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Cited by 324Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive HealthReligion, Spirituality, and PsychologySexuality, Behavior, and Technology

Coital debut: The role of religiosity and sex attitudes in the add health survey

Rostosky, Sharon Scales, Regnerus, Mark D., Wright, Margaret Laurie Comer·2003·The Journal of Sex Research
DOI 10.1080/00224490209552202
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Abstract

Recent reviews suggest that religiosity is associated with the delay of adolescent coital debut (Rostosky, Wilcox, Wright, Randall, in press; Wilcox, Rostosky, Randall, Wright, 2001). Few studies, however, have examined this association using longitudinal data to test theoretically driven models. We analyzed data from 3,691 adolescents (ages 15-21), testing the hypothesis that adolescent religiosity and sex attitudes (at Wave 1) predict later coital debut (at Wave 2) and that these predictive relationships vary by gender. Findings indicated that beyond demographic factors and number of romantic partners, religiosity reduced the likelihood of coital debut for both males and females. After accounting for the effects of religiosity, anticipation of negative emotions after coital debut (sex attitude factor 1) further reduced its likelihood for females and males. Finally, adolescent girls - but not boys - who anticipated positive emotions following sexual intercourse (sex attitude factor 2) were more likely to debut. While virginity pledge status was associated with coital debut for boys and girls, more conservative beliefs about sex appeared to mediate its effect. Finally, a significant interaction between race and religiosity indicated that African American adolescent males who had either signed a virginity pledge or were more religious were significantly more likely to debut than both White non-Hispanic males and African American males who were less religious and/or who had not signed a pledge. The implications of these results for adolescent pregnancy prevention programming are discussed.

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Crossref · 10.1080/00224490209552202

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  • Of 95 risky sexual activity studies, 82 (86%) found significant inverse relationships with R/S, one at a trend level, and only one study (1%) found a significant relationship with more risky sexual activity.

    “Of those, 82 studies (86%) found significant inverse relationships with R/S (one at a trend level) and only one study (1%) found a significant relationship with more risky sexual activity [332].”

    From Religion, Spirituality, and Health: The Research and Clinical Implications (2012) · cites this paper as [332]

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Authors
Rostosky, S. S., Regnerus, M. D., & Wright, M. L. C.
Affiliations
  • University of Kentucky (US)
  • The University of Texas at Austin (US)
ORCID
Venue
The Journal of Sex Research
Publisher
Informa UK Limited
Published
2003-12-01
Volume
40
Issue
4
Pages
358-367
ISSN
  • 0022-4499 (ISSN-L)
  • 1559-8519
DOI
10.1080/00224490209552202
OpenAlex
W1982868678
Cited by
324
References
42
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 49 · 2022: 22 · 2021: 8 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 10 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 23 · 2015: 10 · 2014: 20 · 2013: 16 · 2012: 14
FWCI
14.87
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
closed
Locations
  • The Journal of Sex Research (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R01 HD40428-02, P01- HD31921, P01HD031921, R01HD040428)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health
  • Social Sciences › Health › Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Sexuality, Behavior, and Technology
Keywords
religiosity, sexual attitudes, virginity pledges, sexual initiation, gender differences, racial differences, African American adolescents, romantic partners, adolescent pregnancy prevention, Add Health
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adolescent Behavior, Psychology, Adolescent, Adult, Attitude to Health, Coitus, Contraception Behavior, Female, Health Surveys, Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Life Style, Male, Pregnancy, Pregnancy in Adolescence, Surveys and Questionnaires, Religion and Sex, Sex Factors, Sexual Abstinence, Social Environment, United States, Health Behavior, Logistic Models, Odds Ratio, Sexuality

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