A longitudinal examination of risky sexual behaviors among Canadian and Italian adolescents: Considering individual,parental,and friend characteristics
Restricted accessResearch articleFirst published online May, 2009
A longitudinal examination of risky sexual behaviors among Canadian and Italian adolescents: Considering individual,parental,and friend characteristics
In this study, two longitudinal models of early adolescent risky sexual behaviors (RSB) were compared using a pooled sample of 267 Canadian and Italian adolescents (55% females; 53% Canadians) assessed yearly from grade 8 to 10. We focused on parenting practices (monitoring, control, limit setting), adolescent problem behaviors (antisocial behaviors, substance use) and their friends' deviance (antisocial behaviors, substance use) as predictors of condom use frequency and lifetime number of sexual partners. The socialization model postulates that youths' problem behaviors and RSB are behaviors learned within the friendship network where deviancy training can occur. The selection model posits that delinquent youth tend to affiliate with each other, and that RSB is one of many behaviors that can form the basis of selection. Using structural equation modeling, this study showed that the socialization model was the most accurate to explain the emergence of RSB. A full mediation of parenting practices, passing through deviant friends and youths' problem behavior, was observed for condom use. The same process applied to number of sexual partners, but a direct effect for parenting practices was also found.
Aarons, S.J., & Jenkins, R.R. (2002). Sex, pregnancy, and contraception-related motivators and barriers among Latino and African-American youth in Washington DC. Sex Education, 2(1), 5-30.
2.
Akaike, H. (1987). Factor analysis and AIC. Psychometrika , 52, 317-332.
3.
Alix, A., Leaune, V., & Auger, D. (2001). Enquête sociale et de santé 1998 2e édition. Chapitre 9 - Comportements sexuels et utilisation du condom (pp. 201-218). Institut de la statistique du Québec,.
4.
Ary, D.V., Duncan, T.E., Biglan, A., Metzler, C.W., Noell, J.W., & Smolkowski, K. (1999). Development of Adolescent Problem Behavior. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 27(2), 141-150.
5.
Bachanas, P., Morris, M.K., Lewis-Gess, J.K., Sarett-Cuasay, E.J., Sirl, K., Ries, J.K., & Sawyer, M.K. (2002). Predictors of risky sexual behavior in African American adolescent girls: Implications for prevention interventions. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 27(6), 519-530.
6.
Bajos, N., Ducot, B., Spencer, B., & Spira, A. (1997). Sexual risk-taking, socio-sexual biographies and sexual interaction: Elements on the French national survey on sexual behaviour . Social Science and Medicine, 44, 25-40.
7.
Bentler, P.M., & Bonett, D.G. (1980). Significance tests and goodness-of-fit in the analysis of covariance structures. Psychological Bulletin , 88, 588-606.
8.
Berndt, T.J. (1979). Developmental changes in conformity to peers and parents. Developmental Psychology, 15(6), 608-616.
9.
Biglan, A., Metzler, C.W., Wirt, R., & Ary, D.V. (1990). Social and behavioral factors associated with high-risk sexual behavior among adolescents. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 13(3), 245-261.
10.
Bissell, M. (2000). Socio-economic outcomes of teen pregnancy and parenthood: A review of the literature. The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, 9(3), 191-204.
11.
Blum, R.W., Beuhring, T., Shew, M.L., Bearinger, L.H., Sieving, R.E., & Resnick, M.D. (2000). The effects of race/ethnicity, income, and family structure on adolescent risk behaviors. American Journal of Public Health, 90, 1879-1884.
12.
Bogenschneider, K., Wu, M., Raffaelli, M., & Tsay, J. (1998). Parent influences on adolescent peer orientation and substance use: The interface of parenting practices and values. Child Development, 69, 1672-1688.
13.
Boyce, W. (2004). Young people in Canada: Their health and well-being . Ottowa: Health Canada.
14.
Brener, N., Kann, L., Lowry, R., Wechsler, H., & Romero, L. (2006). Trends in HIV-related risk behaviors among high school students - United States, 1991-2005. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 55(31), 851-854.
15.
Browne, M.W., & Cudeck, R. (1993). Alternative ways of assessing model fit. In K.A. Bollen & J.S. Long (Eds.), Testing structural equation models (pp. 136-162). Newbury Park, CA: SAGE.
16.
Capaldi, D.M., Crosby, L., & Stoolmiller, M. (1996). Predicting the timing of first sexual intercourse for at-risk adolescents males. Child Development, 67, 344-359.
17.
