The relationships between sexual intercourse and health risk behaviors in Korean and US adolescents

Yeongmi Ha, Seungjin Lee, Hyunkyung Choi

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

Purpose: Early sexual intercourse is associated with poor health outcomes in adolescents. It is known that sexual intercourse coincides with other health risk behaviors such as smoking, drinking, and using drugs. The purpose of this study is to identify the relationships between sexual intercourse and health risk behaviors among Korean and US adolescents using nationally representative data. Methods: Data were collected from the 2011 Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey (29,676 students) and 2011 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (10,135 high school students). Logistic regression analysis was performed. Results: In Korea, students who had sexual intercourse accounted for 7.0% in total. Among these, 9.7% were male and 4.2% were female students. In the US, a total of 51.3% students had sexual intercourse, and the proportion of the US male (49.3%) and female (53.4%) students who had sexual intercourse was similar. Korean and US students who experienced sexual intercourse were more likely to smoke, drink alcohol, and use drugs. Conclusion: Since the results of this study show the relationships between sexual intercourse and health risk behaviors, it is necessary to develop comprehensive sex education programs with effective strategies to reduce health risk behaviors in adolescents.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)173-181
Number of pages9
JournalJournal of Korean Academy of Community Health Nursing
Volume28
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jun 2017

Keywords

  • Adolescent
  • Health
  • Korea
  • Sexual behavior
  • United States

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