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Affiliative preferences, self-change, and adolescent condom use.
1University of New Mexico College of Nursing, 2502 Marble NE, Albuquerque, NM 87131-5688, USA. btigges@salud.unm.edu
Summary
Adolescents
Area of Science:
- Social psychology
- Adolescent health
- Preventive health behaviors
Background:
- Social comparison theory provides a framework for understanding health behaviors.
- Adolescents' social affiliations can influence their health decisions.
- Understanding peer preferences is crucial for developing effective health interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine social comparisons, specifically affiliative preferences, among Hispanic and non-Hispanic White adolescents.
- To investigate how these preferences relate to stages of change in condom use (contemplating, initiating, maintaining).
- To determine if behavioral self-esteem moderates the relationship between stage of change and affiliative preferences.
Main Methods:
- A school-based survey was conducted with 180 sexually active 12th-grade students in New Mexico.
- Anonymous, structured questionnaires were used to collect data on affiliative preferences, stage of change for condom use, and behavioral self-esteem.
- Data analysis focused on social comparison patterns and their relationship with condom use behavior and self-perception.
Main Results:
- Adolescents generally preferred affiliating with demographically similar peers.
- Stage of change significantly impacted affiliative preferences for condom use: 'contemplators' sought peers using more condoms (upward affiliation), while 'preparation' and 'maintenance' stages preferred similar condom use (lateral affiliation).
- An interaction between stage of change and self-esteem emerged: in the 'preparation' stage, low self-esteem was linked to preferring peers using fewer condoms (downward affiliation), while moderate self-esteem correlated with slightly upward affiliation.
Conclusions:
- Social comparison theory effectively explains variations in preventive health behaviors like condom use.
- Adolescents' peer affiliation preferences are dynamically influenced by their stage of change and behavioral self-esteem.
- Findings suggest the need for stage-specific, tailored interventions to promote effective condom use among adolescents.