Capaldi, D.M., Stoolmiller, M., Clark, S., & Owen, L.D. (2002). Heterosexual risk behaviors in at-risk young men from early adolescence to young adulthood: Prevalence, prediction, and association with STD contraction. Developmental Psychology, 38(3), 394-406.
18.
Clayton, R.R., & Bokemeier, J.L. (1980). Premarital sex in the seventies . Journal of Marriage and the Family, 42, 759-775.
19.
Conger, R.D. (1997). The social context of substance abuse: A developmental perspective. In E.D. Robertson, Z. Sloboda, G.M. Boyd, L. Beatty, & N.J. Kozel (Eds.), Rural substance abuse: State of knowledge and issues (NIDA Research Monograph No. 168, NIH Publication No. 97-4177, pp. 37-52). Washington : National Institute of Drug Abuse.
20.
Conger, R.D., & Simons, R.L. (1997). Life-course contingencies in the development of adolescent antisocial behavior: A matching law approach. In T.P. Thornberry (Ed.), Developmental theories of crime and delinquency. Advances in criminological theory, 7 (pp. 55-99). New Brunswick, NJ:Transaction Publishers.
21.
Connell, A.M., Dishion, T.J., & Deater-Deckard, K. (2006). Variable- and person-centered approaches to the analysis of early adolescent substance use: Linking peer, family, and intervention effects with developmental trajectories. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 52, 421-448.
22.
Connolly, J., & Goldberg, A. (1999). Romantic relationships in adolescence: The role of friends and peers in their emergence and development. In W. Furman, B.B. Brown , & C. Feiring, The development of romantic relationships in adolescence (pp. 266-290). New York: Cambridge University Press.
23.
Costa, F.M., Jessor, R., Donovan, J.E., & Fortenberry, J.D. (1995). Early initiation of sexual intercourse: The influence of psychosocial unconventionality. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 5, 93-121.
24.
Danziger, S.K. (1995). Family life and teenage pregnancy in the inner-city: Experiences of AfricanAmerican youth. Children and Youth Service Review, 17, 183-202.
25.
Davis, S.M., & Harris, M.B. (1982). Sexual knowledge, sexual interests, and sources of sexual information of rural and urban adolescents from three cultures. Adolescence, 17, 471-492.
26.
DiClemente, R.J. (1991). Predictors of HIV-preventive sexual behavior in a high-risk adolescent population: The influence of perceived peer norms and sexual communication on incarcerated adolescents' consistent use of condoms . Journal of Adolescent Health, 12, 385-390.
27.
Dishion, T.J. (2000). Cross-setting consistency in early adolescent psychopathology: Deviant friendships and problem behavior sequelae. Journal of Personality, 68(6), 1109-1126.
28.
Dishion, T.J., Bullock, B.M., & Granic, I. (2002). Pragmatism in modeling peer influence: Dynamics, outcomes and change processes. Development and Psychopathology , 14(4), 969-981.
29.
Dishion, T.J., Capaldi, D.Spracklen, K.M., & Li, F. (1995). Peer ecology of male adolescent drug use. Development and Psychopathology, 7, 803-824.
30.
Dishion, T.J., & Dodge, K.A. (2005). Peer contagion in interventions for children and adolescents: Moving towards an understanding of the ecology and dynamics of change. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 33(3), 395-400.
31.
Dishion, T.J., Kavanagh, K., Schneiger, A., Nelson, S., & Kaufman, N.K. (2002). Preventing early adolescent substance use: A family-centered strategy for the public middle school. Prevention Science , 3(3), 191-201.
32.
Dishion, T.J., & McMahon, R.J. (1998). Parental monitoring and the prevention of child and adolescent problem behavior: A conceptual and empirical formulation. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 1, 61-75.
33.
Dishion, T.J., Nelson, S., & Kavanagh, K. (2003).The family check-up with high-risk young adolescents: Preventing early-onset substance use by parent monitoring. Behavior Therapy, 34(4), 553-571.
34.
Dishion, T.J., & Owen, L.D. (2002). A longitudinal analysis of friendships and substance use: Bidirectional influence from adolescence to adulthood. Developmental Psychology, 38(4), 480-491.
35.
Dishion, T.J., Poulin, F., & Skaggs, N.M. (2000). The ecology of premature autonomy in adolescence: Biological and social influences. In K.A. Kerns, J.M. Contreras, & A.M. Neal-Barnett (Eds.), Family and peers: Linking two social worlds (pp. 27-45). Westport, CT: Praeger.
36.
