence of family dysfunction, had become part of a public child welfare system. Half the sample had been placed in a foster home and the remainder were receiving protective services in their own home. About 40% of the teens in both groups had been sexually abused, although teens still living at home were less likely to have reported abuse. Victims of sexual abuse were found to be more likely to have engaged in voluntary sexual intercourse, even after background factors were controlled. Teens in foster home were somewhat less likely to be sexually active than the teens who remained at home.     

Prevalence and correlates of condom use at last sexual intercourse among in-school adolescents in urban areas of Uganda

OBJECTIVES: Correct and consistent condom use remains an important public health intervention against the spread of Human Immunodeficiency Virus and other sexually transmitted infections. There is paucity of information on sexual behaviour of in-school adolescents in Uganda. We, therefore, used secondary data of the Uganda Global School-based Health Survey (UGSHS) conducted in 2003 to determine the prevalence and correlates of condom use at last sexual intercourse in urban areas of Uganda. METHODS: A two-stage cluster sampling technique was used to obtain a representative sample. Altogether 1709 students participated in the survey in urban areas of whom 179 (14.9% of males, and 7.9% of females) had sexual intercourse within 12 months before the survey. RESULTS: Overall 77.3% (79.7% of male, and 72.3% of female) adolescents used a condom at last sexual intercourse. Adolescents who drank alcohol and used drugs were 64% (OR = 1.64, 95% CI 1.54, 1.75) and 68%, (OR = 1.68, 95% CI 1.56, 1.81) more likely to have used a condom, respectively. Meanwhile, adolescents who ever got drunk, and who reported to ever had 2 or more sex partners were 55% (OR = 0.45, 95% CI 0.42, 0.48) and 35% (OR = 0.65, 95% CI 0.62, 0.68) less likely to have used a condom compared to those who had never got drunk, and who ever had 1 sex partner, respectively. Finally, adolescents who reported receiving no parental supervision were 45% (OR = 0.55, 95% CI 0.53, 0.58) less likely to have used a condom compared to those who reported receiving parental supervision. CONCLUSIONS: Parental supervision may be effective in promoting condom use among adolescents. Furthermore, drinking alcohol was associated with condom use probably due to peer pressure and easy access of condoms in drinking places as condoms are not actively promoted in schools. There is need for further research on how in-school adolescents could access condoms.     

Predictors of early first sexual intercourse among adolescents in Cape Town, South Africa

Early coital debut is a risk factor for HIV. In this paper weinvestigate the predictors of young adolescents' transitionto first intercourse using a social cognition theoretical framework.The analyses reported here were based on a longitudinal studyof 2360 students in the schools allocated to the control armof a cluster-randomized controlled trial to investigate theeffect of a school-based HIV prevention programme among Grade8 students in Cape Town. Structural equation modelling was performedwith Mplus version 3.11. Of the 1440 students who were virginsat baseline, 1144 remained virgins 15 months later and 296 (20.6%)reported having had their first sexual intercourse. Transitionto first sexual intercourse was more likely among males thanfemales, among older students and among students with a lowersocio-economic status. Transition to first sexual intercoursewas significantly associated with intentions to have sexualintercourse, poor self-efficacy to negotiate delayed sex andintimate partner violence. The model predicted 35% of the variancein intentions and 16% of the variance in transition. These findingsindicate some of the factors that influence young adolescent'stransition to first intercourse and that need to be addressedwhen designing effective interventions. Received on June 1, 2007; accepted on October 26, 2007     

广州市青少年性相关行为发生情况分析

目的 了解广州市青少年性相关行为现况,为制定干预措施提供科学依据.方法 采用“中国青少年健康相关行为调查问卷”,对分层整群随机抽取的广州市66所大中学校11939名学生进行问卷调查.结果 15.22％的中学生看过色情书籍和音像制品,农村(16.46％)高于城市(14.44％)；男生(25.07％)高于女生(6.23％)；职中生最高(25.41％),普通中学(13.93％)高于重点中学(10.71％),差异均有统计学意义(P值均＜0.01).在看过色情书籍、音像制品的学生中,曾发生性行为率高达22.35％.在高中、职中学生中,35.82％曾单独约会异性朋友,34.95％有亲密行为,7.26％曾经发生过性行为,2.10％学生有被迫性行为,73.97％从学校接受过有关艾滋病知识教育,63.44％知道艾滋病病原体是病毒,31.76％对艾滋病感染者持正确态度.8.87％大学生有过性行为,使用安全套的比例占68.52％.结论 广州市青少年性相关行为频发但预防教育不足,要加强对青少年性观念及行为的正确引导.     

