January 06

Adolescent Romantic Relationships And Offending [In USA]

Health Sex, including sex education Social Psychology Adolescence Trackbacks (0)

Love, Sex, and Crime: Adolescent Romantic Relationships and Offending (PDF; 1.4 MB)
Source: American Sociological Review

Scholars are often pessimistic about adolescent dating, linking it to increases in depression, interpersonal violence, conflict with parents, school failure, associations with delinquents, substance use, and offending. Yet, the various dimensions of dating may have opposing consequences. The closeness offered by adolescent romantic love may fill an important void found between the weakening of bonds with parents and the onset of adult attachments, and it may discourage an array of negative outcomes, including involvement in crime. Adolescent sexual activity, in contrast, may increase offending, in part by augmenting the strain created by relationships. When coupled with a romantic relationship, however, sex is likely less stressful and consequential for crime. In this article, we analyze patterns of romance, sexual behavior, and adolescent crime with panel data from the nationally representative Adolescent Health Survey. Findings support our expectations regarding differential effects of romance and sex. We conclude by discussing the implications of these results for understanding adolescent delinquency, social attachments, and development.

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September 23

Prevent HIV And Unintended Pregnancy : Learning From Teens

Youth HIV and AIDS Teen pregnancy Sex, including sex education Trackbacks (0)

Learning from Adolescents to Prevent HIV and Unintended Pregnancy (PDF; 418 KB)
Source: The Guttmacher Institute
From press release:

To help adolescents in developing countries protect themselves from HIV and unintended pregnancy, policymakers in the United States and abroad must acknowledge the role that sexuality plays in the lives of young people, according to the policy recommendations drawn from a major new Guttmacher Institute study in Sub-Saharan Africa. In addition to an overall strengthening of education and health systems, a key focus of national government efforts should be on providing high-quality, age-appropriate sex education. To be most effective, sex education in schools should reach adolescents before they begin to have sex. Because not all adolescents stay in school, sex education should begin in early primary grades.

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