Adolescent Female Athletes' Sexual Risk-Taking Behaviors

Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) 1993 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance (YRBS) of a sample of U.S. female adolescents (N = 7839) were compared to a cohort of 9th through 12th grade high performance female athletes (N = 141) with regard to risk-taking behavior on eight items related to sexual activity (i.e., ever engaged in sexual intercourse, age of first sexual intercourse, number of lifetime sexual partners, current sexual activity, condom use, use of the birth control pill, contracting a sexually transmitted disease (STD), and incidence of alcohol or drug use prior to last sexual activity). Chi-square analyses (p < .05) showed that with the exception of alcohol or drug use prior to last sexual activity, and use of birth control pills, the six other risk-taking behaviors were significantly different between the U.S. female sample and the female athletes. In all instances, except for contracting an STD, U.S. females reported engaging in sexual risk-taking behaviors more frequently than the high performance athletes, and furthermore, were more likely to be sexually active than the high performance athletes (50% vs. 21%). Among the high performance athletes, only lifetime sexual activity showed significant difference by grade, with sophomores and seniors reporting more frequent involvement in sexual activity. These findings suggest that participation in a high performance sports activity is positively associated with some reduced sexual risk-taking behaviors for adolescent females.     

Pathways to Sexual Risk Taking Among Female Adolescent Detainees

Sexual risk taking among female delinquents represents a significant public health problem. Research is needed to understand the pathways leading to sexual risk taking among this population. This study sought to address this issue by identifying and testing two pathways from child maltreatment to non-condom use among 329 White and 484 African American female adolescent detainees: a relational pathway and a substance use coping pathway. The relational pathway indicated that child maltreatment would be related to non-condom use via depressive self-concept and condom use self-efficacy. The substance use coping pathway suggested that depressive self-concept and alcohol-based expectancies for sexual enhancement would mediate the relationship between child maltreatment and non-condom use. As hypothesized, the relational pathway variables were associated with one another in the expected directions; however, evidence of mediation was not found. Support for mediation was found for the substance use coping pathway. Exploratory across group comparison analysis indicated that the relational pathway was significant for White girls whereas the substance use coping pathway was significant for African American girls. Limitations and implications for future research are discussed.     

Psychological distress and alcohol use in Hispanic adolescents

Psychological distress has been increasingly implicated as an important risk factor that predisposes adolescents toward alcohol and drug use, particularly for Hispanics and other ethnic minority groups. The scant research on the relation between psychosocial stress and alcohol use has found higher levels of alcohol and drug use among Hispanic adolescents who report higher levels of psychological and emotional distress. In this study, Hispanic adolescents (N=171, with a median age of 14, completed a paper- and-pencil questionnaire, which was designed to assess levels of psychosocial stress, anxiety, and depression. Self-reported patterns of alcohol use were also assessed. In general, males reported higher levels of alcohol use and more friends who drink, compared to females. The study also found generational differences in drinking patterns. A strong association between psychosocial stress, depression, and alcohol use also was found, suggesting that Hispanic adolescents are using alcohol as a way of coping with conflicts in adapting to the norms and expectations of the dominant group and other difficult events and conditions that produce psychological distress.Received Ph.D. in 1988 from the University of California, Los Angeles, specializing in developmental psychology. Research interests include the educational attainment of Hispanic and minority children, alcohol use among adolescents, and social policy.     

Adolescent alcohol abuse and other problem behaviors: Their relationships and common parental influences

This study was designed to explore the relationships between adolescent alcohol abuse and other problem behaviors. Parental socialization practices, particularly support/nurturance, were also examined for common influences on both alcohol abuse and other youthful deviance. Interviews were conducted with a representative household sample of adolescents aged 12–17 years and their parents. The findings support the theory that adolescent alcohol abuse is part of a complex psychosocial problem behavior syndrome and that a high degree of parental nurturance may be a significant deterrence to alcohol abuse and more general deviant behaviors.Grace M. Barnes has a Ph.D. in sociology and is a Research Scientist at the Research Institute on Alcoholism, New York State Division of Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse, 1021 Main Street, Buffalo, New York 14203. Dr. Barnes' major research interests are in the areas of adolescent socialization within the family and patterns of alcohol use and other related behaviors throughout the life cycle.     

Willingness to Self-Disclose among Late Adolescent Female Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse

The primary aim of this study was to compare the willingness of sexually abused (n = 22) and non–sexually abused (n = 36) late adolescent women to self-disclose both general and sexual information to strangers and intimate partners. Results, based on a sample of college women, indicate that those who were sexually abused in childhood are less likely than nonabused counterparts to be highly disclosing of sexual and general information to intimate partners. Avoiding extensive disclosure of personal information to intimate partners may serve to keep survivors of abuse at a relatively safe distance from their own dysphoric feelings and suggests that mistrust of others is an ongoing issue for this population.     

Sexual risk behavior,knowledge, and condom use among adolescents in juvenile detention

This paper reports on sexual behavior, knowledge of sexually transmitted diseases (including AIDS) and condoms, and condom use among African-American and white incarcerated adolescents in Seattle, Washington. One hundred nineteen adolescents in a juvenile detention facility completed questionnaires that assessed their lifetime and recent sexual behaviors, an objective test of disease and condom knowledge, attitudes and norms regarding condom use with steady and casual partners, prior condom use, and intentions to use condoms. The results indicate that these adolescents are at high risk by a number of indicators: They have a high average number of partners, have unprotected vaginal and anal sex, and many have sex with known or suspected drug users. Their overall knowledge of condoms and sexual transmitted diseases risks is high, but high knowledge is not correlated with positive attitudes; for one attitude measure, high knowledge is significantly correlated with negative attitudes toward condom use. These findings suggest that programs designed solely to increase knowledge are unlikely to effect behavior change.This research presented in this paper was supported by a research grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.Received Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of Washington. Research interests are in sexual decision making and attitude-behavior relationships.Received Ph.D. in educational psychology from the University of Washington. Research interests are in sexual behavior and health.Received Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Washington. Research interests are in problem behaviors of adolescence.     