Prevalence of childhood sexual abuse among Mexican adolescents

Background   To determine the characteristics and prevalence of previous child sexual abuse among a group of Mexican junior high school students.
Methods   A total of 1067 adolescents of both genders were selected to fill out a survey about child sexual abuse.
Results   The prevalence of child sexual abuse was 18.7% ( n  = 200). It was more frequent in girls (58%) than in boys (42%). Sexual abuse involved physical contact in 75% of those cases reporting abuse. The aggressors were neighbours (50.3%), relatives (36.8%) and strangers (13.9%). Abuse was committed through deception in 90% of the cases and involved physical mistreatment in 10% of the cases. Of the victims, 14.4% had spoken about the problem and 3.7% had taken legal action. And 9.6% of those surveyed stated that they required psychological counselling.
Conclusions   In the population studied, the prevalency of child sexual abuse was greater than that reported in Mexico City (4.3–8.4%), although it was similar to that found in the Spanish child population (15–23%). The risk of sexual abuse is greater for girls and the principal aggressors are male neighbours, family friends and relatives; the abuse is committed in the home of the aggressor or the victim and very few cases are reported to the authorities.     

Substance use, sexual intercourse, and condom nonuse among depressed adolescents and young adults

PurposeTo examine daily- and event-level associations of substance use with occurrence of sex and condom nonuse among depressed youth.MethodsDepressed, sexually active outpatients aged 15–22 years reported alcohol use, marijuana use, and sex on a personal digital assistant for 2 weeks. If they reported sex, participants indicated partner type and condom use. Data were analyzed for participants who reported both substance use and sex events (N = 39) using generalized estimating equations. Daily-level models compared the likelihood of sex and of condom nonuse between days on which participants did or did not use substances. Event-level models examined the likelihood of sex in the 2, 6, and 12 hours after substance use and the likelihood of condom nonuse if substances were used in the preceding 2, 6, and 12 hours.ResultsParticipants reported 307 sex events (180 unprotected) and 391 substance use events on 572 days. Substance use was associated with increased odds of sex on the same day, but not after adjusting for weekend. Depressed youth were less likely to have sex within 2 hours after substance use and more likely to have sex within 12 hours after marijuana use. There was no main effect of substance use on condom nonuse; however, there was a significant interaction such that on weekdays, condom nonuse was less likely when substances were used within 6 hours before sex.ConclusionsThe findings from this small, predominantly female sample suggest that contextual factors, not intoxication, influence associations of substance use with sexual behavior in depressed youth.     

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

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.     

Suicidal ideation and associated factors among school-going adolescents in Thailand

The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence and identify associations between suicidal ideation and indicators of psychosocial distress and social-environmental factors in Thai adolescents. Using data from the Thailand Global School-Based Student Health Survey (GSHS) 2008, we assessed the prevalence of suicidal ideation and its associated factors among adolescents (N = 2,758). Overall the prevalence of suicidal ideation in the past 12 months was 8.8% (9.9% males and 7.7% females). Variables influenced the suicidal ideation in multivariable analysis were sadness (Odds Ratio = OR: 6.03; 95% Confidence Interval = CI (3.00-12.14), lack of parental attachment (OR = 2.26, CI = 1.09-4.67), current alcohol use (OR = 2.32, 1.21-4.44), and ever having had sexual intercourse (OR = 4.16, CI = 3.40-7.68). Psychosocial, health-risk behaviours and lack of protective factors appear to effect suicidal ideation in this youth population.     

Unintentional injuries and socio-psychological correlates among school-going adolescents in Mozambique

ABSTRACT

Background: The study aimed to report on the prevalence and socio-psychological correlates of non-fatal injury among school-going adolescents in Mozambique.

