Relationship Between School Related Assets and Youth Sexual Activity

Purpose: This study explored the relationship between two assets, School Connectedness (SC) and Non-parental Adult Role Models (NPARM), and youth decision not to initiate sexual intercourse. Methods: Data were collected from 1,081 youth (aged 12-17) and their parents using in-home, in-person interviews (Youth Asset Study). Mean age was 14.3 years; 53% were female; 24% Black, 39% White, and 28% Hispanic; and 70% were from 2-parent homes. Twenty-two percent (n=242) reported having initiated sexual intercourse. Logistic regression analyses included the two assets; youth age; parent income and education; family structure; and the outcome, “ever had sexual intercourse.” Results: Both the SC and NPARM assets were associated with youth reporting no sexual intercourse; however, both assets interacted with parental education, which was then stratified into 3 levels: less than high school, one parent with a high school diploma, and one parent with a bachelor's degree, and the data re-analyzed. Results indicated that youth with the two assets who had parents in the lowest education level were 2.6 (NPARM) and 2.7 (SC) times more likely to report abstinence than those without these assets. Similar relationships were found for youth with a parent in the middle educational level. Youth with parents in the highest educational level with the NPARM asset were almost 4 times as likely to report no sexual intercourse as youth without the asset. There was no association between the school connectedness asset and sexual activity for youth in this group. Youth delay of sexual intercourse is supported by school related assets.