Adolescent Sexual Onset: An Intergenerational Analysis

Adolescents have begun to initiate sexual activity at increasingly early ages in the past few decades. Using a sample of 2,494 adolescents from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY97), structural and parental process variables were examined in the prediction of sexual onset. Results indicated that the age at which youth initiate sexual intercourse is related to the structural characteristics of their grandmothers and mothers, as well as puberty, gender, and race. There is support for partial mediation of the effects of these grandmother characteristics via mother characteristics and parental process. Results are discussed within the framework of the life course perspective and provide support for the importance of previous generations in the explanation of adolescent sexual behavior. Implications for families and adolescents are also addressed. Katherine A. Johnson, is a doctoral student at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Her research interests include the study of crime, gender, and high-risk youth using both qualitative and quantitative methodology. Kimberly A. Tyler, is an associate professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. Her research interests include homelessness, child abuse and neglect, victimization, and high-risk behaviors among adolescents and youth.     

False and Unsubstantiated Sexual Abuse Allegations:

Since the "discovery" of sexual abuse in the late 1970s there has been a steady rise of sexual abuse allegations. The rate of false positives in sexual abuse allegations has been estimated to be 2-8%. More than 65% of all current reports of suspected child maltreatment (physical and sexual) are assessed to be unsubstantiated. This paper discusses the clinical, cultural, and legal causes and presentations of false positive, false negative, and unsubstantiated allegations of sexual abuse.     

A cross-cultural comparison of sociopsychological factors in alcohol use among adolescents in Israel,France, and the United States

The correlates of alcohol use by adolescents are compared in three cultures with different prevalences of alcohol use: France, with high prevalence; Israel, with low prevalence; and the United States, in the middle. In all three countries, significant others, parents and peers, are more powerful predictors of alcohol use than are the adolescent's personal attributes, such as attitudes, behaviors, and demographic characteristics. Cross-cultural differences appear in the relative importance of parents and peers and in the structure of influence of parents and peers as role models. Parents are more important role models in Israel than in the other two cultures, while peers are more important in the United States than in France or in Israel.This research was partially supported by Research Grants DA01902, DA00064, and Research Scientist Grant K05-DA00081 from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and by the Center for SocioCultural Research on Drug Use, Columbia University.Received Ph.D. from Stanford University. Main interests are mathematical sociology, social stratification, and adolescent substance use.Received Ph.D. from Columbia University. Main interests are adolescent socialization, substance use, and psychiatric epidemiology.     

Sexual Minority-Related Victimization as a Mediator of Mental Health Disparities in Sexual Minority Youth: A Longitudinal Analysis

Sexual minority youth (youth who are attracted to the same sex or endorse a gay/lesbian/bisexual identity) report significantly higher rates of depression and suicidality than heterosexual youth. The minority stress hypothesis contends that the stigma and discrimination experienced by sexual minority youth create a hostile social environment that can lead to chronic stress and mental health problems. The present study used longitudinal mediation models to directly test sexual minority-specific victimization as a potential explanatory mechanism of the mental health disparities of sexual minority youth. One hundred ninety-seven adolescents (14–19 years old; 70 % female; 29 % sexual minority) completed measures of sexual minority-specific victimization, depressive symptoms, and suicidality at two time points 6 months apart. Compared to heterosexual youth, sexual minority youth reported higher levels of sexual minority-specific victimization, depressive symptoms, and suicidality. Sexual minority-specific victimization significantly mediated the effect of sexual minority status on depressive symptoms and suicidality. The results support the minority stress hypothesis that targeted harassment and victimization are partly responsible for the higher levels of depressive symptoms and suicidality found in sexual minority youth. This research lends support to public policy initiatives that reduce bullying and hate crimes because reducing victimization can have a significant impact on the health and well-being of sexual minority youth.     

Sexual Harassment Reconsidered: The Forgotten Grey Zone

The concept of sexual harassment in the Nordic countries and the European Union (EU) is an important tool for creating gender-equitable workplaces. This article contains an analysis of the conceptual ambiguity of sexual harassment with reference to: firstly, the lack of clarity in terms of the relation between the subjective (the perspective of the harassed individual) and the objective (legal assessment) aspects; secondly, the diffuse scope of the objective assessment; thirdly, the attribution of too much importance to the subject’s perception. Even though the concept of sexual harassment classifies behaviours depending on individual interpretations, the legal construction recognizes the individual’s perception in a flexible manner. If the victim does not interpret the abuse as sexual harassment, then it is not. However, if the victim does consider it sexual harassment, it will not necessarily be interpreted as such. The consequence of the three-fold ambiguity of the concept is the creation of a gender-equality grey zone. Problematic behaviours in workplaces may pass as acceptable and “normal”. Subjective perception matters only when it confirms an objective incident. Defining sexual harassment in solely objective terms and determining which gender-related issues prevent equality would result in similar dilemmas, one of which would be the diminishing of those individuals who are subject to harassment. It is imperative to question the dogma that has the victim deciding whether a situation might be considered sexual harassment because: firstly, the subjective perceptions of the victim seem to be of minor importance in changing negative gender structures in workplaces; and, secondly, potential victims of harassment tend to interpret the situation as something else. Furthermore, since the current definition of sexual harassment is characterized by a preoccupation with behaviours and not with structural dimensions, the definition may actually counteract its purpose of increasing gender equality.