Methods: Cross-sectional data from the 2015 ‘Global School-based Health Survey (GSHS)’ included 1918 students (median age 15 years, interquartile range = 3 years) that were representative of all students in secondary school in Mozambique.

Results: The proportion of participants with one or multiple injuries in the past 12 months was 55.7%, 30.0% once and 25.7% multiple times. The most frequent cause of the reported injury was ‘traffic injury’ (7.6%), followed by ‘fall’ (7.0%), 'poisoning' (5.0%), ‘struck or hit by person’ (3.6%) and ‘struck or hit by object’ (2.6%). The most common injury type was ‘fracture or dislocation’ (9.8%), followed by ‘cut or stab wound’ (7.5%), burns (2.7%) and ‘gunshot wound’ (2.6%). In adjusted logistic regression analysis, current tobacco use, attending physical education classes three or more days a week and psychological distress were associated with annual injury.

Conclusion: A high prevalence of annual injury was found and several variables were identified that could be targeted in injury prevention programmes in this school population.     

Religiosity,sexual intercourse and condom use among university students

Abstract: There is strong evidence that religiosity among adolescents is associated with delayed onset of sexual activity. However, research on relationships between religiosity and contraceptive practices is limited and inconsistent. This paper provides data from a survey of 374 students aged between 16 and 21 at two Brisbane universities (72.4 per cent response rate). Those who perceived religion to be important in their lives were less likely to have had intercourse. Among the sexually active sample, religious youth did not differ from their peers in recent condom use, the age at which they first used condoms or the rate of partner change. Contrary to several recent assertions in review articles, this and other empirical studies do not show that religious youth are less likely than nonreligious youth to take precautions during sex.     

Nutrition in agricultural development: land settlement in Coast Province,Kenya

Coast Province is the third area of population concentration in Kenya with more than 1.8 million people at the time of the census in 1989. The region is economically underdeveloped relative to central and western Kenya. In response to a great demand for land, the government of Kenya has since 1963 parcelled out tracts of land in Coast Province among smallholder tenants. This paper reviews the settlement of land in the province during 1960-70 and the effects upon later household income, food production, and nutrition. Findings are based upon information gathered from 300 tenant households surveyed between August 1985 and September 1986 in the Ukunda, Mtwapa, and Roka-East schemes respectively established in 1962, 1968, and 1969, and 150 households in rural comparison locations visited during the same period. In all aspects studied, including living conditions, household resources and income, food self-sufficiency and consumption, and nutritional status of children, the settlement tenants were better off than the rural population. Further analysis determined that the relatively better nutritional status of tenant households is only partly due to increases in food production and agricultural income. Income from employment was also higher than that of the rural comparison population. Households with large farms generally realized larger incomes, but they also had much larger families and food consumption, and the nutritional status of young children was lower among those households.     

Physical fighting among school-going Portuguese adolescents: social and behavioural correlates

Objective. The purpose of this study was to estimate the frequency and to assess the determinants of physical fighting among Portuguese school-going adolescents.Methods. A cross-sectional evaluation of urban adolescents born in 1990 and enrolled in public and private schools of Porto was performed in 2007. We identified 3,161 17-year-old eligible adolescents and 73.3% accepted to participate.Information was collected using a self-administered questionnaire assessing socio-demographic, behavioural, family and health-related characteristics. The magnitude of the associations between those characteristics and physical fighting was estimated using logistic regression.Results. Overall, 33.8% of adolescents (48.6% of boys and 20.1% of girls; p < 0.001) engaged in a physical fight during the previous 12 months. The school premises were the most frequently reported setting where fights occurred (girls-41.2% and boys-46.7%, p = 0.179). After adjustment, and in both genders, we found statistically significant associations between physical fighting and grade retention, smoking, drinking and age at first sexual intercourse.Conclusion. Physical fighting among school-going adolescents is frequent, tends to occur at school premises and to cluster with other well recognized adverse health behaviours.     

Prevalence and correlates of smoking and sexual activity among Hong Kong adolescents.

