Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 15, 2026

Social Defeat Stress Model for Adolescent C57BL/6 Male and Female Mice
Published on: March 15, 2024
Growth trajectories of sexual risk behavior in adolescence and young adulthood
Stevenson Fergus1, Marc A Zimmerman, Cleopatra H Caldwell
1School of Kinesiology and Health Studies, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada. ferguss@post.queensu.ca
Objectives:
Adolescence and young adulthood (ages 18-25 years) are periods of development and change, which include experimentation with and adoption of new roles and behaviors. We investigated longitudinal trajectories of sexual risk behaviors across these time periods and how these trajectories may be different for varying demographic groups.
Methods:
We developed multilevel growth models of sexual risk behavior for a predominantly African American sample (n=847) that was followed for 8 years, from adolescence to young adulthood. We investigated differences in growth parameters by race/ethnicity and gender and their interactions.
Results:
The final model included linear and quadratic terms for both adolescence and young adulthood, indicating acceleration of sexual risk behaviors during adolescence and a peak and deceleration during young adulthood. African American males exhibited the highest rate of sexual risk behavior in ninth grade, yet had the slowest rate of growth. Compared with their White peers, African American males and females exhibited less sexual risk behavior during young adulthood.
Conclusions:
Our results suggest that youths of different races/ethnicities and genders exhibit varying sexual risk behavior trajectories.
Related Concept Videos
Amebiasis
Psychosexual Theory of Development
The Five Stages of Psychosexual Development
Freud's psychosexual...
Emerging Adulthood
Longitudinal Research
Ethnic Identity within a Larger Culture
Erikson's Theory on Socioemotional Development during Adolescence