Related Experiment Videos
Friends' influence on adolescents' first sexual intercourse
Renee E Sieving1, Marla E Eisenberg, Sandra Pettingell
1School of Nursing and Department of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA. sievi001@umn.edu
Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health
|March 24, 2006
Summary
Adolescents are more likely to initiate sexual activity if their friends are sexually experienced or if they believe sex will earn peer respect. Peer influence is a significant factor in teen sexual debut.
Area of Science:
- Social psychology
- Adolescent health behavior
- Public health
Background:
- Social-psychological theories posit that adolescent sexual behavior is shaped by peer attitudes and actions.
- Understanding peer influence is crucial for developing effective sexual health interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate whether friend-related variables predict the initiation of vaginal intercourse among adolescents.
- To determine if the level of involvement with friends moderates these predictive relationships.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of data from 2,436 sexually inexperienced adolescents from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health).
- Logistic regression analysis was used to calculate odds ratios for sexual debut between Wave 1 (1994-1995) and Wave 2 (1996).
Main Results:
- 18% of participants initiated intercourse within 9-18 months.
- Higher proportion of sexually experienced friends (OR=1.01) and perceived peer respect for sexual activity (OR=1.2) increased odds of sexual debut, controlling for other factors.
- Friend influence did not vary by level of peer involvement.
Conclusions:
- Interventions aiming to delay adolescent sexual intercourse should consider peer norms and perceptions.
- Programs should address both individual youth factors and the social environment of close friends.