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331248
A systematic review on the role of peer influence on adolescent sexual and reproductive health outcomes: Preliminary results


Wednesday, November 4, 2015

Helen Mahony, MPH, Department of Community and Family Health, College of Public Health, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL
Shireen M. Noble, BASc, Department of Community and Family Health, College of Public Health, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL
Ellen M. Daley, PhD, MPH, Department of Community and Family Health, University of South Florida, College of Public Health, Tampa, FL
Stephanie L. Marhefka, PhD, Department of Community and Family Health, College of Public Health; Chiles Center, University of South Florida, College of Public Health, Tampa, FL
No systematic review on the role of peer influence on adolescent sexual and reproductive health has been previously conducted. The purpose of this review is to determine the role of peers in influencing the sexual behavior of their friends, methodologies used to study peer influence, and to identify current gaps in the literature.

PubMed, CINAHL, and PsycINFO were systematically searched. Articles were identified for inclusion and data were abstracted. Articles which were published between January 1980-October 2014, conducted in the US, published in English, and in peer-reviewed journals were considered.

A comprehensive search retrieved 3497 citations. 1991 citations (57%) have been reviewed and 48 articles have been included. Review of citations and abstraction of articles will be completed by 9/2015. The five studies abstracted thus far have a few strengths and several weaknesses. The analytical methods were weak or the reporting was unclear. Another weakness was the lack of definitions of terms such as “friend” or “peers”. None of the abstracted studies provided validity or reliability estimates and all of these studies collected cross-sectional data only. Some strengths of the studies were that they included underrepresented racial or age groups.

Analysis of the abstracted publications identified gaps in the literature. For example, there is no standard scale for measuring ‘friendship’, none looked at the role that peer influence has on contraceptive type or use, and none acknowledged that peer influence is bidirectional. These results will help us to better direct future research efforts and to develop evidence-based interventions for youth.

Learning Areas:

Public health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Discuss the role that peers have on adolescent sexual behavior. Evaluate the totality of existing evidence regarding the role of peer influence on adolescent sexual behavior.

Keyword(s): Adolescents, Reproductive Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I conceptualized the research question, design the study approach, and have done the majority of the work on this abstract. My research interests are the prevention of pregnancy, STIs, and HIV among youth specifically the role that peers have on high risk sexual behavior.
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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