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The association of attendance at religious services and involvement in church/religious activities and youth assets, by gender, with youth's engagement in sexual intercourse

Trisha Mueller (Epidemiologist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention, Division of Reproductive Health, Atlanta, Georgia, USA)
Diana Bensyl (Research Scientist at the Office of Workforce and Career Development, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA)
Sara K. Vesely (Associate Professor at the Department of Biostatistics and Epidemiology, College of Public Health, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA)
Roy F. Oman ((Information about the authors can be found at the end of the article.))
Cheryl B. Aspy (Professor at the Department of Family and Preventative Medicine, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA)

Health Education

ISSN: 0965-4283

Article publication date: 23 February 2010

1024

Abstract

Purpose

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Previous research has shown that religion plays a role in the lives of many youths. This paper aims to extend previous research and examine attendance at religious services and involvement in religious/church activities as separate items to determine if one aspect was more strongly associated with never having had sexual intercourse among youth in the USA. It also aims to consider the effect of other youth assets, and analyze all by gender.

Design/methodology/approach

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Cross‐sectional data were examined to assess youth assets and risk behaviors. Multivariate regression was used to determine whether the assets or religion questions were significant in the presence of the other assets/religion questions. The eight assets examined, in addition to church attendance and involvement in religious groups were adult role models, peer role models, family communication, involvement in sports and groups, community involvement, aspirations for the future, responsible choices, and good health – diet and exercise.

Findings

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Involvement in church/religious activities, but not attendance at religious services, was associated with never having had sexual intercourse among males and females. Analysis also determined that several of the other youth assets were protective of sexual intercourse among males and among females.

Research limitations/implications

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Findings from this study may be limited by the validity of the self‐reported measures. The data were cross‐sectional, making it impossible to draw inferences about the causal directions of the relationships found in this study. Future research should focus on developing interventions to strengthen youth assets.

Practical implications

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Developing gender and culturally specific interventions to promote youth assets may reduce the number of young people engaging in sex.

Originality/value

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The paper extends previous research and examines attendance at religious services and involvement in religious/church activities as separate items to determine if one aspect was more strongly associated with never having had sexual intercourse.

Keywords

Citation

Mueller, T., Bensyl, D., Vesely, S.K., Oman, R.F. and Aspy, C.B. (2010), "The association of attendance at religious services and involvement in church/religious activities and youth assets, by gender, with youth's engagement in sexual intercourse", Health Education, Vol. 110 No. 2, pp. 125-134. https://doi.org/10.1108/09654281011022450

Publisher

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Emerald Group Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2010, Emerald Group Publishing Limited

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