Sexual initiation among adolescents of Pelotas, state of Rio Grande do Sul

Authors

  • Ana Laura Sica Cruzeiro Universidade Católica de Pelotas; Escola de Psicologia e Escola de Saúde; Programa de Pós-Graduação em Saúde e Comportamento
  • Luciano Dias de Mattos Souza Universidade Católica de Pelotas; Escola de Psicologia e Escola de Saúde; Programa de Pós-Graduação em Saúde e Comportamento
  • Ricardo Azevedo da Silva Universidade Católica de Pelotas; Escola de Psicologia e Escola de Saúde; Programa de Pós-Graduação em Saúde e Comportamento
  • Bernardo Lessa Horta Universidade Católica de Pelotas; Escola de Psicologia e Escola de Saúde; Programa de Pós-Graduação em Saúde e Comportamento
  • Renata Mendes Muenzer Universidade Católica de Pelotas; Escola de Psicologia e Escola de Saúde; Programa de Pós-Graduação em Saúde e Comportamento
  • Augusto Duarte Faria Universidade Católica de Pelotas; Escola de Psicologia e Escola de Saúde; Programa de Pós-Graduação em Saúde e Comportamento
  • Ricardo Tavares Pinheiro Universidade Católica de Pelotas; Escola de Psicologia e Escola de Saúde; Programa de Pós-Graduação em Saúde e Comportamento

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7322/jhgd.19873

Keywords:

Adolescent, Sexual initiation, Sexual relationship, Coitus

Abstract

This study aims to evaluate the age of the onset of sexual activities and associated factors in adolescents. It is a cross-sectional study with a representative sample of adolescents between 15 and 18 years old, living in the city of Pelotas. Ninety tracts were randomly drawn from 448 census tracts, and in each tract 86 households were visited. The adolescents answered a self-reported and anonymous questionnaire containing questions about socioeconomic level, sex, adolescent's and parents' education, age, religion, living with parents, paid work, use of drugs, tobacco use, alcohol consumption and sexual behavior. Sexual initiation was evaluated through the age of the first intercourse. The median of the age of the first sexual intercourse was calculated using survival tables, and the medians were compared through the long rank test. In the multivariate analysis, Cox regression was used. In the study, 960 adolescents were interviewed. The median of the age of the first sexual intercourse was 16.7 years. The risk of having sexual initiation in a younger age was larger among men, as well as in those adolescents who do not live with mother/father. The same happened with the youths that do not have paid jobs, those who do not practice their religiosity, those who consumed alcoholic beverages or used tobacco in the last month and those who carried a weapon in the last 12 months. The age of the first sexual intercourse was lower among adolescents who used tobacco, marijuana or cocaine in the last 12 months, as well as among those who drank alcoholic beverages in the same period. The association between sexual initiation and tobacco or other psychoactive substances suggests that these health behaviors are interrelated.

References

Feijó RB, Oliveira EA. Comportamento de risco na adolescência. J Ped (Rio J). 2001;77(S2):S125-34.

Figueiredo R, Neto JA. Uso de contracepção de emergência e condom entre adolescentes e jovens. Rev SOGIA-BR 2005; 6(2):3-6.

Alvarez ML, Mauricci A, Santiago MB. Información sexual de los adolescentes según sexo. Rev Chil Ped 1990; 61(2):102-108.

Olinto MIA, Galvão, LW. Características reprodutivas de mulheres de 15 a 49 anos: estudo comparativo e planejamento de ações. Rev Saude Publica 1999;33(1):64-72.

Alves AS, Lopes MHBM. Uso de métodos anticoncepcionais entre adolescentes universitários. Rev Bras Enferm. Brasília 2008;61(2):170-7.

Li X, Stanton B, Cottrell L, Burns J, Pack R, Kaljee L. Patterns of Initiation of Sex and Drug-Related Activities Among Urban Low-IncomeAfrican-American Adolescents. J Adolesc Health 2000; 28:46-54.

Mathias L, Maia EM, Maia Filho E, Landi V, Kosaka S. Estudo comparativo entre primigestas adolescentes dos 18 a 25 anos. J Bras Ginecol. 1981;91(2):89-92.

Scivoletto S, Tsuji RK, Abdo CHN, Queiroz S, Andrade AG, Gattaz WF. Relação entre consumo de drogas e comportamento sexual de estudantes de 2o grau de São Paulo. Rev Bras Psiquiatr. 1999;21(2):87-94.

Grunseit AC, Richters J. Age at first intercourse in an Australian national sample of technical college students. Aust N Z J Public Health. 2000;24(1):11-16.

Sinha JW, Cnaan RA, Gelles RJ. Adolescent risk behaviors and religion: Findings from a national study. J Adolesc. 2007;30(2):231-49.

Pino PZ, Florenzano RU, Nudman AB, Kaplan MD. Estimación de la edad de iniciación sexual em adolescentes mediante tablas de vida. Rev Chil Ped. 1994;65(4):227-233.

Leite IC, Rodrigues RN, Fonseca MC. Fatores associados com o comportamento sexual e reprodutivo entre adolescentes das regiões Sudeste e Nordeste do Brasil. Cad. Saúde Pública. 2004;20(2):474-481.