Dishion, T.J., Spracklen, K.M., Andrews, D.W., & Patterson, G.R. (1996). Deviancy training in male adolescents' friendships. Behavior Therapy, 27(3), 373-390.
37.
Dobkin, P.L., Tremblay, R.E., Masse, L.C., & Vitaro, F. (1995). Individual and peer characteristics in predicting boys' early onset of substance abuse: A seven-year longitudinal study. Child Development, 66(4), 1198-1214.
38.
Dryburgh, H. (2000). Grossesse chez les adolescentes. Rapports sur la santé, 12(1), 9-21.
39.
Duncan, S.C., Strycker, L.A., & Duncan, T.E. (1999). Exploring associations in developmental trends of adolescent substance use and risky sexual behavior in a high-risk population . Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 22(1), 21-34.
40.
Elliott, D., Huizinga, D.S., & Morse, B. (1986). Self-reported violent offending: A descriptive analysis of juvenile violent offenders and their offending careers. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 1(4), 472-514.
41.
Fisher, J.D., Misovitch, S.J., & Fisher, W.D. (1992). Impact of perceived social norms on adolescents' AIDS-risk behavior and prevention. In R.J. DiClemente (Ed.), Adolescents and AIDS: A generation in jeopardy (pp. 117-136). Newbury Park, CA: SAGE.
42.
Fletcher, A.C., Darling, N., & Steinberg, L. (1995). Parental monitoring and peer influences on adolescent substance use. In J. McCord (Ed.), Coercion and punishment in long-term perspectives (pp. 259-271). New York: Cambridge University Press.
43.
French, D.C., & Dishion, T. (2003). Predictors of early initiation of sexual intercourse among high-risk adolescents. Journal of Early Adolescence , 23(3), 295-315.
44.
Garriquet, D. (2005). Relations sexuelles précoces. Gouvernement du Canada. Statistique Canada. Rapports sur la santé, 16(3), 11-21.
45.
Gouvernement du Canada (2005). Comparaison des cas rapportés et des taux de ITS à déclaration obligatoire du 1er janvier au 30 juin 2005 et du 1er janvier au 30 juin 2004. Agence de santé publique du Canada.
46.
Gouvernement du Québec (2004). Portrait des infections transmissibles sexuellement et par le sang (ITSS), de l'hépatite C, de l'infection par leVIH et du Sida au Québec. Ministère de la santé et des services sociaux.
47.
Guilford, J.P. (1965). Fundamental statistics in psychology and education . New York: McGraw-Hill.
48.
Guo, J.C., Chung, I.J., Hill, K.G., Hawkins, J.D., Catalano, R.F., & Abbott, R.D. (2002). Developmental relationships between adolescent substance use and risky sexual behavior in young adulthood. Journal of Adolescent Health, 31(4), 354-362.
49.
Hearn, K.D., O'Sullivan, L.F., & Dudley, C.D. (2003). Assessing reliability of early adolescent girls' reports of romantic and sexual behavior. Archives of Sexual Behavioir, 32(6), 513-521.
50.
Holton, T.H., & Haans, D. (2004). Consommation d'alcool et de drogues au début de l'adolescence. Rapports sur la santé, 15(3), 9-19.
51.
Huba, G.J., Panter, A.T., Melchior, L.A.,Trevithick, L.,Woods, E.R.,Wright, E. et al. (2003). Modeling HIV risk in highly vulnerable youth. Structural Equation Modeling, 10(4), 583-608.
52.
Institut Canadien d'information sur la santé ( 2003). Différences entre les sexes dans les maladies transmissibles sexuellement. Rapport de surveillance de la santé des femmes , chapitre 25.
53.
Jaccard, J., Dittus, P.J., & Gordon, V.V. (1996). Maternal correlates of adolescent sexual and contraceptive behavior. Family Planning Perspectives, 28(4), 159-185.
54.
Jessor, R.L., & Jessor, S. (1977). Problem behaviour and psychosocial development: A longitudinal study of youth. New York: Academic Press.
55.
Jessor, R., Van Den Bos, J., Vanderryn, J., Costa, F.M., & Turbin, M.S. (1997) Protective factors in adolescent problem behavior: Moderator effects and developmental change. In G.A. Marlatt & G.R. VandenBos (Eds.), Addictive behaviors: Readings on etiology, prevention, and treatment (pp. 239-264). Washington: American Psychological Association.
56.
Kandel, D.B., & Davies, M. (1992). Progression to regular marijuana involvement: Phenomenology and risk factors for near-daily use. In M.D. Glantz & R.W. Pickens (Eds.), Vulnerability to drug abuse (pp. 211-253). Washington: American Psychological Association.
