Boys' Sexual Competencies in Early Adolescence: A Multicultural Perspective

Gendered disparities in sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) often emerge early in life, yet research on sexuality development during early adolescence, particularly among boys, remains limited. This study examines healthy sexuality competencies among young boys and their associations with sexual well-being across diverse sociocultural contexts.

We used cross-sectional data from the Global Early Adolescent Study, comprising a sample of 4,398 boys aged 12-14 years from nine sites in seven countries. Indicators of healthy sexuality competencies included SRH knowledge, gender attitudes, SRH communication, and a measure capturing competency combinations. Sexual well-being was assessed through body comfort (0-4 scale) and relationship intimacy (1-5 scale). We examined site-level competency distributions and tested their associations with sexual well-being using multivariable multilevel mixed-effects regression models.

Gender-equitable attitudes were generally low, with scores highest in Asia and lowest in Africa. Conversely, SRH knowledge was highest in Africa and lowest in Asia; SRH communication was most common in Latin America. SRH communication and knowledge were positively associated with body comfort, and combinations of competencies (profiles) were generally associated with both sexual well-being outcomes. However, profiles explained a modest share of variance in sexual well-being beyond individual competencies (1.4%-12.1%, largest for body comfort beyond equitable attitudes), with sites contributing more variance in body comfort (15.7%-18.2%) than in intimacy (1.7%-2%).

This study provides the first cross-country analysis of healthy sexuality competencies and their relationship to sexual well-being among young adolescent boys. Findings underscore uneven development of sexual competencies across sites and the need for context-sensitive, competency-based sexuality education.