A meta-analytic exploration of associations between religious service attendance and sexual risk taking in adolescence and emerging adulthood

Koletić, Goran; Jurković, Luka; Tafro, Azra; Milas, Goran; Landripet, Ivan; Štulhofer, Ariana

doi:10.1177/13591053231164542

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…Finally, religiosity has been on the rise among young people in the West over the past 15-20 years, a process partially influenced by neo-conservative social and political movements ( 58 ). Although religiosity provides limited protection against sexual risk-taking among young people ( 59 , 60 ), intrinsic religiosity is increasing in Croatia ( 61 ), with the Catholic church and newly established faith-based civic associations actively encouraging young people to practice and advocate religious values ( 62 , 63 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes in sexually transmitted infections-related sexual risk-taking among young Croatian adults: a 2005-2021 three-wave population-based study

et al. 2023

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Aim To assess the prevalence and dynamics of risky sexual behaviors among Croatian emerging adults in the 2005-2021 period. Methods Three surveys were conducted on large-scale national samples of young adults aged 18-24 in 2005 (N = 1092) and 18-25 in 2010 and 2021 (N = 1005 and N = 1210, respectively). The 2005 and 2010 studies were conducted with face-to-face interviews on stratified probabilistic samples. The 2021 study was conducted by computer-assisted web-interviewing on a quota-based random sample from the largest national online panel. ResultsCompared with 2005 and 2010, the age at coital debut increased for both genders in 2021 (by a median of one year, to 18 years, and by a mean of half a year, to 17.5 years, in men and to 17.9 in women). In the 2005-2021 period, condom use increased by about 15% both at first intercourse (to 80%) and in consistent use (to 40% in women and 50% in men). When we controlled for basic socio-demographics, Cox and logistic regressions indicated that, for both genders, in 2005 and 2010 compared with 2021, the risks/odds were significantly higher for reporting an earlier sexual debut (adjusted hazard ratio 1.25-1.37), multiple sexual partners (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 1.62-3.31), and concurrent relationships (AOR 3.36-4.64), while the odds were lower for condom use at first sexual intercourse (AOR 0.24-0.46) and consistently (AOR 0.51-0.64). ConclusionRisky sexual behaviors decreased in the 2021 survey compared with the previous two waves, in both genders. Nonetheless, sexual risk-taking is still frequent among young Croatian adults. The introduction of sexuality education and other national-level public health interventions to reduce sexual risk-taking thus remains a public health imperative.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%