Tom Luster

Adolescent Sexual Activity: An Ecological, Risk-Factor Approach

Understanding the factors that influence an adolescents decision to have sexual intercourse has important implications for theory, policy and practice. Because sexual intercourse is the single most important determinant of pregnancy, a fuller understanding of the factors related to heterosexual sexual activity is central to addressing the issue of teenage pregnancy. In addition, the current AIDS epidemic, along with the proliferation of other diseases that can be transmitted through sexual contact, make early sexual intercourse a potentially serious health hazard. Over the past two decades there has been a steady increase in the number of teenagers who are sexually active (Moore, 1992). In 1988, 52% of females aged from 15 to 19 had had premarital sexual intercourse, compared to only 29% in 1970. The birth rate among 15- to 17-year-old teens increased by 19% from 1986 to 1989. In addition, of the 12 million cases of sexually transmitted diseases that are estimated to occur annually, adolescents account for one quarter of those infected (Moore, 1992). In recent years a growing body of research has reported on the antecedents and correlates of sexual intercourse during the adolescent years. Numerous factors have been identified as being related to heterosexual adolescent sexual activity. They include poor school performance and low educational aspirations, alcohol and marijuana use, early pubertal development, low SES, living in a single-parent family, low religiosity, frequent dating with the same partner, and having a mother who was an early childbearer (Brooks-Gunn & Furstenberg, 1989; Flick, 1986; Hayes, 1987). Other factors that have been less extensively studied but have been linked to early sexual activity are a history of sexual abuse (Butler & Burton, 1990), a lack of positive experiences in school (Quinton & Rutter, 1988), poor neighborhood characteristics (Moore, Peterson, & Furstenberg, 1986), and a perception of poor employment prospects (Dash, 1989). The relationship between some variables and early heterosexual sexual activity remains ambiguous. For example, parental supervision was associated with less sexual activity in one study (Hogan & Kitagawa, 1984) but was unrelated in others (Inazu & Fox, 1980; Newcomer & Udry, 1983). Likewise, evidence regarding the degree to which peers influence sexual behavior is unclear (Hayes, 1987). There is some evidence that suggests that teens are more likely to be sexually active if they perceive that many of their peers are also sexually active (Flick, 1986). While there have been many studies that have examined disparate factors related to early sexual activity, fewer studies have integrated these multiple factors into a unified understanding of the causes and correlates of adolescent sexual intercourse. Exceptions to this include the work of Day (1992) and Udry and Billy (1987). In contrast to these past multivariate studies, the present investigation employs a cumulative risk approach and uses Bronfenbrenners (1979, 1989) ecological perspective as a framework for organizing the risk factors that are examined. Borrowing from the field of epidemiology, a number of behavioral scientists have begun to employ a risk factor approach to the study of such diverse social problems as drug use (Newcomb, Maddahian, & Bentler, 1986), psychopathology (Rutter, 1978), and low intellectual achievement (Sameroff, Seifer, Barocas, Zax, & Greenspan, 1987). This approach suggests that there are probably many diverse paths to the development of a particular behavior (Newcomb, Maddahian, & Bentler, 1986) and that efforts to find a single cause may not be useful because most behaviors have multiple causes. Werner and Smith (1982) define risk factors as individual or environmental hazards that increase an individuals vulnerability to negative developmental outcomes. The presence of risk factors does not guarantee a negative outcome will occur, but simply increases the probability of its occurrence. …

Factors associated with sexual risk-taking behaviors among adolescents.

The author examines factors which distinguish between sexually active adolescents who are at risk for pregnancy and for sexually transmitted diseases and sexually active teens who are at lower risk for these outcomes. Study findings are based upon a representative survey of 2567 13-19 year-olds in twelve school districts in four rural Midwestern counties. This number accounts for 89% of all students who were present on the day the survey was administered. Only 114 of the students were over age 17. Half of the sample is male and 98% is white. 73% were living with both biological or adoptive parents 13.2% were living with a parent and stepparent 12.3% were living with only one parent and the remaining 1.5% were living with both parents alternately. 9.2% of 10th grade females and 18.6% of 12th grade females reported having had four or more partners while 15.8% of 10th grade males and 22.2% of 12th grade males reported the same number of partners. Many adolescents do not use contraception reliably. Sexual risk takers were found to fare more poorly than abstainers on nearly every variable examined and they also fared less well than more responsible sexually active teens on several measures. Factors associated with sexual risk taking among females included low grade point average (GPA) frequent alcohol consumption low levels of parental monitoring and a lack of communication about birth control with mothers. Among males sexual risk taking was associated with low GPA frequent alcohol consumption suicidal ideations low levels of parental support and a history of sexual abuse.

Adjustment of Children Born to Teenage Mothers: The Contribution of Risk and Protective Factors.

This study was undertaken to examine the contribution of risk and protective factors in the adjustment of children born to teenage mothers. Information from a national data set was obtained on a subset of 721 children aged 8-15 and their mothers. Results showed that several risk factors (e.g., poverty status, urban residence, mothers self-esteem) were modestly related to childrens academic and behavioral adjustment. Exposure to increasing numbers of risk factors was associated with greater vulnerability to adjustment problems. Several protective factors (e.g., intelligence, self-esteem, quality of the home environment) were also modestly related to children s adjustment and enhanced the prediction of adjustment above and beyond the contribution of the risk factors. For children exposed to risk, the presence of the protective factors reduced their vulnerability to academic and behavioral difficulties.

An ecological, risk-factor examination of adolescents' sexual activity in three ethnic groups

DANIEL F. PERKINS University of Florida This study examines the extent to which the ecological, risk-factor approach for studying sexual activity in samples of mostly European Americans is useful for explaining adolescent sexual activity in three ethnic groups. We hypothesized that as exposure to risk factors increased, so would the likelihood of sexual activity in all the ethnic groups. Ethnic and gender differences in the relationship between risk factors and sexual activity were also examined. We found significant risk factors at all three levels of the social ecology. There was little support for the notion that risk factors predicting sexual activity differ among the ethnic groups, although we found a few gender differences. The results of these analyses highlight similarities among the three ethnic groups. Key Words: adolescents, African Americans, ecological perspective, Latinos, risk factors, sexual activity. Small and Luster (1994) proposed an ecological, risk-factor model for understanding why some teens are sexually active and others are not. Central to this model is the concept of cumulative risk, which posits that as exposure to risk factors increases, the probability of becoming sexually active also increases. The model also proposes that the risks adolescents are exposed to can be organized into four categories representing different aspects of the adolescents ecology: (a) individual characteristics, such as low academic ability; (b) family factors, such as low levels of parental monitoring; (c) extrafamilial factors, such as low attachment to the school, living in economically distressed neighborhoods, and being pressured by peers to engage in risk-taking behaviors; and (d) macrosystem influences, such as cultural values, media messages about sexuality, and public policies to reduce rates of teenage pregnancies (Bronfenbrenner, 1979, 1989; Small & Luster, 1994). In a study with an ethnically diverse sample (51 % European American) from a community in the Southwestern United States, Small and Luster (1994) found initial support for this model. However, differences among ethnic groups were not examined in that study. Only 1% of female adolescents who were exposed to zero risk factors were sexually active, compared with 80% of those who were exposed to eight or more risk factors. Among male adolescents, 15% of those exposed to zero risk factors were sexually active, and 93% of those with scores of five or more risk factors were sexually active. A discriminant analysis showed that significant risk factors for sexual activity were found at all levels of the social ecology that were examined (i.e., individual, family, extrafamilial contexts) for both males and females. Similar results were obtained with a European American sample from Wisconsin (Small & Luster, 1990). This study utilizes Small and Lusters conceptual model to examine factors related to sexual activity among adolescents from three ethnic groups-African Americans, Latinos, and European Americans. Because the model has been tested primarily with samples of European American adolescents, of particular interest to us was the usefulness of this model for predicting sexual activity among African American and Latino adolescents. Also of interest was whether or not the same risk factors were associated with sexual activity in each of the three ethnic groups. Although the risk factors associated with sexual activity may be similar across ethnic groups, we were hesitant to assume, a priori, that no differences would be found in the predictors of sexual activity across ethnic groups, given the diverse experiences of different sociocultural groups in the U.S. Relatively little research has compared factors related to sexual activity across all three ethnic groups, and the research that has compared two or more of these three groups has not produced consistent results. Our particular interest in testing the ecological, risk-factor model on African American and Latino adolescents was prompted by a number of findings. …

