Older boyfriends of adolescent girls: The cause or a sign of the problem?

doi:10.1016/j.jadohealth.2004.08.007

Journal of Adolescent Health

Volume 36, Issue 5, May 2005, Pages 410-419

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2004.08.007 Get rights and content

Abstract

Purpose

There were two aims of this study: (a) to determine the causal relationship between adolescent girls’ early sexual activity and the presence of an older boyfriend, and (b) theoretically and empirically contextualize the relationship between these two variables within a model of adolescent problem behavior.

Methods

Secondary analysis was conducted with the 670 adolescent girls of Waves I and II of the public use version of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health. Girls included in the analyses had not already had an older romantic partner in Wave I but did have a romantic partner in the 18 months before Wave II. Four alternative causal models are proposed and tested using structural equation modeling and a nested model comparison analysis strategy.

Results

The model with the best fit to the data depicted the presence of an older partner as a mediator of psychosocial risk factors and adolescent problem behaviors (including early sexual activity). Psychosocial characteristics of adolescent girls in Wave I predicted whether they would enter romantic relationships with older boyfriends by Wave II. In turn, though, the presence of an older boyfriend increased problem behavior in Wave II above and beyond the effects of the psychosocial risk factors.

Conclusions

These findings are discussed in terms of the need for a more comprehensive understanding of the unions between adolescent girls and older boyfriends before statutory rape policies are modified.

Section snippets

Sample

The National Longitudinal Study of Health (Add Health) is a nationally representative study of adolescents in grades 7 through 12 in the United States [20]. These data were collected by the Carolina Population Center to explore a multitude of adolescent health issues, including physical and psychological well-being, risky behaviors, and violence; and the interplay between adolescent health and varying social contexts, such as familial, peer, educational, and neighborhood. A complete description

Results

The 670 girls eligible for analysis were primarily white (69%), with an average age of 14.9 years at the first wave of data collection (see Table 1). The median annual household income was approximately $48,400, with the most common parental education levels being high school diploma or GED (29%), some college (19%), college graduate (18%), and graduate or professional school (16%). On average, respondents’ romantic partners in Wave II were roughly 1 year older (mean age difference = 1.06

Discussion

The goals of this study were to (a) explore the causal relationship between adolescent girls’ sexual activity and having an older boyfriend and (b) contextualize the relationship between these two variables within a larger framework of adolescent problem behavior. By comparing various structural equation models, we were able to address these two aims. In terms of the first aim, our findings indicate that the psychosocial characteristics of adolescent girls at Wave I predicted whether they

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Original articlesOlder boyfriends of adolescent girls: The cause or a sign of the problem?

Abstract

Purpose

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Section snippets

Sample

Results

Discussion

J Adolesc Health

J Adolesc Health

Dating behavior and sexual activity of young adolescentsanalyses of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health

Age differences between sexual partners in the United States

Fam Plann Perspect

Can statutory rape laws be effective in preventing adolescent pregnancy?

Fam Plann Perspect

How old are U.S. fathers?

Fam Plann Perspect

Sexual initiation with older male partners and subsequent HIV risk behavior among female adolescents

Fam Plann Perspect

Older boyfriends and girlfriends increase risk of sexual initiation in young adults

J Adolesc Health

Age at first coitusa marker for risky sexual behavior in women

Sex Transm Dis

Youth with older boyfriends and girlfriendsassociations with sexual risk

Young women’s degree of control over first intercoursean exploratory analysis

Fam Plann Perspect

Original articles
Older boyfriends of adolescent girls: The cause or a sign of the problem?