Reported Sexual Behaviors and Self-esteem Among Young Adolescents

Theories of Adolescent Risk-Taking Behavior

“…Lower self-esteem has been associated with sexual debut in adolescent females (Orr, 1989). Depressive mood and stress are related to initiation and intensity of adolescent tobacco use (Covey & Tam, 1990).…”

Vol. 2, No. 1 (Full Issue)

“…Furthermore, they found that among those who ever smoked a whole cigarette, 43.0% did so for the first time at the age of 14 Because many health-endangering behaviors are engaged in for the first time during adolescence, one goal of health education is to reduce the initiation of health-endangering behaviors. These behaviors include, but are not limited to, unsafe sexual activity (Orr, et al, 1989) and the use of alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana (McGee & Williams, 2000). It is essential that health educators identify those youth at greatest risk so that effective programs may be targeted specifically toward minimizing or eliminating these behaviors.…”

“…Health Behavior Q uestionnaire (HBQ; Ingersoll & Orr, 1989;Resnick, Harris, & Blum, 1993) and Rosenberg's self esteem inventory (Rosenberg, 1965) were administered on the same day to all students in all math classes (a mandatory subject). The HBQ asked adolescents to indicate whether they engaged in specific risky health behaviors (Behavioral Risk Scale) or had experienced selected emotions (Emotional Risk Scale).…”

Crisis Intervention with Adolescents with Learning Disabilities

“…Although the age of first sexual intercourse varies by gender and ethnicity, the majority of adolescents are sexually active by age 18 (Hofferth, Kahn, & Baldwin, 1987;Orr, Wilbrant, Brack, Rauch, & Ingersoll, 1989). In a Time/CNN telephone survey of 500 teenagers, Gibbs ( 1993) found that 19% of 13-to 15-year-olds and 55% of 16-17-year-olds have had sexual intercourse.…”