 | The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
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| The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA |
Amy Binggeli, MPH, RD, CHES and Susanne Montgomery, PhD, MS, MPH. Health Education, Loma Linda University School of Public Health, Nichol Hall Room 1511, Loma Linda, CA 92354, (760) 482-4716, amybinggeli@imperialcounty.net
Early sexual debut is a growing concern among our adolescents and is a significant public health challenge. Teenage birth rates have declined over the past decade, but experts suggest the decline is not a result of delayed sexual debut, but rather a result of stabilization in the early initiation of sexual intercourse and greater contraceptive use. Protective factors are identified in the literature as a means of reducing risky behavior including the delay of sexual debut and occur in different influence clusters; individual, family and community. Teen and parent perceptions regarding protective factors and delayed sexual debut were examined through a mixed-methods study including responses from approximately 3000 adults over 3-years of random digit dialing surveys with parents, 4,452 student responses from the YRBS survey, a local assets survey and qualitative data of 12 key informants and 2 focus groups with teens 14-20 years and 13 key informants and 2 focus groups with parents 30-48 years. Interviews were transcribed and content analyzed for emerging themes using grounded theory methods. Emerging themes around sexual debut will guide the quantitative data analysis process to further explore themes for a wider audience. Based on early analysis of the qualitative data we expect protective factors reduce the risk of early sexual debut among this group living in an area with universally high teen pregnancy rates. It is important for programs to identify protective factors that can be incorporated into adolescent’s lives especially those who live in neighborhoods with a history of teen pregnancy.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Teen Pregnancy Prevention, Adolescent Health
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.