Scales measuring psychosocial antecedents of coital initiation among adolescents in a rural southern state.

The psychometric properties of psychosexual scales designed to examine intentions toward sexual intercourse were examined. Participants from 22 schools in central Alabama provided data on demographics, knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and intentions toward sexual intercourse. Theoretical constructs from Theory of Reasoned Action and Social Cognitive Theory guided the development of items assessing psychosocial aspects of sexual intercourse. Findings indicated that approximately half of the conceptual items (13 items) loaded on four factors. The four scales were (a) Coital Intentions, (b) Attitudes toward Negative Sexual Outcomes, (c) Social Norms toward Premature Sex, and (d) Self-efficacy of Sexual Refusal Skills. These factors showed adequate independence and explained 46% of the variance in the data. Cronbach alpha ranged from .69 to .78. Scales show acceptable evidence for evaluation; however, additional research from other geographical districts and other ethnic groups is needed to confirm their generalizability.

Coital status and perceptions about sexual abstinence refusal skills.

PURPOSE: To compare perceptions and use of sexual refusal skills. METHODS: A voluntary, anonymous sample of ninth and tenth grade students (N = 2256) reported their perceptions about and use of sexual refusal skills that had been taught in school. Forty-four percent of the students classified themselves as virgins, 18% reported one sexual partner, and 38% reported multiple sex partners. Coital status groups were compared on measures addressing refusal skills using Chi-square tests. RESULTS: Approximately one-third of the students reported using refusal skills either a lot or a little, with virgins more likely to indicate that they used refusal skills a lot. Virgins also were least likely to say that they should have used the refusal skills or that they didn't feel like using refusal skills. Furthermore, virgins were most likely to state that they didn't need to use refusal skills. One partner and multiple partner groups were more likely to indicate that they had not been taught refusal skills. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of students did not use the refusal skills taught to them in school; however, all coital status groups used the refusal skills in some capacity. Differences between the virgin and sexually experienced groups present challenges for instructors and curriculum developers. Some of the commonly held assumptions about refusal skill curricula may not be true.