274385 Sports participation and forced sexual intercourse among adolescent females: The influence of race/ethnicity

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Robin E. McGee, MPH , Department of Behavioral Sciences & Health Education, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA
Nancy Thompson, PhD, MPH , Department of Behavioral Sciences & Health Education, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA
Forced sexual intercourse is associated with many adverse health outcomes. Sports participation may offer some protection from forced sexual intercourse, but no research has examined whether sports participation is protective by race/ethnicity. Using 2011 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) data, this secondary data analysis examined rates of forced sexual intercourse among female adolescents and the role of sports participation. The analyses were stratified by race/ethnicity because interaction terms for race/ethnicity and sports participation were significant. The outcome variable was forced sexual intercourse. The main predictor variable was sports participation (1+ teams in the past 12 months). Additional variables included age, level of physical activity, anabolic steroid use, and drinking behavior. The data were weighted to account for the complex sample. Among female adolescents who participated in sports, 9.9% reported forced sexual intercourse, whereas 13.3% of female adolescents who did not participate in sports reported forced sexual intercourse (chi-square = 15.69, p < .0001). However, in the stratified multivariable logistic regression analyses, only White female adolescents who participated in sports had significantly reduced odds of forced sexual intercourse (odds ratio: 0.58, confidence interval: 0.45, 0.74). Sports participation was not a significant predictor in stratified multivariable logistic regression analyses for blacks, Hispanics, and individuals of other race/ethnicity. Sports participation may be a protective factor against forced sexual intercourse for White adolescent females, but this may not apply for individuals of other race/ethnicity. Future research should focus on understanding the differential influence of sports participation by race/ethnicity on reports of sexual victimization.

Learning Areas:
Epidemiology
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Examine the prevalence of forced sexual intercourse among adolescent females who do and do not participate in sports. Discuss how sports participation influences the odds of forced sexual intercourse among female adolescents. Explain how race/ethnicity modifies the relationship between the odds of forced sexual intercourse and sports participation among adolescent females.

Keywords: Violence, Adolescents

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am doctoral student in behavioral sciences and health education. Sexual victimization is one of my areas of research interest. I have worked on a number of projects on the topic, including this one.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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