CONTEXT Previous studies suggest that student athletes may be less likely than nonathletes to engage in sexual behavior. However, few have explored sexual risk behavior among athletes in early adolescence. METHODS In 2005, a sample of 10,487 students in 26 Los Angeles public middle and high schools completed a self-administered survey that asked about their demographic characteristics, sports...

OBJECTIVE This study aims to examine baseline and longitudinal associations between body mass index (BMI) and sexual functioning in midlife women. METHODS Midlife women (N = 2,528) from the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation reported on sexual functioning and underwent measurements of BMI annually beginning in 1995-1997, with follow-up spanning 13.8 years. Associations between baseline...

Introduction The study presented one of the first examinations of the associations among personality, alcohol-related protective behavioural strategies (PBS), alcohol consumption, sexual intercourse and sex-related alcohol negative consequences in Irish, female college students (n = 522). Methods A cross-sectional observational design was employed and participants completed the study online. ...

PURPOSE We examine longitudinal relationships between virginity pledging in adolescence and both sexual initiation and condom use. Prior studies have had mixed results and may not adequately control for prepledge differences between pledgers and nonpledgers. METHODS Data came from a national sample of 12- to 17-year-olds surveyed in 2001 and reinterviewed 1 and 3 years later. Logistic regress...

The characteristic features of adolescents' sexual scripts were explored in 400 tenth and eleventh graders from Berlin, Germany. Participants rated the prototypical elements of three scripts for heterosexual interactions: (1) the prototypical script for the first consensual sexual intercourse with a new partner as pertaining to adolescents in general (general script); (2) the prototypical scrip...

Gender-based violence is a key health risk for women globally and in South Africa. The authors analyzed data from 1,395 interviews with women attending antenatal clinics in Soweto, South Africa, between November 2001 and April 2002 to estimate the prevalence of physical/sexual partner violence (55.5%), adult sexual assault by nonpartners (7.9%), child sexual assault (8.0%), and forced first int...

BACKGROUND Unprotected intercourse with sex workers is one of the major risk factors for HIV infection. Consistent condom use is a prerequisite to lower the incidence of HIV. METHODS We assessed the prevalence of condom use and its determinants among company workers engaged with commercial sexual partners in Ecuador. The study was based on a random sample of 115 companies and 1,732 workers st...

Although studies indicate school-based HIV/AIDS education programs effectively reduce risky behaviors, only 33 states and the District of Columbia in US mandate HIV/AIDS education. Ideally, school-based HIV/AIDS education should begin before puberty, or at the latest before first sexual intercourse. In 2011, 20% US states had fewer schools teaching HIV/AIDS prevention than during 2008; this is ...

PURPOSE To examine the role of self-efficacy, outcome expectancies, and perception of peer attitudes in the delay of onset of sexual activity among 13- through 15-year-old adolescents. We also explored the role of self-efficacy, outcome expectancies, and perception of friends' condom use behavior in explaining the use of condoms among sexually active adolescents. METHODS This study was part o...