The Social Context of Sexual Health and Sexual Risk for Urban Adolescent Girls in the United States

Abstract

Sexually transmitted infections including HIV and teenage pregnancy have resulted in considerable morbidity and mortality among girls in the United States. There is a need to further strengthen prevention efforts against these persistent epidemics. In order to promote girls' sexual health and most effectively reduce sexual risk, it is important to understand the social factors that influence the development of a girl's sexuality. The purpose of this study was to begin to fill a void in the literature by exploring girls' perspectives about the social context in which they learn about sex, sexuality, and relationships. Coding and content analysis was used to identify patterns and themes in 33 individual interviews with African American and Euro-American girls. Participants identified family, friends/peers, partners, school, and the media as the most common sources for learning about sexual health. Girls sought out different types of information from each source. Many girls experienced conflicting messages about their sexual health and struggled to integrate the disparate cultural references to sex, sexuality, and relationships that emerged from these different spheres of social life. Girls often had to navigate the journey of their sexual development with little room for reflection about their own thoughts, feelings, desires, and decisions. Health care providers, especially those in mental health, are in an optimal position to promote girls' physical, developmental, and emotional sexual health.

Content analysis of school textbooks on health topics: A systematic review

“…Although sex education is known to be difficult to deliver in school settings (25), previous studies have reported that school children in many countries identify textbooks or school as their primary source of health information (26)(27)(28)(29). The importance of information delivered in school settings has also been demonstrated by its long-term impact on healthy behaviors (30,31).…”

Will It Help? Identifying Socialization Discourses That Promote Sexual Risk and Sexual Health Among African American Youth

“…Studies commonly begin with statistics describing the high rates of STIs, HIV cases, or adolescent pregnancies in this population (e.g., Kennedy & Jenkins, 2011;Voisin & Bird, 2012)-rates that are substantially higher among Blacks than among Whites-and then go on to investigate variables that predict these sexual risk behaviors. However, it is argued that this approach to understanding the predictors of sexual behaviors provides only a limited perspective of sexual development (Teitelman, Bohinski, & Boente, 2009;Tolman & McClelland, 2011). Although it is vital that research continues to investigate the factors that contribute to alarming ethnic disparities in sexual outcomes, there Although the noted findings have been useful in beginning to document the role of parental communications in Black adolescents' sexual outcomes, the current literature base is limited in its scope.…”

Sexuality Information Needs of Latino and African American Ninth Graders: A Content Analysis of Anonymous Questions

“…It should not be surprising that their questions reflect this dichotomy. What is concerning is that if adolescents hear from educators and parents only about the dangers of sex, they might cease to listen to them, and instead turn to the less reliable but more encouraging information they get from mass media or their peers (Bleakley, Hennessy, & Fishbein, 2011;Brown & Keller, 2000;Teitelman et al, 2009;Walsh-Childers, Gotthoffer, & Lepre, 2002).…”

“…Add to this the highly sexualized environment in which they live, including media and pop culture that promote the pleasures of sexual behaviors and sexual relationships (Hust, Brown, & L'Engle, 2008;Brown & Keller, 2000;Teitelman, Bohinski & Boente, 2009), and it is easy to understand the desire for more information about how it is done, how it feels, and in some cases, permission to engage in those behaviors. At the same time, most young people are routinely warned about the dangers of sex, especially early sex or premarital sex, from conventional educational sources, and they receive these same messages at home (Fine & McClelland, 2006).…”