Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #108445

Alice March, RN PhD-c and A. Serdar Atav, PhD. Decker School of Nursing, Binghamton University, P.O. Box 6000, Binghamton, NY 13902-6000, 607-725-2788, alice_march@uhs.org

Adolescents in the United States begin having sexual intercourse at an early age. Sexual debut is associated with participation in other health risk behaviors, which result in grave health and social consequences to both the individual and society. Male gender and minority status are the most common antecedents to sexual debut. Such adolescent risk behaviors are rarely studied in rural areas particularly due to limited sample sizes and confidentiality issues. Using the problem behavior theory as a guiding framework, a model for age at sexual debut was developed and tested with data from the national Youth Risk Behavior Survey of 2003. Specifically, relationships among age at sexual debut, risk factors (depression, models for health risk behaviors, opportunity to participate in health risk behaviors), protective factors (school involvement, high intelligence, safe schools), and health risk behaviors (sexual behaviors, alcohol, tobacco, illicit drug use, violence, weapon carrying) were compared for adolescents residing in rural, suburban, and urban areas. The findings of this study will provide needs assessment data to those nurses who provide the first line counseling and care to these adolescents. Furthermore rural nurses will have evidence-based support for the funding requests needed to provide innovative interventions, specifically targeted at and designed for rural adolescents.

Learning Objectives:

• Analyze relationships among age at sexual debut, risk factors, protective factors, and health risk behaviors for adolescent residing in rural, suburban, and urban areas.
• Discuss issues related to the development and testing of a model for age at sexual debut using data from the national Youth Risk Behavior Survey of 2003.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.

Recorded presentation