ABSTRACT
UNLABELLED: Engaging in sexual intercourse early in life and without protection often leads to unplanned pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases in teens. METHODS: A binary logistical regression analysis was used to identify the risk and protective factors associated with two preventive health behaviors: sexual abstinence and consistent condom use among 6,902 Central American teens receiving web-based adolescent health promotion education from 2004 to 2008. RESULTS: The average age was 15 years, with ages ranging between 10 and 20 years. Of these, 52% were girls and 48% boys. Personal competencies, social peer influences, and family factors were found to influence their sexual behavior patterns and were generally consistent with other studies worldwide. CONCLUSION: Information technology provides new avenues to assess individual health and provide individualized data collection in a confidential, sensitive, accessible, and engaging manner. Health promotion interventions must continue to address the development of personal knowledge, skills, and motivations to prevent and or reduce sexual risk-taking behaviors.
