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

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Abstract

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.

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Acknowledgments

The research reported here was partially supported by the National Institutes of Health Office for Research on Minority Health through a cooperative agreement administered by the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (HD30060); by a Grant from the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (TI13340); by a Grant from the National nstitute on Drug Abuse (DA017428); by the Cities of Mobile and Prichard; by the Mobile Housing Board; and by the Mobile County Health Department.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. 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

    Tiarney D. Ritchwood

  2. Department of Criminal Justice, Charleston Southern University, Charleston, SC, 29406, USA

    Rebecca J. Howell

  3. School of Social Work, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, 35487, USA

    Amy C. Traylor & Wesley T. Church II

  4. College of Human Environmental Sciences, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL, 35487, USA

    John M. Bolland

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  1. Tiarney D. Ritchwood
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  2. Rebecca J. Howell
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  3. Amy C. Traylor
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  4. Wesley T. Church II
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  5. John M. Bolland
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Correspondence to Tiarney D. Ritchwood.

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Ritchwood, T.D., Howell, R.J., Traylor, A.C. et al. Change in Age-Specific, Psychosocial Correlates of Risky Sexual Behaviors Among Youth: Longitudinal Findings From a Deep South, High-Risk Sample. J Child Fam Stud 23, 1366–1377 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-013-9794-2

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