To expand the scant research on sexual expectancies development among non-sexually active adolescents, we examined the relationship between adolescents' exposure to four socializing ...agents-mother/female guardian, father/male guardian, peers, and television programs with high sexual content-and their endorsement of four sexual expectancies: social benefit, pleasure, social risk, and health risk. Data are from Waves 2 and 3 of a three-wave annual longitudinal study conducted among California adolescents, the majority of whom were not sexually active (N = 914, 84%). Structural equation models were conducted to examine cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between the socializing agents and the sexual expectancies. Cross-sectional results indicate associations between peer sexual communication and social benefit, pleasure, and social risk expectancies. A positive association was found between exposure to music videos and social benefit expectancies, and a negative association was found between exposure to music videos and health risk expectancies. Longitudinal results suggest that communication with peers positively predicted pleasure expectancies and negatively predicted social risk expectancies. No other socializing agents were associated with any sexual expectancies. An invariance test found that significant correlations were similar across the different age groups. Results suggest that efforts to support positive sexual decision making among non-sexually active adolescents should target peer sexual communication.
A multiethnic sample of single, heterosexual, emerging-adult college students (N = 3,907) ages 18 to 25, from 30 institutions across the United States, participated in a study about identity, ...culture, psychological well-being, and risky behaviors. Given ongoing debates about the connection between casual sex and psychological adjustment, in the current study we assessed the cross-sectional association of participation in casual sex with psychological well-being and distress. A greater proportion of men (18.6%) compared to women (7.4%) reported having had casual sex in the month prior to assessment. Structural equation modeling indicated that casual sex was negatively associated with well-being (ß = .20, p < .001) and positively associated with psychological distress (ß = .16, p < .001). Gender did not moderate these associations. For emerging-adult college students, engaging in casual sex may elevate risk for negative psychological outcomes.
This study investigated the relevance of college drinking settings on the likelihood of students having sexual intercourse with a stranger. A random sample of 7,414 undergraduates at 14 public ...California universities responded to questions regarding frequency of attendance at six different setting types since the beginning of the semester (e.g., Greek, residence-hall parties, and bars or restaurants), drinking behavior, and sexual activity. Multi-level modeling examined the association between each setting type and the occurrence of alcohol-related sexual intercourse with a stranger. Findings indicated strong, positive associations between frequency of attendance at Greek parties, residence-hall parties, off-campus parties, and the occurrence of alcohol-related sex with a stranger. Frequency of attending the six settings and proportion of times drunk at the settings were also positively associated with alcohol-related sex with a stranger. Efforts aimed at preventing outcomes associated with casual sex (e.g., pregnancy, sexually transmitted infections, or mental health) should target specific drinking settings where students might be at high risk for risky alcohol use and unsafe sex behaviors.
This study investigated whether the presence of school-based health centers (SBHCs) was associated with six substance use behaviors among sexual minority youth (SMY) and their heterosexual peers. ...Data from the 2015 Oregon Healthy Teens Survey, including 13,608 11th graders in 137 schools (26 with SBHCs) were used in the current study. Multilevel logistic regression analyses were performed. Results revealed significant SBHC by SMY status interactions indicating a relatively lower likelihood of past 30-day alcohol use (23%), binge drinking (43%), use of e-cigarettes (22%), marijuana (44%), and unprescribed prescription drugs (28%) among SMY in SBHC schools compared with non-SMY at SBHC schools. Furthermore, SMY in SBHC schools reported lower likelihood of aforementioned substance use behaviors than SMY attending non-SBHC schools. Conversely, no differences in these outcomes were observed for non-SMY in SBHC and non-SBHC schools. Findings from this study suggest SBHCs may help to mitigate substance use disparities among marginalized populations, such as SMY.
School-based health centers (SBHCs) offer an efficient mechanism for delivering health services to large numbers of underserved youth; however, their availability varies across communities. Data on ...sociocontextual variables were analyzed to investigate factors that inhibit and facilitate SBHCs.
Secondary data from 2012 to 2015 state databases were linked to examine the association between SBHCs' presence in California high schools and demand, resource, and political conservatism at the school and community levels that may influence where SBHCs are located and the number of provided health services. Data were analyzed in 2015 using hierarchical binary and Poisson models.
Presence of a local non-school-based family planning clinic was the strongest correlate of SBHC presence. School size, percentage non-white, and percentage receiving free or reduced-price lunches were positively associated with SBHC presence. Percentage who voted Republican in the 2012 general election and teen pregnancy rates were negatively associated with SBHC presence. None of the predictors were associated with number of services provided by SBHCs.
School and community factors appear to play a role in supporting or impeding the establishment of SBHCs. In addition to variables tapping communities' need for and resources available to support SBHCs, political conservatism appears to affect SBHC availability. SBHC advocates can use this information to understand where opportunities for growth might exist, identify collaborative partners, and prepare for challenges to supporting new SBHCs. Researchers may also use this information in evaluation studies to control for school-level confounders and develop appropriate comparison samples through matching procedures.
Abstract Since the founding of the first school-based health centers (SBHCs) >45 years ago, researchers have attempted to measure their impact on child and adolescent physical and mental health and ...academic outcomes. A review of the literature finds that SBHC evaluation studies have been diverse, encompassing different outcomes and varying target populations, study periods, methodological designs, and scales. A complex picture emerges of the impact of SBHCs on health outcomes, which may be a function of the specific health outcomes examined, the health needs of specific communities and schools, the characteristics of the individuals assessed, and/or the specific constellation of SBHC services. SBHC evaluations face numerous challenges that affect the interpretation of evaluation findings, including maturation, self-selection, low statistical power, and displacement effects. Using novel approaches such as implementing a multipronged approach to maximize participation, entering-class proxy-baseline design, propensity score methods, data set linkage, and multisite collaboration may mitigate documented challenges in SBHC evaluation.
