A matched case-control study: Investigating the relationship between youth assets and sexual intercourse among 13- to 14-year-olds

Background: The number of teenagers engaging in sexual intercourse has consistently changed over the past several years. This can become a major challenge when trying to determine why teens continue to have sex. The purpose of this paper was to investigate the relationship between youth assets and sexual intercourse among 13- to 14-year-olds. Methods: Cross-sectional data were collected using in-person at-home interviews from a random sample of inner-city neighbourhood 13- to 14-year-old teenagers (n = 64 matched pairs; 36% 13-year-olds, 53% female, 45% white, 28% African-American, 16% Hispanic and 11% Native American). Nine individual youth assets were analysed using conditional logistic regression (matching for several demographic variables) to assess the association between assets and abstinence in younger teens. Results: Conditional logistic regression analyses showed that two assets, positive Peer Role Models [odds ratios (OR) = 4.67, 95% confidence intervals (CI) = 1.93, 11.27]and Use of Time (Religion) (OR = 2.20, 95% CI = 1.04, 4.65), were significantly related (P < 0.05) to younger teens never having engaged in sexual activity. Conclusion: These findings suggest, when considering abstinence behaviour, involvement in religious activities and having positive peer role models appear to be protective factors related to delaying sexual intercourse among teens aged 13-14 years.