NCJ Number
231906
Journal
Journal of Youth and Adolescence Volume: 39 Issue: 10 Dated: October 2010 Pages: 1211-1225
Date Published
October 2010
Length
15 pages
Annotation
This study examined the relationship between early adolescent sexual initiation and physical/psychological symptoms across five countries.
Abstract
Although most people in developed countries experience sexual initiation during adolescence, little is known about inter-country variability in the psychosocial correlates of early initiation. Population-based samples of 15-year-olds (n = 6,111, 52 percent female) who participated in the Health Behaviors in School-Aged Children Study (Finland, Scotland, France and Poland, 1997/1998) or the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (United States, 1996) self-reported sexual intercourse experience and physical (headaches, trouble sleeping) or psychological (unhappiness, loneliness, sadness, moodiness) symptoms. Analyses were conducted stratified by gender. Sexual initiation prevalence and symptoms scores varied significantly across nations. In adjusted models, sexual initiation was not related to symptoms among boys in any nation, but significantly positively related to symptoms among girls in Poland and the United States. Results support variability by gender and nation in the relationship between adolescents' sexual initiation and physical/psychological symptoms. Empirically investigating specific features of national contexts that generate these differences should be explored further. Tables, figure, and references (Published Abstract)