Abstract Purpose The current study examined adolescent conceptualizations of virginity and abstinence and whether differences in adolescent definitions of these terms differed by age, gender, ...ethnicity, and sexual experience. Methods A series of logistic regressions were conducted to examine whether gender, age, ethnicity, and sexual experience predicted whether adolescents believed that an individual was still a virgin or abstinent after engaging in genital touching, oral sex, vaginal intercourse, or anal sex. Results Findings indicated that loss of virginity was linked primarily with vaginal and anal intercourse, while a greater proportion of adolescents attributed a loss of abstinence to other behaviors such as genital touching and oral sex as well. Sexual experience was the strongest predictor of how adolescents defined virginity and abstinence. Conclusions Significant differences exist in youths’ definitions of abstinence and virginity. This suggests that additional attention is needed to ensure a common understanding of these terms to achieve successful sexual education and prevention programs.
School-Based Health Centers’ Presence Bersamin, Melina M., PhD; Fisher, Deborah A., PhD; Gaidus, Andrew J., MA ...
American journal of preventive medicine,
December 2016, Letnik:
51, Številka:
6
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Odprti dostop
Introduction School-based health centers (SBHCs) offer an efficient mechanism for delivering health services to large numbers of underserved youth; however, their availability varies across ...communities. Data on sociocontextual variables were analyzed to investigate factors that inhibit and facilitate SBHCs. Methods Secondary data from 2012 to 2015 state databases were linked to examine the association between SBHCs’ presence in California high schools and demand, resource, and political conservatism at the school and community levels that may influence where SBHCs are located and the number of provided health services. Data were analyzed in 2015 using hierarchical binary and Poisson models. Results Presence of a local non-school-based family planning clinic was the strongest correlate of SBHC presence. School size, percentage non-white, and percentage receiving free or reduced-price lunches were positively associated with SBHC presence. Percentage who voted Republican in the 2012 general election and teen pregnancy rates were negatively associated with SBHC presence. None of the predictors were associated with number of services provided by SBHCs. Conclusions School and community factors appear to play a role in supporting or impeding the establishment of SBHCs. In addition to variables tapping communities’ need for and resources available to support SBHCs, political conservatism appears to affect SBHC availability. SBHC advocates can use this information to understand where opportunities for growth might exist, identify collaborative partners, and prepare for challenges to supporting new SBHCs. Researchers may also use this information in evaluation studies to control for school-level confounders and develop appropriate comparison samples through matching procedures.
Prior person-centered research has consistently identified a subgroup of highly religious participants that uses significantly less alcohol when compared to the other subgroups. The construct of ...religious motivation is absent from existing examinations of the nuanced combinations of religiousness dimensions within persons, and alcohol expectancy valuations have yet to be included as outcome variables. Variable-centered approaches have found religious motivation and alcohol expectancy valuations to play a protective role against individuals’ hazardous alcohol use. The current study examined latent religiousness profiles and hazardous alcohol use in a large, multisite sample of ethnically diverse college students. The sample consisted of 7412 college students aged 18–25 (
M
age = 19.77,
SD
age = 1.61; 75 % female; 61 % European American). Three latent profiles were derived from measures of religious involvement, salience,
and
religious motivations:
Quest
-
Intrinsic Religiousness
(highest levels of salience, involvement, and quest and intrinsic motivations; lowest level of extrinsic motivation),
Moderate Religiousness
(intermediate levels of salience, involvement, and motivations) and
Extrinsic Religiousness
(lowest levels of salience, involvement, and quest and intrinsic motivations; highest level of extrinsic motivation). The
Quest
-
Intrinsic Religiousness
profile scored significantly lower on hazardous alcohol use, positive expectancy outcomes, positive expectancy valuations, and negative expectancy valuations, and significantly higher on negative expectancy outcomes, compared to the other two profiles. The
Extrinsic
and
Moderate
Religiousness
profiles did not differ significantly on positive expectancy outcomes, negative expectancy outcomes, negative expectancy valuations, or hazardous alcohol use. The results advance existing research by demonstrating that the protective influence of religiousness on college students’ hazardous alcohol use may involve high levels on
both
quest
and
intrinsic religious motivation.
Objective
The present study was designed to ascertain the associations between acculturation and well‐being in first‐generation and second‐generation immigrant college students. Acculturation was ...operationalized as a multidimensional construct comprised of heritage and American cultural practices, values (individualism and collectivism), and identifications, and well‐being was operationalized in terms of subjective, psychological, and eudaimonic components.
Method
Participants were 2,774 first‐generation and second‐generation immigrant students (70% women), from 6 ethnic groups and from 30 colleges and universities around the United States. Participants completed measures of heritage and American cultural practices, values, and identifications, as well as of subjective, psychological, and eudaimonic well‐being.
Results
Findings indicated that individualistic values were positively related to psychological and eudaimonic well‐being, and positively, although somewhat less strongly, linked with subjective well‐being. American and heritage identifications were both modestly related to psychological and eudaimonic well‐being. These findings were consistent across gender, immigrant generation (first versus second), and ethnicity.
Conclusions
Psychological and eudaimonic well‐being appear to be inherently individualistic conceptions of happiness, and endorsement of individualistic values appears linked with these forms of well‐being. Attachments to a cultural group—the United States, one's country of origin, or both—appear to promote psychological and eudaimonic well‐being as well. The present findings suggest that similar strategies can be used to promote well‐being for both male and female students, for students from various ethnic backgrounds, and for both first‐generation and second‐generation immigrant students.
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