Anna Kowalewska

Społeczno-demograficzne i rodzinne uwarunkowania pierwszych doświadczeń seksualnych i inicjacji seksualnej młodzieży

The study analyses the relationship of selected socio-demographic characteristics of adolescents (gender, place of residence, type of school) and selected characteristics of their families (education of parents, family wealth, support and communication) with their pre-initiation sexual experiences and sexual initiation. The results of a research carried out on a sample of 1,266 second- and third-class students of post-secondary schools have been analysed. The survey used an auditorium questionnaire. It has been shown that: three-fifths of the respondents had sexual experiences, of whom two-fifths already had sexual intercourse; girls were less likely than boys to have had sexual initiation, but more often than they got involved into pre-initiation forms of sexual activity; people who had a sexual initiation got involved into early forms of sexual activity earlier than those who didn’t have it yet. Factors that differentiate young people’s sexual behaviour have also included: the type of school, family support and material resources of the family. It has been established that in the case of boys, the risk factor for early sexual initiation is low family support and high level of affluence, while the protective factor is attendance at general secondary school or technical secondary school, and in the girls’ group, the protective factor is attendance at general secondary school, while the risk factor is living in a large city.

Patterns of Physical Activity and Multiple Risk Behaviour in Adolescents from Visegrad Countries

The aim of this paper is to present the patterns of the health behaviour in adolescents from Visegrad countries (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia). The data concerning 5,588 15-year-old students were used, surveyed during the 2009/10 school year within HBSC study (Health Behaviour in School-aged Children). Five clusters with different behaviour patterns were found. The most positive model (high level of physical activity and a low level of risk behaviours) was found in 35.6% of adolescents from those countries. However, in 26.7%, relatively high physical activity co-exists with a high or very high level of risk behaviours. In all the countries, more negative models can be found in poor families and students with poor academic achievements. Adolescents categorised into more positive behaviour patterns are more satisfied with their lives. Members of different clusters should be approached with different prevention programmes, taken into account the specifics of each country.