In 2007, 48% of U.S. students of grades 9 to 12 had experienced sexual debut, 7% before the age of 13 years. Preventing early intercourse, sexually transmitted diseases, adolescent pregnancy, and the loss of educational opportunity are important concerns for nurses and educators. A secondary data analysis of the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) 2003 provided data identifying the relationships among age at sexual debut, gender, location of residence, and perceived school safety (PSS) as framed by the theory of problem behavior. Mean age at sexual debut was 14.4 years. Males were younger at sexual debut than females. Students reporting positive PSS were older at sexual debut. Age at sexual debut was significantly associated with PSS, gender, and location of residence. School nurses are positioned to identify evidence-based programs, facilitate the development of collaborative interventions to improve PSS, and change trajectories of sexual activity leading to poor health outcomes in adolescents and health risk behaviors in adults.
AbmaJ. C.MartinezG. M.MosherW. D.DawsonB. S. (2004). Teenagers in the United States: Sexual activity, contraceptive use, and childbearing, 2002. National Center for Health Statistics; Vital Health Stat, 23. Retrieved February 22, 2009, fromwww.cdc.gov/nchs/data/series/sr_23/sr23_024.pdf
2.
AstorR. A.MeyerH. A.BenbenishtyR.MarachiR.RosemondM. (2005). School safety interventions: Best practices and programs. Children & Schools, 27, 17–32.
3.
BaroneC.IckovicsJ. R.AyersT. S.KatzS. M.VoyceC. K.WeissbergR. P. (1996). High-risk sexual behavior among young urban students. Family Planning Perspectives, 28, 69–74.
4.
BrenerN. D.BillyJ. O. G.GradyW. R. (2003). Assessment of factors affecting the validity of self-reported health-risk behavior among adolescents: Evidence from the scientific literature. Journal of Adolescent Health, 33, 436–457.
5.
BrenerN. D.KannL.KinchenS. A.GrunbaumJ. A.WhalenL.EatonD. (2004). Methodology of the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 53, 1–12.
6.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (1991). 1991 National school-based youth risk behavior survey data documentation manual. Retrieved February 22, 2009, fromftp://ftp.cdc.gov/pub/data/yrbs/1991/yrbs1991.pdf
FeltonG. M.BartocesM. (2002). Predictors of initiation of early sex in black and white adolescent females. Public Health Nursing, 19, 59–67.
9.
GoldsteinS. E.YoungA.BoydC. (2008). Relational aggression at school: Associations with school safety and school climate. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 37, 641–654.
10.
GossmannI.MathieuM.JulienD.ChartrandE. (2002). The Sexual Initiation Scale: Development and initial validation. Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, 11, 133–142.
JessorR.DonovanJ. E.CostaF. M. (1991). Beyond adolescence: Problem behavior and young adult development. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
13.
JessorR.GravesT. D.HansonR. C.JessorS. L. (1968). Society, personality, and deviant behavior: A study of a tri-ethnic community. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
14.
JessorR.JessorS. L. (1977). Problem behavior and psychosocial development: A longitudinal study of youth. San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
15.
KirbyD. (2002). Antecedence of adolescent initiation of sex, contraceptive use, and pregnancy. American Journal of Health Behavior, 26, 473–485.
16.
KolbeL. J.KannL.CollinsJ. L. (1993). Overview of the youth risk behavior surveillance system. Public Health Reports, 108, 2–11.
17.
LauritsenJ. L.SwicegoodC. G. (1997). The consistency of self-reported initiation of sexual activity. Family Planning Perspectives, 29, 215–221.
18.
LohmanB. J.BillingsA. (2008). Protective and risk factors associated with adolescent boys' early sexual debut and risky sexual behaviors. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 37, 723–735.
19.
MellinsC. A.DolezalC.Brackis-CottE.NicholsonO.WarneP.Meyer-BahlburgH. F. L. (2007). Predicting the onset of sexual and drug risk behaviors in HIV-negative youths with HIV-positive mothers: The role of contextual, self-regulation, and social-interaction factors. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 36, 265–278.
20.
MilhausenR. R.CrosbyR.YarberW. L.DiClementeR. J.WingoodG. M.DingK. (2003). Rural and nonrural African American high school students and STD/HIV sexual-risk behaviors. American Journal of Health Behavior, 27, 373–379.
21.
National Association of School Nurses, American Nurses Association. (2005). School nursing: Scope and standards of practice.
Silver Spring, MD: Author.
22.
National Association of School Nurses. (2009). National association of school nurses: About us. Retrieved March 6, 2009, fromhttp://www.nasn.org/Default.aspx?tabid=57
O’DonnellL.O’DonnellC. R.StueveA. (2001). Early sexual initiation and subsequent sex-related risks among urban minority youth: The Reach for Health Study. Family Planning Perspectives, 33, 268–275.
25.
ParrilloA. V.FeltsW. M.Mikow-PortoV. (1997). Early initiation of sexual intercourse and its co-occurrence with other health-risk behaviors in high school students: The 1993 North Carolina Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Journal of Health Education, 28, 85–96.
26.
PaulC.FitzjohnJ.HerbisonP.DicksonN. (2000). The determinants of sexual intercourse before age 16. Journal of Adolescent Health, 27, 136–147.
27.
SantelliJ. S.LowryR.BrenerN. D.RobinL. (2000). The association of sexual behaviors with socioeconomic status, family structure, and race/ethnicity among US adolescents. American Journal of Public Health, 90, 1582–1588.
28.
StanhopeM.LancasterJ. (2006). Foundations of nursing in the community: Community-oriented practice (2nd ed.). St. Louis, MO: Mosby.
29.
StoneN.InghamR. (2002). Factors affecting British teenagers contraception use at first intercourse: The importance of partner communication. Perspectives of Sexual and Reproductive Health, 34, 191–197.
30.
StueveA.O’DonnellL. (2005). Early alcohol initiation and subsequent sexual and alcohol risk behaviors among urban youths. American Journal of Public Health, 95, 887–893.
31.
United States Department of Health and Human Services. (2000). Healthy people 2010: Understanding and improving health (2nd ed.). Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
32.
UpchurchD. M.MasonW. M.KusunokiY.KriechbaumM. J. (2004). Social and behavioral determinants of self-reported STD among adolescents. Perspective on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 36, 276–287.
33.
WarrenC. W.SantelliJ. S.EverittS. A.KannL.CollinsJ. L.CassellC. (1998). Sexual behavior among U. S. high school students, 1990-1995. Family Planning Perspectives, 30, 170–172, 200.
