Adolescent sexual competence and sexual risk-taking : an ecological model of risk and protection

Using Bronfenbrenner's ecological paradigm of human development as a framework, this study investigated the risk and protective factors associated with adolescent sexual behaviors and introduced the concept of sexual competence. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, longitudinal and cross-sectional models were tested.

Key findings include: (a) individual-level variables as well as family, peer, and school variables contribute to the total variance explained and have a direct effect on adolescents' sexual competence; (b) the early influence of peers on sexual competence is later replaced by parental influences; (c) parent's membership in a parent-teacher organization is associated with increased sexual competence; (d) the associations between the predictor variables and sexual competence are fairly consistent across gender and ethnicity; (e) overall, risk factors seem to be stronger predictors of adolescent sexual competence than protective factors; and (f) engaging in other health-risk behaviors and perceiving that there are obstacles to contraceptive use are strong indicators of sexual competence.

These findings support the proposition that within an adolescent's sphere of influence there are specific factors that promote the development of sexual competence as well as factors that inhibit the development of sexual competence. In addition, these findings indicate that the affect of these factors is consistent across gender and ethnicity.