57.
Kaplan, D. (2000). Structural equation modeling: Foundations and extensions. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
58.
Katchadourian, H. (1990). Sexuality. In S.S. Feldman & G.R. Elliott (Eds.), At the threshold: The developing adolescent. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
59.
Kerr, D.L., & Matlak, K.A. (1998). Alcohol use and sexual risk-taking among adolescents: A review of recent literature. Journal of HIV/AIDS Prevention and Education for Adolescents and Children, 2(2), 67-88.
60.
Kerr, M., & Stattin, H. (2000). What parents know, how they know it, and several forms of adolescent adjustment: Further support for a reinterpretation of monitoring. Developmental psychology, 36, 366-380.
61.
Kiesner, J., Cadinu, M., Poulin, F., & Bucci, M. (2002). Group identification in early adolescence: Its relation with peer adjustment and its moderator effect on peer influence. Child Development, 73(1), 196-208.
62.
Kline, R.B. (2005). Principles and practice of structural equation modeling (2nd ed.). New York : Guilford Press.
63.
Ku, L., Sonenstein, F.L., & Pleck, J.H. (1993). Factors influencing first intercourse for teenage men. Public Health Reports, 108(6), 680-694.
64.
Li, X., Stanton, B., Cottrell, L., Burns, J., Pack, R., & Kaljee, L. (2001). Patterns of initiation of sex and drug-related activities among urban low-income African-American adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Health, 28(1), 46-54.
65.
Lowry, R., Holtzman, D., Truman, B.I., Kann, L., Collins, J.L., & Kolbe, L.J. (1994). Substance use and HIV-related sexual behaviors among US high school students: Are they related? American Journal of Public Health, 84, 1116-1120.
66.
Maticka-Tyndale, E., Barrett, M., & McKay, A. (2000). Adolescent sexual and reproductive health in Canada: A review of national data sources and their limitations. The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, 9(1), 41-65.
67.
McKay, A. (2004). Adolescent sexual and reproductive health in Canada: A report card in 2004. The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality , 13(2), 67-81.
68.
Miller, B.C. (2002). Family influences on adolescent sexual and contraceptive behavior. Journal of Sex Research, 39(1), 22-56.
69.
Miller, K.S., Forehand, R., & Kotchick, B.A. (1999). Adolescent sexual behavior in two ethnic minority samples: The role of family variables. Journal of Marriage & the Family, 61(1), 85-98.
70.
Moberg, D.P., & Piper, D.L. (1998). The Healthy for Life Project: Sexual risk behavior outcomes. AIDS Education and Prevention, 10(2), 128-148.
71.
Moffitt, T.E. (1993). Adolescence-limited and life-course-persistent antisocial behavior: A developmental taxonomy. Psychological Review, 100, 674-701.
72.
Mounts, N.S. (2001). Young adolescents' perceptions of parental management of peer relationships. Journal of Early Adolescence, 21(1), 92-122.
73.
Murray, D.M., & Perry, C.L. (1987). The measurement of substance use among adolescents . Addictive Behaviors, 12, 225-233.
74.
Newcomb, M.D., Locke, T.F., & Goodyear, R.G. (2003). Childhood experiences and psychosocial influences on HIV risk among adolescent Latinas in Southern California . Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology, 9(3), 219-235.
75.
Panchaud, C., Singh, S., Feivelson, D., & Darroch, J.E. (2000). Sexually transmitted diseases among adolescents in developed countries. Family Planning Perspectives, 32, 24-32.
76.
Patterson, G.R. (1986). Performance models for antisocial boys. American Psychologist, 41, 432-444.
77.
Patterson, G.R., & Dishion, T.J. (1985). Contributions of family and peers to delinquency . Criminology, 23, 63-79.
78.
Patterson, G.R., & Southamer-Loeber, M. (1984). The correlation of family management practices and delinquency. Child Development, 55, 1299-1307.
79.
Phillips Smith, E., Dumas, J.E., & Prinz, R. (2006). Prevention approaches to improve child and adolescent behavior and reduce deviant peer influence. In K.A. Dodge, T.J. Dishion, & J.E. Lansford (Eds.), Deviant peer influences in programs for youth: Problems and solutions (pp. 296-311). New York: Guilford.
80.
Resnick, M.D., Bearman, P.S., Blum, R.W., Bauman, K.E., Harris, K.M., & Jones, J. (1997). Protecting adolescents from harm. Journal of the American Medical Association, 278, 823-832.
