Predicting Condom Use Behavior in Sexually Active Adolescents
Predicting Condom Use Behavior in Sexually Active Adolescents

Author: Holli M. Slater

Publisher:

Published: 2015

Total Pages: 206

ISBN-13:

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A significant amount of progress has been made over the past decade to reduce the impact of risky sexual behavior among adolescents; however, rates of unwanted pregnancy and contraction of sexually transmitted infections remain high. Finding ways to mitigate the consequences of risky sexual behavior continues to be a focus of many working with adolescents engaging in risky behavior. This study performed a secondary analysis of data collected during a 5-year evaluation of a teen pregnancy program targeting youth ages 17-19 who were at high risk for dropping out of high school. The goals of this study were two fold: 1) Test the applicability of the Health Belief Model (HBM) for assessing both adolescent intentions to use condoms and condom use behavior, and 2) Assess the moderating effect of the Developmental Assets framework on the relationship between condom use intentions and behavior. Guided by the Health Belief Model framework, factor analyses were conducted to identify the model that best fit the data. This resulted in six factors comprised of 26 items that reflected different aspects of the HBM and predicted 63% of the variance in the model. This was followed by ordinal and logistic regressions to detect the relationship between each of the identified factors and condom use intentions, as well as between each of the identified factors and condom use behavior. The results demonstrated that Partner Efficacy, Interpersonal Barriers - Partner Trust, Structural Barriers - Accessibility, Benefits, and Physical Barriers - Comfort significantly predicted intentions to use condoms. Susceptibility was the only factor that did not produce a significant result for intentions to use condoms. Interpersonal Barriers - Partner Trust, Structural Barriers - Accessibility, and Physical Barriers - Comfort significantly predicted a positive relationship between the factor and condom use behavior. Susceptibility was found to have a significant negative relationship between susceptibility and condom use behavior, while Partner Efficacy and Benefits failed to produce significant results. Ultimately, participants who reported greater intentions to use condoms were more than twice as likely to report using a condom in the past three months. Overall developmental assets scores did not significantly demonstrate a moderating effect on the relationship between intentions and behavior. These findings confirm that the Health Belief Model in the originally hypothesized form did not fit well for this sample; however, the newly identified model demonstrated a stronger fit for this population. The development of a new model guided by the HBM may be more applicable when assessing condom use intentions with academically at-risk adolescents. While some of the factors exhibited limitations, revisions to items, inclusion of new items, and removal of weaker items may lead to an improved model and should be explored. Further examination into the role of the developmental assets should also be assessed. Implications of this study's findings for social work policy, practice and future research are discussed.

Theory-Based Research and Health Behavior Models
Theory-Based Research and Health Behavior Models

Author: Dr. Widad Akrawi

Publisher:

Published: 2014-01

Total Pages: 28

ISBN-13: 9783656572251

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Scholarly Research Paper from the year 2012 in the subject Medicine - Epidemiology, grade: 4 on 4 scale (A), language: English, abstract: Existing health behavior theories, such as the Transtheoretical model (TTM) and the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), serve as guides to public health intervention development and delivery by focusing on individuals' readiness to change, their perceptions of risks and benefits, and their behavioral intentions to change. This paper is presented in four Chapters. Chapter I provides a review of an article on a theory-based approach to understanding condom errors and problems reported by men attending a specific clinic. It also identifies the underlying theory, its major constructs and the raised research questions. Further, Chapter II discusses the use of health behavior models, in particular the core construct of the TTM, in relation to evaluating factors predicting condom use behaviors among adolescents across the Stages of Change. Furthermore, Chapter III suggests the use of TPB as a theoretical model to predict condom use in a particular population, to ultimately guide programs aiming at preventing risky sexual behaviors among adolescents. The conclusions drawn are summarized in Chapter IV. The paper concludes that health behavior models form the basis for developing effective interventions that promote health behavior change. It supports the conclusions drawn in the articles reviewed and acknowledges the importance of a theory-based approach to conveying correct condom use information and instilling motivation to use condoms consistently and to boost men's correct condom use skills. Moreover, improving positive attitudes toward condom use, building communication skills for adherence-related behaviors, addressing barriers to condom use, and considering the socio-cultural and socio-economic environments, in which planned interventions are to occur, are likely to promote consistent condom use among high-risk youth.

