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A Longitudinal Examination of Maternal and Neighborhood Influences on Adolescent Risky Sexual Behaviors and STI Diagnosis

Khurana, Atika
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1261498832

Abstract Details

2009, Doctor of Philosophy, Ohio State University, Human Development and Family Science.
In the United States, adolescents and young adults under 24 years of age are at highest risk for acquiring STI’s as compared to all other age-groups (within the sexually experienced population), particularly because they are more likely to (a) have multiple sexual partners and (b) use condoms inconsistently. Past research has identified numerous individual and contextual risk factors to be associated with adolescent risky sexual behaviors. However, the mechanisms by which these contexts interact with each other to influence adolescent sexual behaviors are not very well known. In the present study, an ecological approach was used to examine the independent and combined effects of maternal and neighborhood influences on adolescent risky sexual behaviors, using data from Waves 1 and 3 of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). Notably, the findings suggest that maternal sexual communication can moderate the impact of neighborhood disadvantage on adolescents’ probability of having multiple sexual partners, specifically among youth of Caucasian origin. While maternal sexual communication can play a critical role in reducing adolescents’ risk of having multiple sexual partners, its effect is determined in part by adolescents’ perceptions of maternal disapproving attitudes. Furthermore, maternal sexual communication and perceptions of maternal disapproving attitudes were found to have a significant protective influence on adolescent risky sexual behaviors only when occurring prior to adolescent sexual debut. Overall, the findings show that maternal variables can play a vital role in influencing adolescent sexual behaviors, and point to the efficacy of ecological approach to understanding and reducing adolescent sexual risk-taking.
Stephen M. Gavazzi, PhD (Advisor)
Suzanne Bartle-Haring, PhD (Committee Member)
Anastasia R. Snyder, PhD (Committee Member)
170 p.
Families and Family Life; Psychology; Public Health
Adolescence; Risky sexual behaviors; Maternal sexual communication; Neighborhood disadvantage; Add Health

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Khurana, A. (2009). A Longitudinal Examination of Maternal and Neighborhood Influences on Adolescent Risky Sexual Behaviors and STI Diagnosis [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1261498832

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Khurana, Atika. A Longitudinal Examination of Maternal and Neighborhood Influences on Adolescent Risky Sexual Behaviors and STI Diagnosis. 2009. Ohio State University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1261498832.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Khurana, Atika. "A Longitudinal Examination of Maternal and Neighborhood Influences on Adolescent Risky Sexual Behaviors and STI Diagnosis." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University, 2009. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1261498832

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

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© 2009, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.