Original article
Older boyfriends and girlfriends increase risk of sexual initiation in young adolescents

https://doi.org/10.1016/S1054-139X(00)00097-5Get rights and content

Abstract

Purpose: To explore the prevalence and impact of older boyfriends or girlfriends on sexual behavior in sixth graders (mean age 11.5 years).

Methods: Students in 19 ethnically diverse middle schools in an urban area were surveyed (n = 2829, response rate 68%). Instrument measured demographics, age of oldest boyfriend or girlfriend, unwanted sexual advances, peer norms, and sexual behavior. Students with older, same-age, or no boyfriend or girlfriend were compared on demographic and psychosocial variables using analysis of variance. Separate multivariate logistic regressions for both boys and girls were used to predict sexual behavior from demographics, psychosocial variables, and age categories of boyfriend or girlfriend.

Results: One-half of the respondents (56%) had never had a serious boyfriend or girlfriend, 35% reported that their oldest boyfriend or girlfriend was <2 years older than they, and 8.5% reported a partner ≥2 years older. Those reporting an older boyfriend or girlfriend were more likely to be Hispanic, were less acculturated, reported more unwanted sexual advances and more friends who were sexually active, and, among girls, were more likely to have experienced menarche. Overall, 4% of students reported ever having had sex. Students with an older boyfriend or girlfriend were over 30 times more likely than those with no boyfriend or girlfriend ever to have had sex (odds ratio = 33.8 for boys and 44.2 for girls). In the multivariate logistic regressions, peer norms about sexual behavior, having experienced unwanted sexual advances, and having a boyfriend or girlfriend were strongly associated with having had sex.

Conclusions: Having an older boyfriend or girlfriend, although rare, is associated with early sexual onset and unwanted sexual activity in this population of sixth graders.

Section snippets

Sample

Data were collected from a total of 2829 sixth-grade students at 19 urban, ethnically diverse middle schools in Northern California. Data reported here are from the baseline survey of students being followed longitudinally for 30 months to evaluate the impact of a human immunodefiency virus (HIV), other sexually transmitted disease (STD), and pregnancy prevention curriculum. Students completed this survey in Spring 1997, before the intervention began.

Response rate

Active parental consent was required for

Results

A total of 2509 students answered the sexual behavior question, and 2730 students answered the question on the age of their oldest boyfriend or girlfriend. Table 1 presents students’ demographic characteristics, perceived peer norms, and unwanted sexual advances score, stratified by age of boyfriend or girlfriend. Over half of the respondents (56.4%) had never had a serious boyfriend or girlfriend, 35.1% reported that their oldest boyfriend or girlfriend was ≤2 years older, and 8.5% reported a

Discussion

Considering the results of our analyses, a picture or profile of those sixth graders most at risk of early sexual involvement emerges. Girls who experience early sexual development, boys and girls who are less focused on school or are not doing well, who report experiences of sexual coercion, who hang out with older peers and peers who are already sexually experienced, and who are Hispanic are more likely to have relationships with older boyfriends or girlfriends. Sexually experienced students

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Steve Gregorich, Ph.D., for data analytic advice; Deborah Ivie, Tiffany Chinn, and the data collectors for support in data collection, coding, and clean up; Don Chambers, Ph.D., Margaret M. Dolcini, Ph.D., and Hector Carrillo, Dr.P.H., for thoughtful comments on an earlier draft of the manuscript; and Romy Benard for assistance with manuscript preparation. This research was funded by National Institute of Mental Health Grant MH 51515.

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