On this page
HCET Home > On-line Training > What Works in Adolescent Sexual Health Programs > 4. Components & Integration of a Science-Based Approach > Research
Research
Use research (demographics, epidemiology, and social sciences) to identify the target population, describe health trends, and determine factors that influence these health trends in the target population.Why Use Research?
New developments occur everyday in adolescent and health fields. Innovative technology, advances in health care, new studies on adolescent health, changing population demographics, and increasing educational resources become available each day. It is important to stay up-to-date on recent research in order to turn research into practice. Health and youth-serving professionals can do research for their programs in a variety of ways: reviewing literature, conducting focus groups, administering surveys, interviewing youth and community members. Joining listservs, subscribing to journals newsletters, and conducting searches on databases will also provide in-depth information on articles and studies on adolescent health.When looking at these studies, it is important to:
- Find data from reputable and credible sources, such as: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), National Institutes for Health (NIH), Child Trends, Kaiser Foundation, National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, Journal on Adolescent Medicine and other academic journals.
- Use information from several sources as the information is more likely to be consistent and valid if several studies have found similar results.
- Note when the article or study was published. Make sure you have the most recent and up-to-date information.
- Assess how the study was conducted. Which populations were studied and were rigorous evaluation methods used?
- Compare the youth studied in the article to the youth in your program to see if the researched intervention could have a similar effect on your adolescent population.
- Stay current on recent developments in adolescent reproductive and sexual health.
- Describe health trends among a given population.
- Identify those populations at highest risk engaging in behavior that could result in HIV, STIs, and pregnancy.
- Assess what factors influence risky behavior among that population (i.e. risk and protective factors).
- Identify best practices in interventions that address the risk behaviors and factors.
- Plan program interventions based on these best practices.
Identifying risk and protective factors that influence adolescent sexual behavior
Research shows that adolescents are influenced on a daily basis by many different factors: their families, peers, environment, the media, to name a few. It is important to recognize that all teens experience some sort of pressure to engage in sexual behavior [5]. However, certain populations experience influences that have a greater impact on their decisions or behavior regarding sexual activity. The positive and negative influences that prevent or encourage a teen to engage in high-risk behaviors are often called “risk and protective factors” or “determinants” [17] . Risk and protective factors include all characteristics of an individual’s community, family, peers, romantic partner, and individual self that could influence one’s decisions about sex [17]. These factors may or may not be changeable by a program’s interventions, but by focusing on the factors that can be changed, your program is more likely to have an impact on decreasing sexual risk-taking behavior. For example, a program may not be able to change if the teen was physically abused in the past; however, the program could help the teen improve his/her self-esteem or school performance. For a list of risk and protective factors ranked by amenability to change, see Appendix 1 from Kirby’s Sexual Risk and Protective Factors, p30-36, Table 2 [17]. Risk and Protective Factors are commonly separated into five key groups [14].- Individual factors: These are the teen’s personal characteristics such as age, physical attributes, self esteem, physical maturity, religious beliefs, motivation, knowledge, attitudes, and feelings about sex and sexuality, which will influence their sexual behavior.
- Environmental factors: The environment and culture in which a teen develops influences many aspects of his/her life, either positively or negatively. Some examples of environmental factors are: Violence or safety in the teen’s school or community, exposure to drug and alcohol abuse, or educational opportunities all influence an adolescent’s behavior or decision-making.
- Family/Community Relationships: Adults often think that adolescents are most influenced by their peers. Studies have shown that parents and responsible adults have an even greater impact on the teens’ sexual behavior and decision making [18] (Figure 4). Positive or negative relationships with responsible adults and/or organizations can influence adolescent decision-making and behavior. Examples of family/community relationship influences include: Positive parent-child connectedness, divorce, the family’s culture system, older or younger siblings, involvement in after school activities or church youth group.
- Peers Influence: Although peers do not always have the same impact as parents on a teen’s behavior, peers do greatly influence attitude, motivation, knowledge, and feelings about risky behavior, sex and sexuality. A teen may also be influenced by his/her peers’ personal characteristics such as age, physical maturity, social groups, and experience with drugs and alcohol [17].
- Partners Influence: Influences or pressures by a teen’s boyfriend/girlfriend or intimate partner impact the teen’s motivation, knowledge, attitude, and feelings about risky behavior, sex and sexuality. There is strong evidence that the partner’s characteristics such as age, physical maturity, and sexual experience influence a teen’s decision to engage in risky sexual activity [17].
Risk Factors
- Risk factors are influences that may increase the likelihood an adolescent will engage in risky behavior that could result in pregnancy and/or STIs. These influences can be personal, environmental, and or societal and can contribute to an adolescent’s behavior and decision to engage in risky activity [17]. Examples: Drug/alcohol use, sexual or physical abuse, peer pressure to have sex, low self-esteem, poor school performance, lack of parental supervision [5].
Protective Factors
- Protective Factors: Protective factors are influences that may increase the likelihood an adolescent will NOT engage in risky behavior that could result in pregnancy and/or STIs. These influences can be personal, environmental, and or societal and can contribute to an adolescent’s decision NOT to engage in risky activity [17]. Examples: Involvement in after-school activities, self-efficacy to refuse sex/ use a condom, positive attitudes toward the use of contraceptives among peer group, parent-child connectedness, religious affiliation, future goals [5].
For more information on risk and protective factors associated with sexual activity:
