Risk and Protective Factors for Sexual Behaviors among Caribbean Youth

Robert Blum, University of Minnesota
Sarah Lerand, University of Minnesota
Marjorie Ireland

Objectives: 1) Identification of individual and family factors associated with: sexual debut; effective contraception; pregnancy history; 4 or more partners; and same-sex relationships. 2) Explore the extent to which the identified risk and protective factors cross-cut a range of sexual behaviors. Methods: A survey of 87 multiple-choice questions were asked of representative samples of young people from nine countries in the Anglophone Caribbean (n-15,695). Data were analyzed using logistic regression; resulting odds ratios evaluated with Wald Chi-square statistics. Results: Parental drug use, mental health, violence and attempted suicide, as well as rage and physical/sexual abuse are associated with more sexual health compromising behaviors. Parent connectedness has a weak association with sexual behaviors. The same is true for self-assessed school performance. Regular school attendance is associated with a lower likelihood of reporting 4 or more sexual partners.