TY - JOUR
T1 - Factors Influencing Adolescent Girls' Sexual Behavior
T2 - A Secondary Analysis of the 2011 Youth Risk Behavior Survey
AU - Anatale, Katharine
AU - Kelly, Sarah
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 Informa Healthcare USA, Inc.
PY - 2015/3/4
Y1 - 2015/3/4
N2 - Adolescence is a tumultuous and challenging time period in life. Sexual risk behavior among adolescents is a widespread topic of interest in the current literature. Two common factors that influence increased sexual risk behavior are symptoms of depression and negative body image. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of body image and symptoms of depression upon sexual risk-taking in an adolescent female population. A secondary data analysis of the 2011 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) was used to explore girls' sexual activity, body image, and mental health. There were 7,708 high-school girls who participated in this study. Three questions were used to represent the constructs under investigation. There were significant correlations between sexual activity, body image, and symptoms of depression; only symptoms of depression were significant predictors of both sexual activity and condom usage. Body image was a predictor of sexual activity, but not condom use. Our findings support previous studies that suggested that people with depressive symptoms were more likely to engage in risky sexual behaviors. Our study also supports the idea that a negative body image decreases sexual activity; however, other researchers have reported that negative body image leads to an increase in sexual activity.
AB - Adolescence is a tumultuous and challenging time period in life. Sexual risk behavior among adolescents is a widespread topic of interest in the current literature. Two common factors that influence increased sexual risk behavior are symptoms of depression and negative body image. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of body image and symptoms of depression upon sexual risk-taking in an adolescent female population. A secondary data analysis of the 2011 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) was used to explore girls' sexual activity, body image, and mental health. There were 7,708 high-school girls who participated in this study. Three questions were used to represent the constructs under investigation. There were significant correlations between sexual activity, body image, and symptoms of depression; only symptoms of depression were significant predictors of both sexual activity and condom usage. Body image was a predictor of sexual activity, but not condom use. Our findings support previous studies that suggested that people with depressive symptoms were more likely to engage in risky sexual behaviors. Our study also supports the idea that a negative body image decreases sexual activity; however, other researchers have reported that negative body image leads to an increase in sexual activity.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84928412786&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.3109/01612840.2014.963902
DO - 10.3109/01612840.2014.963902
M3 - Article
C2 - 25897482
AN - SCOPUS:84928412786
SN - 0161-2840
VL - 36
SP - 217
EP - 221
JO - Issues in Mental Health Nursing
JF - Issues in Mental Health Nursing
IS - 3
ER -