A bioecological analysis of risk and protective factors associated with early sexual intercourse of young adolescents Tina Jordal, Brenda J. Lohman

Introduction Getting into sexual intercourse for the first time is a transitional period in adolescence, its most common among American adolescence especially at early age. Early sexual intercourse can result in unwanted pregnancy,risk of contacting a sexually transmitted infection

Aim of study To identify the risk and protective mechanisms associated with early sexual intercouse in a sample of urban low-income,predominantly minority young adolescents. To examine whether risk and protective factors vary depending on the race and gender of the adolescent.

Theoritical framework Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological theory was used to explain the fact that adolescence decision to engage in sexual intercouse are affected by overlapping systems. In this study the overlaping system is the interaction between the individual’s characteristics and the immediate environment (family).

Risk and protective factors associated with early intercouse

Risk factor:are factors present in the individual or the environment that increase the probability of a negative outcome. Protective factors are individual or environmental factors associated with positive outcomes in the presence risk. Risk factors here are: African American race, being male,family structure, low maternal education,welfare receipt,income an delinquency. Protective factors :family routines, parental monitoring,parent-child relationship quality, father involvment,academic achievment and academic aspirations.

Therefore in this study it was expected that adolescents who engage in early sexual activity or experienced early sexual debut would be more likely to live in a single-parent family have a mother with low level of formal education, live in a family recieving welfare have low family income and higher rate of deliquent involvment while adolescents who were not sexually active would have higher levels of parental monitoring, family routines, parent-child relationship quality,higher academic aspirations and father involvement.

Method First and second wave of data was collected from family survey components of welfare, children, and family. 1 wave had adolescents age 10-14yrs and yrs in waves 2. Total number of adolescents 984 Each time data was collected mothers were interviewed separatly from their adolescense for 2hours.

Measures Adolescent sexual intercouse: have you ever had sexual intercourse(dummy variables involved).984 adolescence 254 were aready sexually active by wave 2. Demographics:three different race were represented Non-Hispanic white(10%),African American(49%) and Hispanic(47.8%). Demorgraphic risk factor:family structure were presented differently

Stably single,stably two-parent,stably separated,moved into a union or experienced a break-up.Categories of Maternal eduation were assessed accross the 2waves: stable less than high school,stable high school,stable technical degree or higher. Family protective processes:5 items inventory was completed by mothers to assess family routine and 12 items inventory completed by adolescents to assess mother- adolescent and father adolescent feelings of trust and communication,warmth and connectedness, anger and alienationation.

Individual factor:Scales were used to measure academic achievement and academic aspirations.lastly adolescents reported their engagement in delinquent behaviour by answering a series of questions

Results 25% ofadolescents had experienced sexual intercourse by wave 2 while 17% of them had experienced sexual debut between wave1 an 2.Boys had higher rate of sexual intercourse and reported younger ages of involvment than girls, they were also more likely to experience sexual debut more than girls. African American had higher rates of sexual intercourse than whites there were no racial difference in sexual debut.

CONT Odds of having sexual intercouse is more in older adolescents than younger adolescence(more in males ).Odds in African American adolescents were higher than whites or Hispanic.Results also showed that living in a stably separated home was a significant risk factor for sexual debut compared with those in a stably single home.

Adolescence who had high level of delinquency had higher level of geting into sexual intercourse.Father involvement decreased odds of engaging in sexual activity.African American boys whose families were on welfare compared to those who were not on welfare had higher odds of engaging in sexual activity. Living in a two-parent home increase odd for boys than living in a stably single home.

Discussion It was found that maternal education and father involvment were protective factors against early sexual intercourse while age, being a male,African American race, two-parent family structure, stably separated family stucture, living with a mother who formed a union between waves and delinquent involvement served to increase sexual activity(risk factors). Lastly maternal education served as the only protective factor against sexual debut.

Strengths and weaknesses Creful attention was paid on risk and protective factors based on race,gender and race-gender Attention was alsogiven to family attributes. The study didnt distinguish between heterogenous and homogenous sexual adolescence sexual intercourse.

Conclusion and implications Public funds should be given for maternal education which may result to higher pay more stable employment for them. Prevention programs should be set to decrease drug and alcohol use and any form of delinquency. Programs need to be implimented early as the average age of sexually active adolescents was 12.8.