Dataset Information

Risk behaviors of 15-21 year olds in Mexico lead to a high prevalence of sexually transmitted infections: results of a survey in disadvantaged urban areas.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Due to the fact that adolescents are more likely to participate in high-risk behaviors, this sector of the population is particularly vulnerable to contracting sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and resultant health problems.

Methods

A survey was carried out among adolescents from poor homes in 204 small-urban areas of Mexico. Information was collected in relation to risk behaviors and socio-economic environment. A sub-group of the participants also provided blood and urine samples which were analyzed to detect sexually transmitted infections.

Results

The presence of Chlamydia was detected in nearly 8% of participants who had stated that they were sexually active (18%) and approximately 12% were positive for herpes type 2-specific antibodies. For both, a greater proportion of girls resulted positive compared to boys. The presence of these biological outcomes of sexual risk behavior was associated with other risk behaviors (smoking), but not with self-reported indicators of protected sex (reported use of condom during most recent sexual activity).

Conclusion

The results presented in this study show a startlingly high prevalence of HSV-2 among sexually active Mexican adolescents in poor urban areas, suggesting that this group has participated to a great extent in risky sexual practices. The relationships between socioeconomic environment and adolescent risk behavior need to be better understood if we are to design preventive interventions that modify the determinants of risk behaviors.

SUBMITTER: Gutierrez JP

PROVIDER: S-EPMC1409781 | biostudies-literature | 2006 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Publications

Risk behaviors of 15-21 year olds in Mexico lead to a high prevalence of sexually transmitted infections: results of a survey in disadvantaged urban areas.

Gutierrez Juan-Pablo JP Bertozzi Stefano M SM Conde-Glez Carlos J CJ Sanchez-Aleman Miguel-Angel MA

BMC public health 20060227

<h4>Background</h4>Due to the fact that adolescents are more likely to participate in high-risk behaviors, this sector of the population is particularly vulnerable to contracting sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and resultant health problems.<h4>Methods</h4>A survey was carried out among adolescents from poor homes in 204 small-urban areas of Mexico. Information was collected in relation to risk behaviors and socio-economic environment. A sub-group of the participants also provided blood a ...[more]

PMID: 16504147

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Project description:Risk and protective processes are integrated developmental processes that directly or indirectly affect behavioral outcomes. A better understanding of these processes is needed, in order to gauge their contribution to sexual risk behaviors. This retrospective cross-sectional study modeled the ecodevelopmental chain of relationships to examine the social contexts of African-American (AA) adolescents associated with sexually transmitted disease (STD)- and HIV-risk behaviors. We used data from 1,619 AA adolescents with an average age of 16±1.8 years obtained from the first wave of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health for this study. Confirmatory factor analysis followed by structural equation modeling was conducted to identify the latent constructs that reflect the social-interactional components of the ecodevelopmental theory. Among contextual factors, findings indicated that a feeling of love from father, school, religion, and parent attitudes toward adolescent sexual behavior were all factors that played significant roles in the sexual behavior of AA adolescents. AA adolescents who reported feeling love from their father, feeling a strong negative attitude from their parents toward having sex at a very young age, and having a strong bond with school personnel were associated with better health statuses. The level of parents' involvement in their children's lives was reflected in the adolescents' feeling of love from parents and moderated by their socioeconomic status. Being male, attaining increased age, and being a sexual minority were associated with higher likelihood of exhibiting risky sexual behavior. In contrast, higher socioeconomic status and fathers' level of involvement were indirectly associated with reduced STD/HIV-related sexual risk behavior. In conclusion, our findings suggest that interventions aimed at maximal protection against STD/HIV-related risk behavior among AA adolescents should adopt both self- and context-based strategies that promote positive functioning in the family, school, and peer microsystems.

Dataset Information

Risk behaviors of 15-21 year olds in Mexico lead to a high prevalence of sexually transmitted infections: results of a survey in disadvantaged urban areas.

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Publications

Risk behaviors of 15-21 year olds in Mexico lead to a high prevalence of sexually transmitted infections: results of a survey in disadvantaged urban areas.

Similar Datasets

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