81.
Richter, D.L., Sy, F.S., Mukhtar, Q., & Addy, C.L. (1992). Contraception and HIV prevention among women in public health clinics. Health Values: The Journal of Health Behavior, Education & Promotion, 16(1), 3-9.
82.
Robertson, J.A., & Plant, M.A. (1988). Alcohol, sex and risks of HIV infection. Drug & Alcohol Dependence, 22(1-2), 75-78.
83.
Rodgers, K.B. (1999). Parenting processes related to sexual risk-taking behaviors of adolescent males and females. Journal of Marriage & the Family, 61(1), 99-109.
84.
Rosenbaum, E., & Kandel, D.B. (1990). Early onset of adolescent sexual behavior and drug involvement. Journal of Marriage and the Family, 52, 783-798.
85.
Rotermann, M. (2005). Relations sexuelles, condoms et MTS chez les jeunes . Rapports sur la santé, 16(3), 47-53.
86.
Rowe, D., & Linver, M. (1995). Smoking and addictive behaviors: Epidemiological, individual, and family factors. In J. Turner & L. Cardon (Eds.), Behavior genetic approaches in behavioral medicine: Perspectives on individual differences (pp. 67-84). New York: Plenum .
87.
Salazar, L.F., DiClemente, R.J., Wingood, G.M., Crosby, R.A., Harrington, K., Davies, S., Hook, E.W., & Oh, M.K. (2004). Self-concept and adolescents' refusal of unprotected sex: A test of mediating mechanisms among AfricanAmerican girls. Prevention Science, 5(3), 137-149.
88.
Scaramella, L.V., Conger, R.D., Simons, R.L., & Whitebeck, L.B. (1998). Predicting risk for pregancy by late adolescence: A social contextual perspective. Developmental Psychology, 34(6), 1233-1245.
89.
Smith, L.H., & Guthrie, B.J. (2005). Testing a model: A developmental perspective of adolescent male sexuality. Journal for Specialists in Pediatric Nursing, 10(3), 124-138.
90.
Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (1998). Conférence canadienne de consensus sur la contraception . Ottawa, ON.
91.
Sonenstein, F.L., Pleck, J.H., & Ku, L.C. (1989). Sexual activity, condom use, and AIDS awareness among adolescent males. Family Planning Perspectives, 21, 152-158.
92.
Spoth, R.L., Redmond, C., & Shin, C. (2001). Randomized trial of brief family interventions for general populations: Adolescent substance use outcomes 4 years following baseline. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 69(4), 627-642.
93.
Staton, B., Cole, M., Galbraith, J., Li, X., Pendleton, S., & Cottrel, L. (2004). Randomized trial of a parent intervention. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 158, 947-955.
94.
Thornton, A. (1990). The courtship process and adolescent sexuality . Journal of Family Issues, 11(3), 239-273.
95.
Valois, R.F., Oeltmann, J.E., Waller, J., & Husey, J.R. (1999). Relationship between number of sexual intercourse partners and selected health risk behaviors among public high school adolescents . Journal of Adolescent Health, 25, 328-335.
96.
Valois, R.F., Vincent, M.L., McKeown, R.E., & Garrison, C.Z. (1993). Adolescent risk behaviors and the potential for violence: A look at what's coming to campus. Journal of American College Health, 41(4), 141-147.
97.
Van Kammen, W., & Loeber, R. (1994). Are fluctuations in delinquent activities related to the onset and offset in juvenile illegal drug use and drug dealing? Journal of Drug Issues, 24(1-2), 9-24.
Wellings, K., Field, J., Johnson, A., & Wadsworth, J. (1994). Sexual behaviour in Britain:The national survey of sexual attitudes and lifestyles. New York: Penguin.
100.
Whitaker, D.J., & Miller, K.S. (2000). Parent-adolescent discussions about sex and condoms: Impact on peer influences of sexual risk behavior. Journal of Adolescent Research, 15(2), 251-273.
101.
Whitbeck, B.,Yoder, K.A., Hoyt, D.R., & Conger, R.D. (1999). Early adolescent sexual activity: A developmental study. Journal of Marriage & the Family, 61(4), 934-946.
102.
White, H.R. (1991). Marijuana use and delinquency: A test of the "independent cause" hypothesis. Journal of Drug Issues, 21, 231-257.
103.
Zimmer-Gembeck, M.J., Siebenbruner, J., & Collins, A.W. (2004). A prospective study of intraindividual and peer influences on adolescents' heterosexual romantic and sexual behavior. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 33(4), 381-394.
