Concordance and discordance between pre-sexual beliefs and behaviors among urban high school youth

Adolescence is a period when romantic relationships develop and a context in which many sexual interactions occur. It is also a valuable window for prevention efforts. This paper examines the relationship between selected activities that young people think should occur before having sex and their reports of actually doing these behaviors prior to having sex with their most recent partners.

Data were collected as part of a pilot study to develop a relationship-focused HIV/STI prevention intervention with two urban high schools (n=94). The rates of concordance and discordance between selected beliefs and behaviors were examined for a subsample of youth who indicated ever having had sex (n=50; 64% female; 62% African-American).

Results show that the concordance between young people's beliefs and behaviors is generally low and varies by behavior. For example, only 16% of youth both supported the belief that partners should discuss their sexual boundaries before having sex and engaged in this behavior, whereas 42% of youth reported discordant beliefs and behaviors (e.g., said people should talk about boundaries, but didn't do so in their own relationships).

The data suggest some youth may rush into having sex in a relationship despite beliefs that other behaviors should precede sexual activity. Theory posits beliefs are an antecedent to sexual behaviors, suggesting the importance of addressing this belief/behavior discordance. Messages that promote getting to know one's partner before rushing into having sex may be critical for building healthy relationships and strengthening the association between beliefs and behaviors.