BACKGROUND:
Pregnancy rates and unprotected sex among Thai adolescents continue to increase. The aim of this community‐based participatory study was to identify gender differences in sexual behaviors and sexual risk factors, and to examine factors associated with sexual risk behaviors among adolescents in northern Thailand.
METHODS:
The data presented in this study were from the community assessment phase of a larger community‐based participatory research project. Twenty-two community researchers and 488 adolescents were recruited through a recruitment flyer.
RESULTS:
The results showed that males were more likely than females to engage in pre‐coital and sexual behaviors. Significant predictors of higher pre‐coital behaviors were age, sexual refusal self‐efficacy, having boyfriends/girlfriends, authoritarian parenting style, parental approval of sex, and perceived peer norms.
CONCLUSION:
Key stakeholders should be included to develop multi‐modal culturally‐ and gender‐specific sexual‐prevention programs to account for information delivery, acceptability, and dealing with peer pressure.
Full article please see >>> https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/nhs.12580