Condom Nation or Condemnation? Religious Effects on Adolescent Sexual Health Knowledge

• In Event: 380 - Section on Sociology of Sexualities Refereed Roundtable Session and Business Meeting
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: Table 08. Sexual Experiences

Abstract

Adolescence is a particularly important time for the formation and crystallization of sexual scripts (Simon and Gagnon 1984). Academics, educators and health care professionals alike are all invested in understanding sexual practices of adolescents to better address their needs. Research has found that, among adolescents, greater knowledge of sexual health predicts greater odds of safer sex practices, but that a vast majority of adolescents, particularly religious adolescents, believe sexual heath misperceptions (Crosby and Yarber 2001, Ryan et al 2007). Furthermore, a significant proportion of young people report engaging in risky sexual behaviors but have difficulty seeking support those of same religious denomination as themselves (Testa and Coleman 2006). Using Wave 1 of Add Health, a nationally representative sample of American adolescents, this research helps to untangle the relationships between religious affiliation, intensity of religiosity and sexual health knowledge. Results indicate that religious adolescents score higher than non-religious adolescents on the sexual health knowledge scale. Importance of religion has a statistically significant negative effect on sexual health knowledge. When religious denomination and religiosity are interacted, religious service attendance has a negative effect for non-Christians and importance of religion has a negative effect for Catholics and Mainline Protestants. Understanding which pieces of being religious help or hinder sexual health knowledge, and by extension possibly sexual health practices, education and intervention efforts by health professionals or sex educators can be better tailored to the gaps they are missing and created in a way that can be respectful of religious traditions.

Author

• Brianna McCaslin, University of Notre Dame