Exploring the relationship between premarital sex and cigarette/alcohol use among college students in Taiwan: a cohort study

BMC Public Health

Kate Ksobiech²  Chin-Chun Yi³  Chi Chiao¹ 

[1] Insitute of Health and Welfare Policy, Research Center for Health and Welfare Policy, School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan, R.O.C;Communication Department, College of Arts and Communication, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, Whitewater, WI, USA;Institute of Sociology, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan, ROC

关键词: Taiwan;    College students;    Peer influence;    Adolescent cigarette and alcohol use;    Premarital sex;   

Others  :  1163448
DOI  :  10.1186/1471-2458-12-527

 received in 2012-02-11, accepted in 2012-06-29,  发布年份 2012

【 摘 要 】

Background

Cigarette/alcohol use and premarital sex, and their subsequent consequences on the well-being of college students, are international health promotion issues. However, little is known about the temporal relationship of these risk behaviors among Taiwanese college students.

Methods

This study utilizes data from the Taiwan Youth Project, a cohort sample of 20-year-olds (N = 2,119) with a 2-year follow-up, to explore the relationship between adolescent cigarette/alcohol use, and subsequent premarital sex. To incorporate the Taiwanese context where the normative value of abstinence until marriage remains strong, multivariate logistic regression models included data on premarital sex attitudes, stressful life events, peer influence, as well as family and individual factors which might influence this relationship.

Results

The sample consists of 49% male and 51% female college students. About 16% of the sample report having had premarital sex by age 20. After excluding sexually active youth, 20% of males and 13% of females report engaging in premarital sex in the 2-year follow-up interview. Multivariate logistic regression analyses reveal adolescent alcohol use is significantly associated with a higher likelihood of engaging in premarital sex for both genders; adolescent smoking is significantly associated with premarital sexual activity among males, but not females. Our results indicate liberal premarital sexual attitudes and stressful personal events are also significantly associated with premarital sexual activity.

Conclusions

These findings suggest health promotion programs for college students need to take developmental and gender perspectives into account. Future research to incorporate a broader, multi-cultural context into risk reduction materials is recommended.

【 授权许可】

   
2012 Chiao et al.; licensee Biomed Central Ltd.

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