“Who Are at Higher Sexual Risk?” Latent Class Analysis of Behavioral Intentions among Spanish Adolescents

Alexandra Morales, Samuel Tomczyk, Mireia Orgilés and José Pedro Espada
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Alexandra Morales: Department of Health Psychology, Miguel Hernández University, 03202 Elche, Spain
Samuel Tomczyk: Department Health and Prevention, Institute of Psychology, University of Greifswald, 17489 Greifswald, Germany
Mireia Orgilés: Department of Health Psychology, Miguel Hernández University, 03202 Elche, Spain
José Pedro Espada: Department of Health Psychology, Miguel Hernández University, 03202 Elche, Spain

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 4, 1-15

Abstract: Consistent condom use tends to be limited in youth, which makes this group especially vulnerable for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and unplanned pregnancies. It is known that sexual risk may vary as a function of behavioral intentions (e.g., condom use intention or having sex under the influence of alcohol), but no studies have yet characterized the sexual risk profiles considering behavioral intentions. This study utilizes latent class analysis (LCA) to explore the subtyping of behavioral intentions related to sexual risk in a community-based sample of adolescents aged 14 to 16 years from Spain. Multinomial logistic regression was used to assess the association between class membership and participants’ sociodemographic variables (sex, age, educational level, socioeconomic status, and family situation), and behavioral variables (sexual experience and percentage of condom use). Among the 1557 participants, four latent classes of risk were identified: “Condom + drugs”, “abstinent”, “condom + no drugs”, and “no condom + drugs”. Differences in adolescents’ sex, age, educational level, sexual experience, and condom use across latent classes were found. Findings highlight opportunities for psychologists, educators, and health-care providers to promote condom use in adolescents with differing sexual risk profiles. Increased understanding of behavioral intentions among adolescents may help to reduce sexual risk behaviors in this group.

Keywords: HIV; latent class models; teenagers; sexual health; reproductive health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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