Adolescent girls are more likely to experience early sexual debut than boys. However, the developmental context of their sexual behaviors is under-investigated. Using the socio-ecological model and Malawi Schooling and Adolescent Survey, we investigated factors crucial in determining the development of sexual behaviors of 416, 14-year-old girls in…

This systematic review aimed to understand the effects of self-esteem on risky sexual behavior (RSB) among adolescents and young adults. We followed the procedures outlined in the Cooper's five-step approach, and used the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) 2020 reporting requirements. Published studies were…

Popular belief holds that sexual behavior is evaluated more liberally for males than females. However, the assessment of this "sexual double standard" is controversial. Therefore, we investigated measurement equivalence of commonly used items to assess sexual double standards in previous research. Based on established measurement…

The viral #MeToo movement of recent years eventually moved from adult celebrities to harassment in K-12 schools. While many may think of sexual activity and/or harassment beginning in high school, the truth is that many middle school students engage in these behaviors as well. Adolescents have a natural curiosity about their bodies and burgeoning…

Historically, Black sexuality has been depicted through a risk-based lens rather than a sex-positive lens. This study analyzed data from a subset of 540 Black heterosexual adolescents and adults who participated in the 2018 National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior. Masturbation, penile-vaginal intercourse, and oral sex were the most prevalent…

Despite national guidelines advocating a comprehensive, age-appropriate, and sequential approach to sexual health education in schools, many young people in the USA do not receive sexual health information until high school. To date, there has been little research on the need for a supplemental round of sexual health education -- a 'booster' --…

Background: Adolescent girls in Uganda have four-fold HIV infections than adolescent boys. Several barriers to accessing comprehensive sexual health education exist for adolescent girls in Uganda, including unequal, social, and economic statuses, limited access to education and health care services, discrimination, and violence. Objective: This…

The purpose of this study was to examine the association between sexual identity-behavior concordance and discordance with meeting recommendations for 24-hour movement behaviors in adolescents. Participants were US adolescents who reported a history of sexual partners from the 2015-2019 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey (N = 19688; 49.3%…

Many mothers do not communicate with their adolescent about sexual health topics due to perceived barriers. Our goal in this study was to shed light on the activities mothers engage in to prepare for sexual health discussions with their young adolescents. We also examined the extent to which mothers' past sexual communication behaviour and…

Young adolescents who are LGBTQIA+ often encounter hostile experiences while in middle level schools. Researchers conducted semi-structured interviews with 11 young adolescents who are LGBTQIA+ at two middle schools to determine their experiences. Students report the ages at which they realized their gender and sexual identities: Five reveal…

BACKGROUND: Schools play a significant role in adolescent sexual health (SH) promotion. Although adolescents' SH has improved, growing challenges still exist in some areas. Previous studies have noted a lack of knowledge about SH promotion implementation in school environments. The purpose of this review is to describe the contents, methods, and…

A systematic literature review was conducted to assess the utility of Positive Youth Development (PYD) concepts in promoting positive sexual health behaviors in young minority adolescents (n = 12 studies). Interventions reported significant associations between PYD-focused interventions and ever having sex, sexual partners in the last 30 days,…

Background: This study aimed to investigate the association between violent sexual victimization and muscle-building exercise among adolescents. Methods: Cross-sectional data from the 2019 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey (N = 8408) were analyzed. Two indicators of non-dating-related sexual violence (lifetime, past 12 months), along with one…

Purpose: The aim of this study was to gain insight into the sexual beliefs of African American adolescent females and yield greater evidence for reframing the methods used to communicate sexual health education information to educators. Design and methods: This is a secondary data analysis of a qualitative descriptive study. One-on-one interviews…

The aim of this research is to examine associations of adolescent sexting with gender, being in a romantic relationship, and other online or offline sexual behaviors, using the adolescent sexting scale A-SextS as a standardized measure. Data were collected from a sample of 579 Spanish secondary school pupils (47.3% girls), between the ages of 11…