Neighborhood effect on adolescent sexual behavior

Problem: Adolescent sexual intercourse can pose serious consequences including pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections due to the high likelihood of inadequate protection. Neighborhood socioeconomic and structural factors are examined for their association with sexual experience among adolescents, controlling for individual and family characteristics. Methods: The analysis uses individual (n=773, ages 12 to 17) and family (n=652) data from the 2000-2001 Wave 1 Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey and neighborhood data from the 2000 Census (n=65). Multilevel logistic random intercept models are applied to determine the likelihood of ever having had sex among White, African American, first or second generation Latino, and 3rd or higher generation Latino adolescents from neighborhoods with different social contexts, controlling for individual and family characteristics as well as after-school care arrangement. Results: African American adolescents show higher prevalence of sexual experience (25.3%) than Whites (11.3%) and Latinos (12 to 21%). However, the racial/ethnic differences disappear when neighborhood variables are introduced. Two neighborhood indicators, the proportion of Whites and that of female-headed households in neighborhood, show a significant association with adolescent sexual experience in opposite directions, controlling for individual characteristics (age, gender, and educational aspiration), after-school care, and family contexts (socioeconomic status and family composition). The associations of two neighborhood factors with the outcome differ by gender. The protective effect of percent White and the detrimental effect of percent female-headed household are significant only among boys. Conclusions: The results suggest a significant influence of neighborhood contexts on adolescent sexual behavior and gender differences in the influence.