Factors Related to the Quality of the Home Environment and Children's Achievement

This study tested Belskys model of the determinants of parenting. Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY), the study focused on 898 mothers (African Americans, n = 347; Caucasians, n = 551) and their 6- to 8-year-old children. Consistent with Belskys model, mothers who provided better quality home environments had higher levels of education, intelligence, and self-esteem. Mothers with higher family incomes, fewer children, and higher marital quality provided more supportive home environments. In addition, age and gender of the children were significantly related to the quality of the childrens home environments. Additional analyses indicated that the quality of the home environment that mothers of both ethnic groups provided was related to their childrens achievement.

Sexual abuse history and problems in adolescence : Exploring the effects of moderating variables

This study explores the relationship between sexual abuse and two problem outcomes binge drinking and suicidal ideation in a sample of 42568 adolescents. The effects of current and prior sexual abuse on these outcomes were examined for females and males separately. Of particular interest were factors related to the likelihood of problem behaviors among adolescents who had been sexually abused. Adolescents who had been both physically abused and sexually abused exhibited more problems than those who experienced only one type of abuse. High levels of parental monitoring and high levels of support from at least one parent decreased the risk of problem outcomes among sexually abused adolescents. School success also reduced the risk of problem outcomes for some of the groups studied. (authors)

Sexual Abuse History and Number of Sex Partners Among Female Adolescents

A survey completed 1996 of 10,868 adolescent females from one Midwestern state indicates that 10% had experienced sexual abuse by an adult or by someone older than themselves-9% in the past and 1% in an ongoing situation. Past and current victims of sexual abuse had had more sexual partners during the past year (2.3 and 1.2, respectively) than their peers who had never been sexually abused (0.5). Regardless of sexual abuse history, teenagers whose activities were closely monitored by their parents, who received high levels of parental support and whose parents disapproved of teenagers having sex had fewer sexual partners than other adolescents. Respondents who had experienced physical abuse in addition to sexual abuse were at further increased risk of having had multiple sexual partners. Overall, sexually abused adolescents with a supportive family had fewer recent partners than those from a less supportive family environment; family context had less influence on number of partners among respondents with no history of sexual abuse.

Interaction between Parents and Children

Continuing Controversies About Children and Their Development Relevant to Parent-Child Interaction Theoretical Orientations What the Child Becomes Three Selected Variables The Child as Clay An Overview of the Unidirectional Approach The Child as Clay The Unidirectional Approach to Three Variables Through the Looking Glass An Overview of Bidirectional Approaches Through the Looking Glass Bidirectional Approaches to Three Variables The Family as a Spiral of Recursive Feedback Loops An Overview of the Systems Approach The Family as a Spiral of Recursive Feedback Loops A Systemic View of Three Variables Epilogue Conclusions, Concomitant Concerns, and Closing

Predictors of the quality of the home environment that adolescent mothers provide for their school-aged children

The primary question addressed in this study is, What factors distinguish between adolescent mothers with school-aged children who are providing relatively supportive home environments for their children, and their peers who are providing less supportive care? Data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth merged mother- child data set were used to address this question. Variables from four major categories were useful in identifying mothers who were at greatest risk for providing less supportive environments: (1) characteristics of the mother, (2) characteristics of the family of origin, (3) current SES level, and (4) the composition of the mothers household.

The Relation between Child-Rearing Beliefs and the Home Environment in a Sample of Adolescent Mothers.

This study addresses two questions. First do adolescent mothers differ from older mothers with similar educational backgrounds in terms of the quality of care they provide for their toddlers? Secondly can material child-rearing beliefs be used to predict which mothers are providing the most supportive care for their toddlers? The older mothers are found to have higher (more favorable) Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) scores than the younger mothers. Both older and younger mothers who provide their toddlers with the most supportive care have beliefs about appropriate child-rearing practices that differ from the beliefs of their peers who provide less supportive care. (authors)