Individual and Environmental Impacts on Sexual Health of Caribbean youth

Abstract

Individual health risk behaviors among Caribbean youth account for the majority of adolescent morbidity and mortality in that area. This study explores the associations between individual factors, socioenvironmental factors, and sexual health—related behaviors in Caribbean youth. Data from the 1995 Caribbean Youth Health Survey, a nine-country, cross-sectional study completed by 15,695 in-school youth 10—18 years of age were analyzed. One-third of the sample (n = 5,060) reporting sexual activity was analyzed. This study examined age at first sexual intercourse, number of sexual partners, history of pregnancy, and condom use. The predictor variables were rage, depressed mood, expectation of early death, self-reported school performance, parental mental health or substance abuse problems, and family connectedness. Bi- and multivariate analyses were done separately for males and females, controlling for age, to examine associations between individual and socioenvironmental factors and sexual health behaviors. In the multivariate model, there were associations between rage, abuse, family mental health and substance use, anticipation of early death, and many of the outcome variables in males and females. Family connectedness and positive self-reported school status were correlated with greater condom use at last intercourse in males. Family connectedness was correlated with older age at first sexual intercourse. Depressed mood was not correlated with any of the outcome variables.The findings of the study demonstrate an association between individual and socioenvironmental factors and sexual health behaviors in the lives of Caribbean youth. Strong associations between rage and physical/sexual abuse and risky sexual behaviors are of notable concern.

Early Sexual Debut and Associated Factors among In-school Adolescents in Six Caribbean Countries

“…Similar findings were found in some previous studies (5,6). In addition, in bivariate analysis, lack of peer support at school was associated with early sexual debut.…”

“…Factors associated with early sexual debut have been identified as follows: not living with both biological parents (5), lack of parental monitoring (5) and connectedness (6), having more advanced physical maturity (5), having more permissive attitudes toward sex (5,7), alcohol use (5,8), sexual risk behaviour (1,9), unintended pregnancy (10), delinquency (5), violence (8), history of physical and sexual abuse (7), school problems (5) and (for girls) depressive symptoms (5).…”

Protective and Risk Factors Associated with Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health in the English-speaking Caribbean: A Literature Review

“…Seven studies found an association between adolescents' psychological well-being and their SRH [4,7,29,30,32,40,42]. Having depressive symptoms, rage (a measure of aggressive temperament), higher level of self-efficacy, engagement in other risk behaviors such as substance use, and being coerced were associated with increased likelihood of engagement in sexual activity [4,7,29,30,32,40,42].…”

Association of gastrointestinal gland cancer susceptibility loci with esophageal carcinoma among the Chinese Han population: a case–control study

“…The actual etiology of EC remains unclear, but extensive evidence collected in the past decades has demonstrated that tobacco smoking, hot beverage intake, and alcohol are prominent risk factors for this disease [6][7][8][9]. The risk gene variants may confer different magnitudes of increased risk in different populations for a variety of reasons, including differences in allele frequency and lifestyles and differences in genetic and environmental backgrounds that interact with the variants [10,11]. Only a few of individuals that partake in risk factors such as smoking develop EC, indicating that an individual's genetic makeup plays an important role in esophageal carcinogenesis [12].…”