Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished Manuscript
Abstract: How do adolescents’ perceptions of the costs and benefits of sexual intercourse impact the relationship between adolescents’ social environment and future sexual behaviors?
Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health), this paper examines how individual, family and contextual –level variables influence adolescents’ perceptions of sexual intercourse, and how such perceptions, in turn, influence future sexual behavior. I also examine how such perceptions of sexual behavior vary by gender and race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status and other exogenous variables. Results show that adolescent’ perceptions of sex mediate the impact of adolescent’s social environment on sexual behavior. In addition, Blacks and males perceive significantly lower costs of early sexual behavior than whites and females. Also, as the proportion of Blacks in schools increase, adolescents perceive lower costs of sexual intercourse, and are more likely to be sexually active.