PURPOSE: To report on the prevalence and correlates of smoking and sexual activity in a community sample of Hong Kong Chinese adolescents. METHODS: Participants (N = 4116) aged 13 to 18 years were surveyed regarding smoking and physical heterosexual activity, relationships with family members, family involvement, social support, school performance and emotional adjustment. Data were analyzed using logistic regression analyses. RESULTS: About 30% of participants reported ever smoking and 3.5% reported sexual intercourse. Current smoking was correlated with age, school performance and quality of relationship with mother. Sexual intercourse was correlated with age, gender, family involvement and social support. Smoking and sexual activity were significantly correlated with each other. Smoking and increasing levels of heterosexual physical contact were negatively correlated with emotional adjustment, even after controlling for common predictors to health-endangering behaviors and emotional adjustment. CONCLUSIONS: Smoking and sexual activity among adolescents are far less common in Hong Kong than in the West and their presence in a Hong Kong adolescent should alert the health practitioner to the possibility of significant psychosocial stress and maladjustment.     

女大学生首次性行为非意愿性分析

目的了解女大学生首次性行为非意愿性状况及影响因素。方法采用分层整群抽样方法抽取湖北省武汉市在校女大学生5 076人,以匿名自填方式进行问卷调查。结果女大学生有性行为(性交)者占18.10%;19.81%的女大学生首次性行为是迫于感情压力,4.29%是迫于暴力;首次性行为年龄≤18岁的学生中24.72%由于迫于感情压力,而首次性行为年龄18岁的学生中迫于感情压力的占18.43%,二者差异有统计学意义(2χ=4.402,P=0.036);医科或艺术专业(OR=2.381,OR=1.633)、父亲是农民或科技人员及教师(OR=2.577,OR=2.087)、读大学感到迷茫或抑郁(OR=1.565,OR=1.516)、反对婚前性行为(OR=1.886)的学生首次性行为非意愿性均较高;有宗教信仰(OR=0.628)、父母对恋爱和性的态度既不保守也不开放(OR=0.629)的学生非意愿性相对较低。结论女大学生首次性行为有非意愿性情况存在,并受多种因素影响。     

Sexual socialization and motives for intercourse among Norwegian adolescents

The impact of gender differences in sexual socialization on early sexual experiences among Norwegian adolescents is discussed. The material comprises a stratified sample of 920 adolescents ages 16–20 years in a Norwegian county. Data were collected by means of questionnaires. Of the respondents, 55.5% were girls and 44.5% were boys. 52.3% of girls and 41.4% of the boys had coital experience. The most common reasons for having had the first sexual intercourse were being in love, curiosity or excitement, and sexual arousal. Findings from a discriminant analysis showed that emotional reasons were more important to girls, whereas boys seemed more practical in sexual matters. More boys than girls reported that the reason for having had their most recent intercourse was that the partner wanted it. This indicates that if girls do not want sex, boys seldom use pressure. Girls set the premises for sexual interaction but are not as sexually skilled as boys.     

浙江省儿童青少年超重肥胖流行现况

了解浙江省儿童青少年的超重和肥胖流行现况与特征,为进一步采取相应干预措施提供依据.方法 分层整群随机抽取浙江省11个地市小学一、三、五年级和初二、高二年级学生共33 256名,根据身高和体重计算体质量指数(BMI),应用中国肥胖问题工作组(WGOC)的“中国学龄儿童青少年超重、肥胖筛查体质量指数分类标准”判定超重和肥胖,进行流行病学描述性分析.结果 浙江省7 ~18岁儿童青少年超重检出率为10.6%,肥胖检出率为5.3%;男生超重和肥胖检出率(13.7%,6.8%)高于女生(7.4%,3.7%);小学生(12.3%,8.3%)和初中生(11.1%,5.1%)超重与肥胖检出率均高于高中生(8.7%,2.8%);经济发达地区儿童青少年的超重检出率和肥胖检出率(11.1%,5.6%)高于经济欠发达地区(10.3%,4.8%).结论 浙江省儿童青少年超重与肥胖的检出率超过全国水平.要重点关注男生、低年龄段学生和经济发达地区儿童青少年超重与肥胖的流行趋势,采取综合措施促进儿童青少年健康.