Recalled Explanations for Adolescent Girls' Engagement in Age-Discordant Sexual Relationships

'I'm in love with an older man': reasons for intergenerational sexual relationships among young women in South Africa

The literature on intergenerational sexual relationships in Africa focuses predominantly on economic motivations. This paper aims to identify the common reasons for older male sexual partners among young women in South Africa. Data for the study came from the Fourth South African National HIV, Behaviour and Health Survey 2012. A representative sample of 620 young women (15-24 years old) with older male sexual partners was extracted. A multiple logistic regression analysis was conducted to adjust for potential confounders. The authors found that more than a quarter of sexually active young women engaged in age-disparate relationships. The majority of the respondents did not see age as an important factor, while financial support ranked fourth in the list of reasons for having older partners. Women who were 20-24 years old (AOR 1.16, CI: 0.59287-1.87493), divorced, separated or widowed (AOR 1.38, CI: 0.65360-1.92105) and who were students or learners (AOR 1.85, CI: 0.41943-1.29402) were more likely to have an older partner for financial reasons. Thus, financial motivations are not the predominant reason for age-disparate relationships; instead, other reasons including age not being important and feeling secure were more cited. Not all young women in South Africa are seeking financial assistance from older sexual partners.

Sexual risk among African American girls seeking psychiatric care: A social-personal framework

OBJECTIVE

This study examined individual and social factors associated with sexual risk behavior among African American girls seeking outpatient mental health services across 2 years and key developmental transitions.

METHOD

African American females 12-16 years old (M = 14.5; SD = 1.15; n = 266) were recruited from eight outpatient mental health clinics and completed interviewer-administered and computer-assisted measures at baseline, 12, and 24 months. Analyses tested individual attributes (externalizing and internalizing problems) and family context (maternal acceptance-rejection, mother-daughter communication about sex) at baseline, peer influences (peer support of substance use, girlfriend dating behavior) and partner relationship characteristics (rejection sensitivity, partner risk communication frequency and openness) at 12 months, and girls' sexual behavior at 24 months.

RESULTS

At baseline, 32% of girls reported having had vaginal/anal sex compared with 60% at 24 months. Data analyses revealed robust associations between externalizing problems and maternal acceptance-rejection and mother-daughter risk communication during early adolescence, peer support of substance use and girlfriend dating behavior 1 year later, and girls' sexual risk taking 2 years later.

CONCLUSION

Findings support a social-personal framework (SPF) of sexual risk for African American girls seeking mental health care, underscoring the potential benefits of early intervention to reduce externalizing problems while strengthening mother-daughter communication and relationships to prevent subsequent sexual risk and associated negative outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record

Increased Partner Risk Characteristic Among Adolescents Using Alcohol In the Moment

BACKGROUND

Alcohol is a recognized risk factor for sexually transmitted diseases acquisition, but the mechanism is unclear. Potentially, adolescents using alcohol in the 2 hours before sex (in-the-moment use) have riskier sexual partners.

METHODS

We used multivariable logistic regression to examine the association between in-the-moment alcohol use and partner risk characteristics reported for the most recent sex among primarily 17- to 18-year-old adolescents originally recruited from a representative sample of Chicago public elementary schools. We created 3 composite partner risk profiles: partner familiarity risk (casual and unexpected), partner context risk (age discordance and met in public), and overall risk using all measures except partner alcohol use.

RESULTS

Teens who reported any in-the-moment alcohol use were more likely than nondrinking teens to report casual (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 3.2; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 2.1-4.9), unexpected (AOR, 1.6; 95% CI, 1.0-2.5), age discordant (AOR, 3.0; 95% CI, 2.0-4.6), or met in public partners (AOR, 1.4; 95% CI, 1.0 to 2.1). For each composite measure, the number of partner risk characteristics reported increased linearly with the percent of teens drinking in the moment (Cochran-Armitage trend, P < 0.0001). Compared with zero characteristics, in-the-moment alcohol use was associated with increased odds of reporting 1 (AOR, 2.8; 95% CI, 1.7-4.5), 2 (AOR, 4.6; 95% CI, 2.7, 7.6), or 3 to 4 characteristics (AOR, 7.1; 95% CI, 3.3-15.3).

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings expand the link between in-the-moment alcohol use and partner risk reported in prior studies to encompass adolescents' general sexual experiences and additional partner characteristics including the highly associated composite characteristics.