Tracing the roots of early sexual debut among adolescents in psychiatric care
Donenberg, G.R.; Bryant, F.B.; Emerson, E.; Wilson, H.W.; Pasch, K.E.
Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 42(5): 594-608
2003
ISSN/ISBN: 0890-8567 PMID: 12707564 DOI: 10.1097/01.chi.0000046833.09750.91Document Number: 253059
To identify the most important social and personal characteristics related to early sexual debut among troubled teenagers. One hundred ninety-eight youths aged 12-19 years were recruited from outpatient mental health clinics and completed self-reports and interviews about their age of sexual debut; family, peer, and partner relationships (e.g., parental hostile control, negative peer influence, need for intimacy); and personal characteristics (e.g., achievement motivation, externalizing problems). Broad-band (externalizing, internalizing) and narrow-band (depression/anxiety, delinquency) psychopathology was assessed with the Youth Self-Report and Child Behavior Checklist. Optimal Data Analysis was used to generate a classification tree model to identify variables associated with whether or not youths initiated oral, vaginal, and/or anal sexual activity before or after age 14. Three social context variables (parental hostile control, negative and positive peer influence) and one personal characteristic (externalizing problems) correctly classified 87.4% of teenagers as initiating sexual activity at < or =14 or >14 years of age. Parental behavior and peer influence were the most important variables associated with the timing of sexual debut. Results support a social-personal framework for understanding sexual risk-taking among adolescents in psychiatric care, and the data offer relatively strong evidence that specific factors could be used to identify troubled teens at risk for early sexual debut.