Saito MI, Leal MM. Adolescência e contracepção de emergência: Fórum 2005. Rev Paul Pediatria. 2007;25(2):180-6.

Teixeira AMFB, Knauth DR, Fachel JMG, Leal AF. Adolescentes e uso de preservativos: as escolhas dos jovens de três capitais brasileiras na iniciação e na última relação sexual. Cad. Saúde Pública. 2006;22(7):1385-1396.

Sandfort TGM, Orr M, Hirsch JS, Santelli J. Long-Term Health Correlates of Timing of Sexual Debut: Results From a National US Study. Am J Public Health. 2008;98:155-161.

Seidman SN, Mosher WD, Aral SO. Women with Multiples Sexual Parteners: United States,1988. Am J Public Health 1992;82:1388-94.

Calazans G, Araujo TW, Venturi G, França Junior I. Factors associated with condom use among youth aged 15-24 years in Brazil in 2003. AIDS. 2005; 19(S4):S42-S50.

Taquette SR, Vilhena MM, Paula MC. Fatores associados à iniciação sexual genital: estudo transversal com adolescentes no Rio de Janeiro. Rev Adolesc Saude 2004; 1(3):17-21.

Coker AL, Richter DL, Valois RF, McKeown RE, Garrison CZ, Vicent ML. Correlates and Consequences of Early Initiation of Sexual Intercourse. J Sch Health 1994; 64(9):372-6.

O’Donnell L, O’Donnell CR, Stueve A. Early Sexual Initiation and Subsequent Sex-Related Risks Among Urban Minority Youth: The Reach for Health Study. Fam Plann Perspect. 2001; 33(6): 268-275.

Rosenthal SL, Von Ranson KM, Cotton S, BiroF, Mills L, Succop PA. Sexual Initiation: Predictors and Developmental Trends. Sex Transm Dis 2001; 28(9):527-532.

Uthman OA. Geographical variations and contextual effects on age of initiation of sexua lintercourse among women in Nigeria: a multilevel and spatial analysis. Int JHealth Geographics. 2008;7:27 <http://www.ij-healthgeographics.com/content/7/1/27>.

Silva RA, Horta BL, Pontes LM, Faria AD, Souza LDM, Cruzeiro ALS, et al. Bem-esta rpsicológico e adolescência: fatores associados. Cad Saude Publica. 2007; 23(5):1113-1118.

Rocha CLA, Horta BL, Pinheiro RT, Cruzeiro ALS, Cruz S. Use of contraceptive methods by sexually active teenagers in Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil. Cad Saude Publica. 200;,23(12):2862-2868.

Thomas L, Stepanova M. Survival analysis methods of personal loan data. Oper Res 2002;2(50):277-289.

Almeida MCC, Aquino EML, Gaffikin L, Magnani RJ. Uso de contracepção por adolescentes de escolas públicas na Bahia. Rev Saude Publica. 2003;37(5):566-75.

Ohene SA, Ireland M, Blum RW. The Clusteringof Risk Behaviors Among Caribbean Youth. Matern Child Health J 2005;9(1):91-100.

Turner RA, Irwin CE Jr, Tschann JM., Millstein SG. Autonomy, Relatedness and The Initiation of Health Risk Behaviors in Early Adolescence. Health Psychol. 1993;12(3):200-208.

Cubbin C, Santelli J, Brindis CD, Braveman P. Neighborhood context and sexual behaviors among adolescents: findings from the national longitudinal study of adolescent health. Perspect Sex Reprod Health. 2005;37(3):125-34.

Grinseit AC, Richters J. Age at first intercourse in an Australian national sample of technical college students. Aust N Z J Public Health. 2000;1(24):11-16.

Taquette SR. Sexo e gravidez na adolescência: estudo de antecedentes biopsicossociais. J Pediatr (Rio J) 1992; 68(3/4):135-9.

Downloads

Published

2008-08-01

Issue

Vol. 18 No. 2 (2008)

Section

Original Research

License

CODE OF CONDUCT FOR JOURNAL  PUBLISHERS

 

Publishers who are Committee on Publication Ethics members and who support COPE membership for journal editors should:

 

Publishers should:

 

  • Define the relationship between publisher, editor and other parties in a contract
  • Respect privacy (for example, for research participants, for authors, for peer reviewers)
  • Protect intellectual property and copyright
  • Foster editorial independence

 

Publishers should work with journal editors to:

 

  • Set journal policies appropriately and aim to meet those policies, particularly with respect to:

–         Editorial  independence

–         Research ethics, including confidentiality, consent, and the special requirements for human and animal research

–         Authorship

–         Transparency and integrity (for example, conflicts of interest, research funding, reporting standards

–         Peer review and the role of the editorial team beyond that of the journal editor

–         Appeals and complaints

  • Communicate journal policies (for example, to authors, readers, peer reviewers)
  • Review journal policies periodically, particularly with respect to new recommendations from the COPE
  • Code of Conduct for Editors and the COPE Best Practice Guidelines
  • Maintain the integrity of the academic record
  • Assist the parties (for example, institutions, grant funders, governing bodies) responsible for the investigation of suspected research and publication misconduct and, where possible, facilitate in the resolution of these cases
  • Publish corrections, clarifications, and retractions
  • Publish content on a timely basis