Adolescents’ sexual decision making is shaped by normative ideas about “appropriate” sexual roles for women and men; consequently, the motivation and ability to engage in safer sex may be different for adolescent girls and boys. The aim of this study was to explore how social–psychological resources influence the behavior of girls and boys within the highly gendered and inequitable domain of sexual relationships. I used data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) to examine whether personal control and self-efficacy in sexual negotiation are associated with contraceptive risk (engaging in sexual intercourse or not using condoms) among adolescents and whether these associations differ for adolescent boys and girls. Results indicate that personal control and self-efficacy in sexual negotiation are significantly associated with safer sex behavior, and are often more important for girls than for boys in predicting contraceptive risk.
Keywords Adolescent sexual behavior - Gender - Condom use - Personal control - Self-efficacy
This research was funded by grants from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development under grant R01 HD40428-02 to the Population Research Center, University of Texas at Austin, Chandra Muller (PI), and from the National Science Foundation under grant REC-0126167 to the Population Research Center, University of Texas at Austin, Chandra Muller (PI). This research is based on data from the Add Health project, a program project designed by J. Richard Udry (PI) and Peter Bearman, and funded by grant P01-HD31921 from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to the Carolina Population Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Persons interested in obtaining data files from Add Health should contact Add Health, Carolina Population Center, 123 W. Franklin Street, Chapel Hill, NC 27516-2524 (addhealth@unc.edu). Opinions reflect those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of the granting agencies.