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Author: Hipwell, Alison E.
Resulting in 2 citations.
1. Akers, Aletha Y.
Cohen, Elan D.
Marshal, Michael P.
Roebuck, Geoff
Yu, Lan
Hipwell, Alison E.
Objective and Perceived Weight: Associations with Risky Adolescent Sexual Behavior
Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health 48,3 (September 2016): 129-137.
Also: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1363/48e11416/abstract
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: Alan Guttmacher Institute
Keyword(s): Adolescent Sexual Activity; Age at First Intercourse; Contraception; Gender Differences; National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (AddHealth); Obesity; Sexual Behavior; Weight

Permission to reprint the abstract has not been received from the publisher.

CONTEXT: Studies have shown that obesity is associated with increased sexual risk-taking, particularly among adolescent females, but the relationships between obesity, perceived weight and sexual risk behaviors are poorly understood.

METHODS: Integrative data analysis was performed that combined baseline data from the 1994-1995 National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (from 17,606 respondents in grades 7-12) and the 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (from 7,752 respondents aged 12-16). Using six sexual behaviors measured in both data sets (age at first intercourse, various measures of contraceptive use and number of partners), cluster analysis was conducted that identified five distinct behavior clusters. Multivariate ordinal logistic regression analysis examined associations between adolescents' weight status (categorized as underweight, normal-weight, overweight or obese) and weight perception and their cluster membership.

RESULTS: Among males, being underweight, rather than normal-weight, was negatively associated with membership in increasingly risky clusters (odds ratio, 0.5), as was the perception of being overweight, as opposed to about the right weight (0.8). However, being overweight was positively associated with males' membership in increasingly risky clusters (1.3). Among females, being obese, rather than normal-weight, was negatively correlated with membership in increasingly risky clusters (0.8), while the perception of being overweight was positively correlated with such membership (1.1).

CONCLUSIONS: Both objective and subjective assessments of weight are associated with the clustering of risky sexual behaviors among adolescents, and these behavioral patterns differ by gender.

Bibliography Citation
Akers, Aletha Y., Elan D. Cohen, Michael P. Marshal, Geoff Roebuck, Lan Yu and Alison E. Hipwell. "Objective and Perceived Weight: Associations with Risky Adolescent Sexual Behavior." Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health 48,3 (September 2016): 129-137.
2. Skolnik, Ava
Faerber, Jennifer
Harding, Jennifer
Yu, Lan
Hipwell, Alison E.
Akers, Aletha Y.
Obesity, Timing of Sexual Initiation And Sexual Risk Behaviors Among Adolescent Girls
Journal of Adolescent Health 64,2,Supplement (February 2019): S124.
Also: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1054139X18307213
Cohort(s): NLSY97
Publisher: Elsevier
Keyword(s): Adolescent Sexual Activity; Age at First Intercourse; Body Mass Index (BMI); Obesity; Risk-Taking

Purpose: Among sexually active adolescent females, obesity is associated with engagement in sexual risk behaviors, particularly with early sexual initiation. However, little research has explored the effect of obesity on the evolution of sexual risk behaviors. We seek to fill this gap by exploring whether timing of sexual initiation predicts associations between sexual risk behaviors and body mass index in early adolescence.
Bibliography Citation
Skolnik, Ava, Jennifer Faerber, Jennifer Harding, Lan Yu, Alison E. Hipwell and Aletha Y. Akers. "Obesity, Timing of Sexual Initiation And Sexual Risk Behaviors Among Adolescent Girls." Journal of Adolescent Health 64,2,Supplement (February 2019): S124.