Condom use and alcohol consumption in adolescents and youth

Trends in consuming alcoholic beverages among adolescents and young adults of school age: sexes differences

OBJECTIVE

To analyze the tendency of alcoholic beverage consumption among adolescents and young adults at school age according to their sexes.

METHODS

This is a trend research study in public schools of the municipality of Petrolina, between 2014 and 2016, with 3146 students aged between 12 and 24 years old. The instrument was constituted by socio-economic inquiry and the Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Trends were assessed using the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended approach. The analyses were conducted using logistic regression, with a statistical significance of 0.05.

RESULTS

Close to 56% of the adolescents had already tried some alcoholic beverage, most of which had contact after 13 years of age. The prevalence of binge drinking ranged between 17% and 25%. The percentage of girls who tried alcohol before 13 years old remained similar over the three years (p = 0.943). The prevalence of this behavior was stabilized at around 20%. There was a trend to decrease in the prevalence of boys who reported having tried alcohol before 13 years old (p = 0.014). The percentage of boys who reported involvement in binge drinking in the past 30 days remained stable at around 20% over the years (p = 0.951). The girls' data revealed a significant decrease in binge drinking (p = 0.019).

CONCLUSIONS

The general analysis suggests a trend towards stabilization of consumption among boys, and an increase among girls.

Stealthing among university students: associated factors

OBJECTIVE

To identify the practice of stealthing among university students and the associations between the profile of these young people and this practice.

METHOD

Cross-sectional study carried out at a university campus in a city in the countryside of Sao Paulo. Data collection was carried out online by RedCap between May and September 2018, through questionnaires with identification data, sociodemographic characteristics and sexual and reproductive health. Data were analyzed by IBM-SPSS, version 17.0.

RESULTS

A total of 380 students participated in the study, aged between 18 and 24 years old, most of them unpaid students, coming from private education, not having a religion and being single. Most of them were biologically female and identified as cisgender and heterosexual women. As for stealthing, 1.33% of the participants had performed it and 11.44% had already undergone this practice. There was a significant association between having been stealthed and the variables female biological sex (p = 0.000) and identifying as a woman (p = 0.000).

CONCLUSION

The occurrence of stealthing is higher among those who have been stealthed than among those who have done it and having been stealthed is associated with being female and identifying as a woman.

Prática do stealthing entre jovens universitários: fatores associados

RESUMO Objetivo: Identificar a prática de stealthing entre jovens universitários e as associações entre o perfil desses jovens e a prática do stealthing. Método: Estudo transversal realizado em um campus universitário de um município no interior paulista. A coleta de dados foi online pelo RedCap, entre maio e setembro de 2018, por meio de questionários com dados de identificação, características sociodemográficas e de saúde sexual e reprodutiva. Os dados foram analisados pelo IBM-SPSS, versão 17.0. Resultados: Participaram do estudo 380 estudantes, com idade entre 18 e 24 anos, a maioria sem exercer função remunerada, advindos(as) de ensino particular, sem religião e solteiras(os). Em sua maioria, eram do sexo biológico feminino e se identificavam como mulheres cisgênero e heterossexuais. Quanto ao stealthing, 1,33% dos participantes tinham realizado e 11,44% já tinham sofrido essa prática. Houve associação significativa entre ter sofrido stealthing e as variáveis sexo biológico feminino (p = 0,000) e se identificar como mulher (p = 0,000). Conclusão: A ocorrência do stealthing é maior entre os que sofreram essa prática do que entre aqueles que a praticaram. Ter sofrido stealthing está associado a ser do sexo feminino e se identificar como mulher.

