Love and Dating Patterns for Same- and Both-Gender Attracted Adolescents Across Europe.

Sexual orientation is a multidimensional phenomenon, which includes identity, behavior, and attraction. The attraction component, however, is less studied than the other two. In this article, we present the development of a two-item measure to identify adolescents who prefer same- and both-gender partners for love and dating. The questions were administered to nationally representative samples of 15-year-old adolescents in eight European countries and regions participating in the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) cross-national study. The distribution of attraction, as operationalized by preference for the gender of love and dating partners, was similar across countries. These questions offer an alternative or supplementary approach to identify same- and both-gender attracted youth, without administering questions related to sexual identity.

Sexual Health questions included in the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) Study: an international methodological pilot investigation.

BACKGROUND: This paper describes the methodological developments of the sexual health items included in the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study since their mandatory inclusion in the study in 2002. The current methodological, ethical and pedagogical challenges in measuring young people's sexual health behaviours are discussed along with the issues associated with the sexual health items introduced to the HBSC study in 2002. The development and piloting of new cross-national items for use in the 2013/14 HBSC data collection are presented and discussed. METHODS: An international pilot study was undertaken to determine the impact of these proposed changes. Questionnaires and classroom discussion groups were conducted in five pilot countries in 2012/2013 (France, Hungary, Ireland, Portugal and Romania) with a total of 612 school-aged children (age M = 15.55 years, SD = 0.95). RESULTS: The majority of participants in each country provided positive feedback about the appropriateness of the questions. Some small cross-national differences were found in the self-reported quantitative data relating to the appropriateness of the questions (χ2 = 22.831, df = 9, p = .007, V = .117). Qualitative feedback suggests that for the vast majority of students the phrasing and age-targeting of the questions were considered appropriate. With the exception of a small number of respondents who commented on the clarity and/or personal nature of the content, no specific issues with the questions were identified. CONCLUSIONS: These findings provide guidance on the answerability (including the extent of missing and inconsistent data), understandability, acceptability (including in different cultures) and relevance of questions to potential participants. The findings from the pilot study suggest that in general, the questions are understandable, acceptable, and of a high priority to the target population, and that the simplification has significantly reduced the proportion of missing data. The new developments thus enhance the capacity of the questions to measure cross-nationally, sensitive aspects of young people's sexual behaviour. These questions were included in the 2013/2014 round of the HBSC survey and will continue to be used to monitor trends in adolescent sexual health and behaviours, and to inform and influence health services and health education policy and practice at local, national and international levels.

Gendered trends in early and very early sex and condom use in 20 European countries from 2002 to 2010.

BACKGROUND: Sexual activity is often initiated during the adolescent period, and previous research suggests that the age of first sexual intercourse and condom use are crucial determinants of later sexual health. This study examined trends in adolescent sexual behaviours from 2002 to 2010 in 20 countries across four geographical regions of Europe. METHODS: Data were collected by self-report questionnaires from 15-year-olds in classrooms during 2002, 2006 and 2010. Linear time trends were determined through logistic regression models, stratified for gender. RESULTS: No linear trend over time was documented for most countries for sexual intercourse at the age of 13 or younger. Increased initiation among girls in Eastern Europe and decreased very early initiation among girls in Northern Europe emerged, along with a general increase in condom use in boys and most notably in girls. CONCLUSION: Overall prevalence of early and very early sexual intercourse initiation was quite stable in Europe between 2002 and 2010, while condom use increased. More detailed research and policy attention to the antecedents of non-condom use among young people is warranted; and further study of the relationships between age of sexual initiation and condom or pill use would be particularly valuable.

Drinking motives mediate cultural differences but not gender differences in adolescent alcohol use.

PURPOSE: To test whether differences in alcohol use between boys and girls and between northern and southern/central Europe are mediated by social, enhancement, coping, and conformity motives. METHODS: Cross-sectional school-based surveys were conducted among 33,813 alcohol-using 11- to 19-year-olds from northern Europe (Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Poland, Scotland, and Wales) and southern/central Europe (Belgium, Hungary, Italy, Portugal, Slovakia, and Switzerland). RESULTS: Particularly in late adolescence and early adulthood, boys drank more frequently and were more often drunk than girls. Instead of mediation, gender-specific motive paths were found; 14- to 16-year-old girls drank more because of higher levels of coping motives and lower levels of conformity motives, whereas 14- to 19-year-old boys drank more because of higher levels of social and enhancement motives. Geographical analyses confirmed that adolescents from southern/central European countries drank more frequently, but those from northern Europe reported being drunk more often. The strong indirect effects demonstrate that some of the cultural differences in drinking are because of higher levels of social, enhancement, and coping motives in northern than in southern/central Europe. CONCLUSIONS: The results from the largest drinking motive study conducted to date suggest that gender-specific prevention should take differences in the motivational pathways toward (heavy) drinking into account, that is, positive reinforcement seems to be more important for boys and negative reinforcement for girls. Preventive action targeting social and enhancement motives and taking drinking circumstances into account could contribute to tackling underage drinking in northern Europe.

Drinking motives and links to alcohol use in 13 European countries.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to test the structure and endorsement of drinking motives and their links to alcohol use among 11- to 19-year-olds from 13 European countries. METHOD: Confirmatory factor analysis, latent growth curves, and multiple regression models were conducted, based on a sample of 33,813 alcohol-using students from Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Portugal, Scotland, Slovakia, Switzerland, and Wales who completed the Drinking Motives Questionnaire Revised Short Form (DMQ-R SF). RESULTS: The findings confirmed the hypothesized fourdimensional factor structure. Social motives for drinking were most frequently indicated, followed by enhancement, coping, and conformity motives, in that order, in all age groups in all countries except Finland. This rank order was clearest among older adolescents and those from northern European countries. The results confirmed that, across countries, social motives were strongly positively related to drinking frequency, enhancement motives were strongly positively related to frequency of drunkenness, and conformity motives were negatively related to both alcohol outcomes. Against our expectations, social motives were more closely related to drunkenness than were coping motives, particularly among younger adolescents. CONCLUSIONS: The findings reveal striking cross-cultural consistency. Health promotion efforts that are based on, or incorporate, drinking motives are likely to be applicable across Europe. As social motives were particularly closely linked to drunkenness among young adolescents, measures to impede the modeling of alcohol use and skills to resist peer pressure are particularly important in this age group.

Differences in the impact of the frequency and enjoyment of joint family activities on adolescent substance use and violence.

Previous research has concentrated exclusively on the association between the frequency of joint family activities (JFA) and adolescent problem behaviours. In this study, multiple linear regressions based on a national sample of 3467 13- to 16-year-olds in Switzerland revealed that JFA enjoyment rather than JFA frequency is consistently related to low adolescent substance use and violence. By choosing JFA that their children enjoy, parents might provide opportunities for disclosure, strengthen family bonds and reduce the likelihood of adolescent problem behaviours. In terms of prevention, a shift in focus towards the quality rather than the quantity of JFA could prove more effective.