Naslov
The Role of Sexual Conversation Networks in Adolescents’ Sexual Health

Autori
Štulhofer, Aleksandar ; Lucić, Marko ; Baćak Valerio

Vrsta, podvrsta i kategorija rada
Sažeci sa skupova, sažetak, znanstveni

Izvornik
Forty-Second Annual Meeting of the International Academy of Sex Research Book of Abstracts / - Malmö : IASR, 2016, 126-126

Skup
Forty-Second Annual Meeting of the International Academy of Sex Research

Mjesto i datum
Malmö, Švedska, 26.06.2016. - 29.06.2016

Vrsta sudjelovanja
Poster

Vrsta recenzije
Međunarodna recenzija

Ključne riječi
social networks; adolescents; sexual health

Sažetak
Rationale/Background: Adolescents’ sexual behavior and attitudes toward sex are embedded in social networks composed of peers. Despite their importance, the links between social network characteristics and young people’s sexuality have rarely been explored outside of the context of HIV/AIDS risks. Research Questions: This study analyzed the relevance of structural and other characteristics of sexual conversation networks (SCN)—relative to the influence of parental control—for adolescents’ early sexual experiences, sexting and Internet pornography use. Three research questions were explored: (R1) Are structural and other characteristics of SCN more predictive of adolescents’ sexual behaviors than parental control? ; (R2) what is the importance of SCN characteristics in predicting adolescents’ sexual behavior relative to the contribution of the key alter? ; and (R3) is the theory of erotic plasticity (Baumeister, 2000) supported by gender-specific ties between SCN and sexual behavior? Methods: A sample of 319 adolescents (Mage = 16.15, SD = 0.51) who agreed to participate in a separate cross-sectional study focusing on adolescent social networks was taken from a larger, ongoing online panel study about sexualized media and adolescent health. Female students composed two thirds (66.1%) of the sub-sample. The recruitment took place in September 2015 when an invitation to participate message was e-mailed and announced through the study’s Facebook page to 2, 200 high-school students in the Croatian capitol who initially registered for the longitudinal study. Results: According to the preliminary analyses, the contribution of SNC characteristics to early sexual intercourse, sexting and pornography use was significant and higher than the contribution of parental control. Compared to the key alter’s characteristics, SCN characteristics were more predictive of all three outcomes. The theory of erotic plasticity found some support only in the case of sexting. Conclusions: Peer influence on a range of adolescent sexual behaviors can be assessed indirectly (avoiding the problem of social desirability) by focusing on SCN characteristics such as network size, religiosity, age and gender homophily, and the number of sexually experienced peers. The contribution of SCN to adolescent sexual behavior seems substantial and of a higher magnitute than parental control.

Izvorni jezik
Engleski

Znanstvena područja
Javno zdravstvo i zdravstvena zaštita, Sociologija, Psihologija

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