Gendered trends in early and very early sex and condom use in 20 European countries from 2002 to 2010 (original) (raw)
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Correlates of sexual initiation among European adolescents
PloS one, 2018
Sexuality is a physiological component of adolescent development, though early initiation is associated with reproductive health risk. This study aimed at identifying correlates and predictors of sexual initiation in a large multinational cohort of European adolescents. A questionnaire addressing socio-demographics, behaviours, mental health and sexual activity, was delivered to 11,110 adolescents recruited from 168 randomly selected schools in 10 European countries between 2009 and 2011. A follow-up questionnaire was delivered after 12 months. The longitudinal association of baseline risk behaviors, psychological attributes and contextual vulnerabilities, with sexual initiation during follow-up was evaluated through simple and multivariable age/sex stratified logistic regression. Multinomial logistic regression measured the association between predictors and sexual initiation with or without coexisting reproductive risk factors, such as multiple partners or infrequent condom use. B...
Trends in Teenage Sexual Behavior and Births in Europe
Finnish Yearbook of Population Research
Sexual and reproductive behavior, and outcomes of that behavior, are treated in thisarticle in the framework of sexual and reproductive health. The focus is on teenagers.European trends in sexual behavior and in fertility/births from the 1980s to the late1990s are presented.The transition in sexual initiation started first in the Nordic countries, then in manyWestern European and Central European countries and finally, one generation later,in Southern and Eastern Europe. The age of women at first sexual intercoursedecreased several years almost everywhere in Europe. Due to improvements in sexeducation and in the use of contraceptives, teenage birth rates have been declining,at the same time, around Europe.There is a serious need for sexual health prevention campaigns and related servicesin Europe. Work for improvement of sexual and reproductive health and rights canbe successful only in a society where there is openness and social tolerance onsexual issues.
Journal of Adolescent Health, 2014
Purpose: To examine the relationship between country-level age norms for sexual initiation timing and early sexual initiation (ESI) among adolescent boys and girls. Methods: Nationally representative data from 17 countries that participated in the 2006/2007 European Social Survey (ESS-3, n ¼ 33,092) and the 2005/2006 Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children Study (HBSC, n ¼ 27,702) were analyzed. Age norms were measured as the average country-level response to an item asking the age at which ESS respondents believed someone is too young to have sexual intercourse. HBSC respondents (aged 14e16 years) self-reported age at sexual initiation, which we defined as early (<15 years) or not early (!15 years or no initiation). Control variables included age, family affluence, perceived socioeconomic status, family living arrangement, substance use, school attachment, and country-level legal age of consent. Multivariable three-level logistic models with random intercepts were run separately by sex. Results: In multivariable analyses, higher overall age norms were associated with reduced likelihood of ESI among girls (AOR .60, 95% CI .45e.79); associations with ESI were stronger for parent cohort (ages 31e65 years) norms (AOR .37, 95% CI .23e.58) than for peer cohort (ages 15e20 years) norms (AOR .60, 95% CI .49e.74). For boys, overall norms were also significantly negatively associated with ESI (AOR .68, 95% CI .46e.99), as were parent cohort norms (AOR .66, 95% CI .45e.96). Peer cohort norms were not significantly related to boys' ESI. Conclusion: Macrolevel cultural norms may impact adolescents' sexual initiation timing. Research exploring the sexual health outcomes of early initiators in countries with contrasting age norms is warranted.
BMC Public Health, 2018
Background: The need to tackle sexual health problems and promote positive sexual health has been acknowledged in Irish health policy. Young people's sexual behaviour however remains under-researched with limited national data available. Methods: This study presents the first nationally representative and internationally comparable data on young people's sexual health behaviours in Ireland. Self-complete questionnaire data were collected from 4494 schoolchildren aged 15-18 years as part of a broader examination of health behaviour and their context. The prevalence of sexual initiation, very early sexual initiation (< 14 years) and non-condom use at last intercourse are reported and used as outcomes in separate multilevel logistic regression models examining associations between sociodemographic characteristics, lifestyle characteristics and young people's sexual behaviours. Results: Overall, 25.7% of boys and 21.2% of girls were sexually initiated. Older age was consistently predictive of initiation for both boys and girls, as were alcohol, tobacco and cannabis involvement, living in poorer neighbourhoods and having good communication with friends. Involvement in music and drama was protective. Very early sexual initiation (< 14 years) was reported by 22.8% of sexually initiated boys and 13.4% of sexually initiated girls, and was consistently associated with rural living, cannabis involvement and bullying others for both. Boys' very early initiation was predicted by alcohol involvement, receiving unhealthy food from parents and taking medication for psychological symptoms, whereas better communication with friends and more experience of negative health symptoms were protective. Girls' very early initiation was predicted by being bullied and belonging to a non-Traveller community, whereas taking medication for physical symptoms and attending regular health checks was protective. Condom use was reported by 80% of sexually initiated students at last intercourse. Boys' condom use was associated with older age, higher family affluence, bullying others, more frequent physical activity and health protective behaviours. For girls, condom use was predicted by belonging to a non-Traveller community, healthy food consumption, higher quality of life and being bullied, whereas taking medication for physical and psychological symptoms was associated with noncondom use. Conclusions: These nationally representative research findings highlight the importance of focusing on young people as a distinct population subgroup with unique influences on their sexual health requiring targeted interventions and policy.
Kontakt, 2024
Introduction: The objective of this article is to analyse the determinants of risky behaviour of school children and their impact on early sexual initiation, considering differences between sexes. Methods: The paper analyses the results of the HBSC international study conducted in Slovakia in 2018. A total of 1,293 schoolchildren (81.8% response rate) participated in the study. 15-year-old adolescents were assessed. Differences between boys and girls were also analysed. Results: In the 2018 data collection, the occurrence of underage sexual intercourse was more common among boys (17%) than girls (11.3%). Overall, 94.3% of children reported not having smoked and not having had an early sexual experience. Conversely, 26.1% of the children who admitted having smoked, had had sex. As for alcohol consumption, 19.2% of the pupils who had drunk alcohol reported early sexual initiation but, in a statistically significant indicator, up to 34.1% of adolescents who had had sexual intercourse were in a state of drunkenness at the time. Conclusion: To some extent, experimentation and risky behaviours in adolescence are socially acceptable. However, the timing of adolescents' first sexual intercourse can have an impact on their health and mental well-being. There is a need to recognise and monitor possible determinants that may lead to their risky sexual activities. There is also a clear and pressing need for legislative standards. Paediatric care and nursing play a vital role in the primary prevention of risk activities.
International Journal of STD & AIDS, 2002
While rates of HIV and STD infection in Eastern Europe are increasing rapidly, little is known about sexual behaviour, incl\fding condom use, among Eastern European youths. The Study of Hungarian Adolescent Risk Behaviours was designed to assess the knowledge, attitudes, and behaviours of adolescents studying in secondary schools in Budapest, Hungary. Students (n = 3486) in a random sample of public secondary schools completed a self-administered questionnaire, including measures of sexual activity and condom use. Thirty-eight percent of students reported ever having had vaginar intercourse. Condom use by those reporting having had sex in the past five weeks was classified as consistent / every time (40%); irregular (25.6%); and none (34.3%). Multivariate analysis revealed positive opinio~ about condoms, fear of AIDS, and initiation of condom use by both partners to predict more frequent condom use. Implications for targeted AIDS/Sill education and prevention among adolescents are discussed.
Early sexual intercourse and risk factors in Croatian adolescents
Collegium antropologicum, 2007
Sexual behaviour in adolescence is a sensitive issue and has possible immediate and long term medical and psychical consequences. The aim of the study was to examine whether early sexual intercourse varies by gender and how is associated with unhealthy behaviour and factors of psycho-social well-being. 773 boys and 857 girls of 15.5 years old, included in a representative national school-based survey, conducted in Croatia in 2006, were invited to fill in anonymous questionnaires. Sexual experience before the age of 16 years was reported by 28.6% of the boys and 16.5% of the girls. Early sexual experience in boys was associated with smoking, drinking of alcohol, marijuana taking, physical fighting, and bullying other The odds ratio was highest for smoking. (OR:8. 1; CI:5.4-12. 1). For girls the same variables were associated with the early sexual intercourse, marijuana use being the strongest independent predictor (OR:8.0; CI:5.0-12.6). While controlled for other behaviours, daily sm...
Early sexual initiation in Europe and its relationship with legislative change: A systematic review
Early sexual initiation is often considered risky behaviour as it is related with adverse consequences such as sexually transmitted diseases or unwanted pregnancy. Multiple academic studies have demonstrated that in the second half of the 20th century, the age of young people's first sexual initiation was on the decline in developed countries. However, little research has been conducted on the situation in the 21st century. By systematically reviewing recent studies on the timing of persons' first sexual initiation in European countries, this article revealed the latest trends in the age of first sexual initiation in Europe: 1) the continuing decline of age of first sexual initiation, and 2) the difference in timing of first sexual initiation between males and females. These two findings were then compared with the latest trends in age of consent legislation in Europe to see the relationship between the trends of age of sexual initiation in law and in practice.