Leisure time is considered an important context for adolescent development. The purpose of this article is to investigate what contributes to the frequency of adolescents’ participation in structured leisure activities (SLA). Participants were aged 14–21 years (M = 18.87, SD = 1.23) and 44.8% of participants were female. Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted. Results indicate that boys and adolescents who perceive the context of participation in SLA as safe, are externally or intrinsically motivated, and perceive that participation has contributed to their identity development and experiences of initiative, as well as their experiences of stress, are more likely to participate frequently in SLA. On the other hand, these findings indicate that girls and adolescents who are unmotivated to participate in SLA and who experience negative peer influences while participating in SLA are less likely to frequently participate in SLA. It can be concluded that it is important to think much more broadly than just the setting of the activities themselves when promoting young people’s participation in SLA. Some of the features of SLA that promote positive youth development are presented in this paper.
Adolescence is the transitional period between childhood and adulthood during which many physical, cognitive, social and emotional changes take place, characterized by an increasing interest in romantic and sexual relationships. During adolescence, young people enter into their first sexual partnerships. This may involve behaviors referred to as sexual risk behaviors. The aim of this study was to gain insight into the prevalence of sexual risk behaviors and to determine whether socio-demographic characteristics and school-related behaviors contribute to sexual risk behaviors among adolescents, independent of participation in SLA. The study was conducted from April to June 2021 in Croatia. The sample consisted only of students who reported having had sexual intercourse (N=702; 28.6%). Participants were between 14 and 21 years (46.3% female). Logistic analyses were conducted. The results of this study showed that socio-demographic characteristics make only a limited contribution to the sexual risk behaviors studied. However, it is evident that school-related behaviors are associated with sexual risk behaviors among adolescents, with slight differences depending on their participation in SLA. That is, better grades are a protective factor for sexual risk behavior for both those who do not participate in SLA and those who do, while intentionally skipping school is a risk factor for sexual risk behavior only for those who do participate in SLA. Even though the results show that some school-related behaviors are predictors of sexual risk behavior, it is not enough to implement preventive interventions only in school or leisure settings. It is important to intervene in all areas that influence adolescent development, because a comprehensive preventive approach that addresses all areas can have a greater impact on adolescent development. Therefore, it is necessary to plan comprehensive, evidence-based interventions targeting individuals and their environments, including SLA, to prevent sexual risk behaviors among adolescents.
THE CONTRIBUTION OF ASPECTS OF INDIVIDUAL RESILIENCE IN EXPLAINING ADOLESCENTS’ RISKY SEXUAL BEHAVIOR ABSTRACT The purpose of this paper is to determine the contribution of aspects of individual resilience in explaining risky sexual behaviors as a basis for evidence-based intervention planning to promote positive development/prevention of risky behaviours in young people. The sample of the study included 1,647 students from the Varaždin County, Croatia, and the age of the participants ranged from 14 to 19 years. To achieve the objectives of this work, descriptive statistics methods (arithmetic mean, frequencies) and a multivariate logistic regression model with a complex sample design were used. The data showed that 8.9% of adolescents reported having had sexual intercourse at the age of 14 years and 33.4% before the age of 16 years. Among adolescents who reported experience with sexual intercourse, 21% reported having had sexual intercourse with more than three partners, while 43.9% reported not always using condoms. The data showed that among the study participants, the most salient components of individual resilience were goals and aspirations and self-efficacy, while the least salient components were cooperation and communication and problem-solving skills. In addition, the multivariate logistic regression model conducted with a complex sample design revealed that cooperation and communication, self-efficacy, empathy, problem-solving skills, self-awareness, and goals and aspirations together could partly explain risky sexual behavior. The results suggest that the adolescents who rate their self-efficacy higher than others are more likely to belong to the risky sexual behavior group than to the non-risky sexual behavior group, while the adolescents who report having higher goals and aspirations are less likely to belong to the risky sexual behavior group than to the non-risky sexual behavior group. Key words: aspects of individual resilience; risky sexual behavior; adolescents
Svrha je ovoga rada istražiti povezanost koncepta individualne otpornosti i koncepta zadovoljstva obiteljskim životom kao temelja planiranja znanstveno utemeljenih intervencija za promociju pozitivnog razvoja/prevenciju rizičnih ponašanja djece i mladih. Istraživanje je provedeno na reprezentativnom uzorku od 4.821 učenika Grada Zagreba, a raspon dobi kreće se od 14 do 19 godina. Za potrebe ovog rada korištena je modificirana verzija Resilience and Youth Development Module (California Department of Education, 1997) i modificirana verzija Family Satisfaction Scale, FACES-IV (Olson i Gorall, 2006). U svrhu ostvarivanja ciljeva istraživanja korištene su sljedeće statističke metode i analize: Kolmogorov-Smirnovljev test, hi-kvadrat test, Pearsonov koeficijent korelacije, standardna jednostavna regresijska analiza i standardna višestruka regresijska analiza. Podaci dobiveni na temelju analize pokazuju kako postoje spolne razlike u odnosu na pojedine aspekte individualne otpornosti. Djevojke u odnosu na mladiće postižu više vrijednosti na aspektima empatije, suradnje i komunikacije te vještina rješavanja problema, dok mladići postižu više vrijednosti na aspektima samoučinkovitosti i samosvijesti od djevojaka. Nadalje, dobiveni rezultati pokazuju da postoje spolne razlike u zadovoljstvu obiteljskim životom i to na način da su mladići zadovoljniji obiteljskim životom u odnosu na djevojke. Rezultati istraživanja pokazuju da postoji srednje pozitivna povezanost između ispitivanih aspekata individualne otpornosti i zadovoljstva obiteljskim životom te da viša razina aspekata individualne otpornost sudionika istraživanja značajno predviđa njihovo zadovoljstvo obiteljskim životom.
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