The Journal of Early Adolescence

 

Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

Register here for free online access to SAGE Family Studies journals

SAGETRACK

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow All Versions of this Article:
0272431607308670v1
28/1/70    most recent
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Houlihan, A. E.
Right arrow Articles by Murry, V. M.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati  
What's this?
This version was published on February 1, 2008
The Journal of Early Adolescence, Vol. 28, No. 1, 70-91 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/0272431607308670
© 2008 SAGE Publications

Sex and the Self

The Impact of Early Sexual Onset on the Self-Concept and Subsequent Risky Behavior of African American Adolescents

Amy E. Houlihan

Iowa State University

Frederick X. Gibbons

Iowa State University

Meg Gerrard

Iowa State University

Hsiu-Chen Yeh

Iowa State University

Rachel A. Reimer

Iowa State University

Velma M. Murry

University of Georgia

A 5-year longitudinal study of African American adolescents, aged 10 to 12 at Time 1, used the prototype/willingness (prototype) model to examine the (social) cognitive effects of the onset of sexual behavior on self-concept. Structural equation modeling (SEM) showed that becoming sexually active was related to favorable changes in adolescents' self-concepts and that this effect was moderated by gender. The effect was more pronounced among boys than girls. Positive self-concept, in turn, was related to subsequent risky sexual behavior. Sexual onset was also associated with positive changes in adolescents' images of the typical adolescent who has sex (i.e., sex prototype). This increase in prototype favorability marginally predicted subsequent willingness to have risky sex. In sum, sexual debut was related to increases in adolescents' self-concepts and risk cognitions, both of which predicted risky sexual behavior.

Key Words: sexual debut • self-concept • prototype • African American • adolescence • gender difference • risky sex


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?