Elsevier

Journal of Adolescent Health

Volume 25, Issue 3, September 1999, Pages 207-216
Journal of Adolescent Health

Original Articles
High school athletic participation, sexual behavior and adolescent pregnancy: a regional study

https://doi.org/10.1016/S1054-139X(99)00070-1Get rights and content

Abstract

Purpose: To determine whether high school athletic participation among adolescents in Western New York was associated with reduced rates of sexual behavior and pregnancy involvement.

Methods: A secondary analysis of data from the Family and Adolescent Study, a longitudinal study of a random sample of adolescents (ages 13–16 years) from 699 families living in households in Western New York. A general population sample was obtained with characteristics closely matching the census distributions in the area. Interview and survey methods provided data on athletic participation, frequency of sexual relations during the past year, and risk for pregnancy. Bivariate correlations were used to examine relationships among athletic participation, demographic and control variables, and measures of sexual behavior and pregnancy rates. Next, path analyses were done in order to test for hypothesized relationships between athletic participation, sexual behavior, and pregnancy involvement while controlling for age, race, income, family cohesion, and non-athletic forms of extracurricular activity. Variables that were significantly associated with sexual behavior and/or pregnancy involvement were presented for both sexes within the resulting multivariate models.

Results: Lower income and higher rates of sexual activity were associated with higher rates of pregnancy involvement for both sexes. Family cohesion was associated with lower sexual activity rates for both sexes. For girls, athletic participation was directly related to reduced frequency of sexual behavior and, indirectly, to pregnancy risk. Male athletes did not exhibit lower rates of sexual behavior and involvement with pregnancy than male non-athletes. Boys who participated in the arts, however, did report lower rates of sexual behavior and, indirectly, less involvement with pregnancy.

Conclusions: Female adolescents who participated in sports were less likely than their non-athletic peers to engage in sexual activity and/or report a pregnancy. Among male adolescents, athletic participation was unrelated to sexual behavior and pregnancy involvement. Teen pregnancy prevention efforts for girls should consider utilizing sport as a strategic tool.

Section snippets

Methods

The hypotheses were tested using data previously collected from a longitudinal study of a random, population sample of 699 families with adolescents (ages 13 to 16 years) living in households in a northeastern metropolitan area. Sampling was done by means of random-digit-dial procedures on a computer-assisted telephone network. Criteria for inclusion into the sample were that the household have at least one adolescent aged 13–16 years and at least one parent (biological or surrogate). A general

Results

The unweighted Wave 3 (n = 612) sample was used in the present analysis. Fifty-five percent of the respondents were female. Thirty percent of the respondents were black. Respondent distribution across the four age categories was relatively even. Family income was dispersed fairly evenly across the response spectrum, tailing off at the highest and lowest categories. The mean response with respect to reported family cohesion (Wave 1) was 3.17, on a scale of 1.00 to 5.00. A total of 159

Discussion

The findings support the contention that female athletic participation is associated with lower rates of sexual activity and pregnancy. The path model showed that the influence of athletic participation on girls’ pregnancy risk was mediated through sexual behavior; (i.e., female athletes engaged in sex less frequently which, in turn, lowered pregnancy risk). For boys, however, athletic participation was unrelated to the rate of sexual activity, while arts participation was associated with

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    This research was funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism grants AA06925 and AA09425 and the Women’s Sports Foundation with funds from the Packard Foundation, the Turner Foundation, the RGK Foundation, and the Sara Lee Foundation.

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