Adolescent Sexual Behavior
Adolescent Sexual Behavior

Author: Eva Rene Hillman

Publisher:

Published: 1992

Total Pages: 458

ISBN-13:

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Over one million U.S. teenagers become pregnant each year. In addition to pregnancy risk, adolescents are at risk for a variety of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) including AIDS. Little is known regarding the multivariate contributions to adolescent sexual behavior. The following study was designed to test a Developmental Social-Learning Model of adolescent sexual behavior. According to this model, adolescent sexual behavior is a function of maturation, socio-demographic factors, and the social-learning influences of parents, school, media, and peers. These variables in turn impact the knowledge, attitudes, self-efficacy, social skills and drug use of the developing adolescent. Method. The Developmental Social-Learning Model of adolescent sexual behavior was tested in a sample of 404 Anglo and Latino adolescents between the ages of 13 and 17. Data were collected by a face-to-face interview and a videotaped role-play procedure assessing relevant social skills. Hierarchical regression analysis was calculated to assess the relative contribution of variable blocks to the variation in adolescent sexual activity. Hierarchical analyses were also calculated separately for males, females, Anglos, and Latinos. Lastly, hierarchical equations were calculated to assess the utility of the model in explaining the condom behavior of coitally active adolescents. Results. Each of the nine variables blocks contributed significantly to the hierarchical equation, accounting for a total of 58% of the variance in adolescent sexual activity. When calculated differentially for males, females, Anglos, and Latinos, the model remained highly significant for all groups. The hierarchical models of condom use accounted for 28% of the variance in condom use in the first relationship and 49% of the variance in condom use in the last six months. Conclusions. The significant contributions of the variable blocks to the variation in adolescent sexual activity supports the validity of the Developmental Social-Learning Model. Calculations of separate models for males, females, Anglos, and Latinos highlight several important distinctions between these groups. Finally, the application of the model to the condom behavior of coitally active adolescents provides a more thorough understanding of condom behavior and targets specific areas for future interventions.

Different Factors for Different Teens
Different Factors for Different Teens

Author:

Publisher:

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 139

ISBN-13:

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Early adolescent sexual behaviors are often associated with contraception nonuse, unplanned pregnancies, and sexually transmitted infections. Determining the factors that are likely to influence an adolescent's early sexual debut would assist with identifying aspects of adolescents' environment that should be included in optimal prevention methods. In contrast to the typical assumption that a single set of vulnerability factors affect all adolescents, this research explored the possibility that there are different pathways, or different sets of factors, that contribute to early sexual behavior in different subgroups of adolescents. The current study used data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (SECCYD) to perform traditional bivariate analyses to predict early sexual behaviors, as well as the more neoteric recursive partitioning, a classification tree method. The results of bivariate analyses (t-tests) confirmed several previously identified risk factors for early sexual behaviors: externalizing behaviors, early pubertal development, television viewing, depression, intelligence, school attachment, and family factors such as living arrangement. This study also identified new predictors (resistance to peer pressure, loneliness, and bonding with a teacher) that are linked to early sexual behaviors. The data also supported the use of Biosocial Models, the Problem Behavior Theory, and Social Control Theory for explaining early sexual behavior. Furthermore, the findings from the multivariate analyses (logistic regression and recursive partitioning) suggest that having friends who engage in risky behavior or engaging in risky behaviors oneself may be one of the most significant predictors of early sexual behaviors. However, recursive partitioning analyses suggest that family socioeconomic status (SES) attenuates this effect by showing reduced sexual behaviors among those with higher SES even when they have engaged in risky behaviors. Lastly, several subgroups of sexually active adolescents emerged, all arriving at the same outcome from different pathways, which shows evidence for equifinality. Overall, the findings of this study show that adolescent sexual development, while complex, is still explicable using complex analyses. Intervention methods should target multiple predictive factors, such as risk behaviors and family involvement, to decrease early sexual behaviors.

The Social Psychology of HIV Infection
The Social Psychology of HIV Infection

Author: John B. Pryor

Publisher: Psychology Press

Published: 2015-06-19

Total Pages: 393

ISBN-13: 1317526422

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In the early 1980s we witnessed the birth of one of the most complex and perplexing social problems faced by modern society: the epidemic of infection with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), which causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Originally published in 1993 this title looks at the social psychology surrounding HIV and AIDS. The organization of the volume centres upon two themes: The Theoretical Roots of Prevention and The Dilemma of the PWA (person with AIDS). The goal of this volume is not to evaluate previous attempts to answer these social problems, but to provide theoretical analyses of some of the basic sociopsychological processes that underlie the problems. Over 20 years on this is a snapshot of research into HIV and AIDS and attitudes of the time looking at social problems that are very much still with us.