Hans Berten

Doing worse but knowing better: An exploration of the relationship between HIV/AIDS knowledge and sexual behavior among adolescents in Flemish secondary schools

Most studies on sexual behavior have approached the relationship between AIDS knowledge and sexual behavior unidirectionally. This paper sets out to examine a reciprocal relationship between AIDS knowledge and sexual behavior, in which it is possible that adolescents who enter into sexuality may start to actively seek out information on sex. Additionally, the effects of various sources for AIDS-related information and condom use are analyzed. Data from the Flemish Educational Assessment project, which surveyed a sample of adolescents from the 3rd and 5th years of secondary school, were used. Results indicate that the relationship between AIDS knowledge and sexual behavior is quite complex. On one hand, we find that better knowledge leads to a later onset of sexuality and more consistent condom use; on the other hand, we find that adolescents who start sex earlier and use condoms inconsistently tend to be more knowledgeable about AIDS.

AIDS knowledge and sexual activity among Flemish secondary school students: a multilevel analysis of the effects of type of education.

BackgroundThe behavior of adolescents puts them at an increased risk for HIV and other STIs, and their knowledge about HIV/AIDS is often inadequate. An understanding of how AIDS knowledge and sexual activity co-vary among Flemish secondary school students and of how education type, specifically, affects these students is limited. This study addresses the question of whether the effects of education type on HIV/AIDS knowledge and sexual activity are independent of the socio-demographic characteristics of the students.MethodsData from the Flemish Educational Assessment survey, which collected data from a large representative sample of third- and fifth-grade high school students (N = 11,872), were used. Data were analyzed using multilevel logistic and Poisson regression techniques.ResultsThere is an indication that type of education affects both an adolescents sexual activity and his/her AIDS knowledge; these effects prove robust for differences in socio-economic backgrounds. Students in lower status education types are more likely to be sexually active and to have poorer AIDS knowledge. The relationship between AIDS knowledge and sexual activity is, however, more complex. Although students in education types with poorer AIDS knowledge are more sexually active, within each of these groups the sexually active have better AIDS knowledge than the non-sexually active. There is also evidence of active information seeking by sexually active students, which leads to improved AIDS knowledge.ConclusionThese findings are consistent with the literature on the role of the educational system in the reproduction of social inequalities. Students from lower status education types are at increased sexual risk compared to those from higher status types. There is also evidence of active information seeking by sexually active students, which leads to improved AIDS knowledge.

Alcohol Use Among Young Adolescents in Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Austria: The Effects of Type of Education:

The present study elucidates the association between students’ education type and alcohol use, controlling for other socio-economic background characteristics. A subsample of data from the second International Self-Reported Delinquency Study was used (N= 10,525), collected among adolescents in the seventh to ninth grades of secondary school in four Western European countries (Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Austria). Data were analyzed with multilevel logistic regression techniques. There is an indication that type of education affects prevalence rates of drunkenness and heavy episodic drinking; these effects prove robust for differences in socio-economic backgrounds. The results of this study support the literature regarding the role of the educational system in the reproduction of health inequalities and underscore the finding that students from education types of lower status are at greater risk than those from higher status types.

Homophily in adolescence: is similarity in status characteristics associated with similarity in anti-school behaviour?

This study asks to what extent similarity in status characteristics (gender and ethnicity) is linked with similarity in anti-school behaviour. We argue that the social forces responsible for homophily-based selection are also at work with regard to homophily-based influence. We use data from the Flemish Educational Assessment Study, which collected complete network data from a representative sample of Flemish secondary school adolescents (N = 11,872). Results indicate that similarity on gender and ethnicity is linked with similarity on behavioural characteristics. Furthermore, the association between status homophily and behavioural homophily is stronger for boys than girls. For minorities, status heterophily on ethnicity is associated with behavioural heterophily, which may be an indication that minority students distance themselves from their majority-group friends.