Personal and Lifestyle Determinants of HIV Transmission Risk in Spanish University Students

The increase in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission cases poses a serious public health concern. Although several previous studies have been conducted with the aim of identifying the risk factors for HIV transmission, the number of cases has been increasing, especially in youth. The present study is aimed at the identification of personal and lifestyle determinants of HIV transmission risk in a sample of 335 Spanish university students selected by convenience sampling from a public university located in Alicante (Spain). Sociodemographic factors, lifestyles, and variables of HIV risk of transmission were evaluated. Group differences on risk of HIV transmission were evaluated between participants depending on their sociodemographic characteristics (age, sex, relationship status, employment status, economic status, and sexual orientation) and lifestyle (diet, physical exercise, smoking, alcohol consumption, and stress). Linear regression models were conducted in order to identify those personal and lifestyle variables related to HIV transmission risk. The obtained results indicate that, generally, being older, in a relationship, and employed were factors related to a high risk of HIV transmission. Regarding lifestyle, poor diet, lower intensity of physical exercise, higher alcohol intake, and smoking were fundamentally associated with a higher risk of HIV transmission, through lower use of condoms and higher frequency of risky sexual behaviors. Hence, participants who develop an unhealthy lifestyle exhibit twice the probability of being at a high risk of HIV transmission, especially regarding these previously indicated behaviors. The present study points out the relevance of sociodemographic characteristics and lifestyles of university students in their proneness to developing risky behaviors for HIV infection. Future studies should be developed with larger, randomized, and more representative samples, in order to obtain significant information for the development of effective preventive strategies oriented toward the increase in the adherence to healthy lifestyles and HIV prevention.

Factors associated with current tobacco use among adolescents and young students

OBJECTIVES

To determine the prevalence of current tobacco use and its association with sociodemographic factors and risk behaviors among adolescents and young students, according to gender.

METHODS

The sample consisted of students from the state public school network aged between 12 and 24 years, who answered the Brazilian version of the Youth Risk Behavior Survey questionnaire. The data were analyzed in SPSS software (v. 20.0), using Poisson regression to evaluate the prevalence ratio (PR) of the independent variables in relation to the outcome. p<0.05 was established as the significance level.

RESULTS

The final analysis consisted of 1275 adolescents, of whom 716 (56.2%) were girls and 559 (43.8%) were boys. The prevalence of current tobacco use was 6.6% among girls and 9.7% among boys. In females, consuming alcohol in the last 30 days (3.91 [1.54-9.94]) and being 14 years old or younger (0.50 [0.26-0.96]) influenced current tobacco use. In the male gender, tobacco use in the last 30 days was influenced by current alcohol consumption (2.92 [1.21-7.08]) and involvement in physical fighting in the last 12 months (2.32 [1.32-4.09]).

CONCLUSION

Although the prevalence of current tobacco use was low in both genders, the assessed population still presents a risk, since male involvement in physical fighting and current consumption of alcohol in both genders increased the probability of this population becoming regular tobacco users.

Sexual behaviors: study in the youth

Objective:

To characterize sexual behaviors in a sample of adolescents and youth.

Methods:

An analytical descriptive study using a questionnaire about sexual behaviors, adapted from the World Health Organization. It was distributed to students from a Portuguese city aged 14-24 years, during two months. Two age groups were defined: G1 - students aged 14-19 years; G2 - aged 20-24 years.

Results:

The sample included 2,369 students, 61% females and 70% in G1. The mean age of first sexual intercourse was 16.4±1.8 years; 93% used some contraceptive method in the first sexual intercourse. Out of those who did not use contraception in the first sexual intercourse, 83% were in G1 (p<0.001). Emergency contraception was used at least once by 54% (63% in G2, p<0.001). Among those who had unprotected sexual intercourses, 9% were under the influence of alcohol, 53.6% were female and 53.4% were in G2 (p<0.001). Homosexual contacts occurred in 21% of cases; in that, 62% in G1 and 84% among females (p<0.001).

Conclusion:

The use of contraceptionin the first sexual intercourse was common in our sample. However, the number of adolescents not using any contraceptive method in subsequent sexual intercourses, and the high percentage of them who consider it unnecessary, are a concern. Unprotected sexual intercourses, as well as unplanned intercourses and under influence of alcohol or drugs, especially in the youngest, urge the need for intervention regarding sexual education.