DOPRINOS INDIVIDUALNIH ČIMBENIKA OTPORNOSTI U OBJAŠNJENJU RIZIČNOG SEKSUALNOG PONAŠANJA ADOLESCENATA

Abstract

THE CONTRIBUTION OF ASPECTS OF INDIVIDUAL RESILIENCE IN EXPLAINING ADOLESCENTS’ RISKY SEXUAL BEHAVIOR ABSTRACT The purpose of this paper is to determine the contribution of aspects of individual resilience in explaining risky sexual behaviors as a basis for evidence-based intervention planning to promote positive development/prevention of risky behaviours in young people. The sample of the study included 1,647 students from the Varaždin County, Croatia, and the age of the participants ranged from 14 to 19 years. To achieve the objectives of this work, descriptive statistics methods (arithmetic mean, frequencies) and a multivariate logistic regression model with a complex sample design were used. The data showed that 8.9% of adolescents reported having had sexual intercourse at the age of 14 years and 33.4% before the age of 16 years. Among adolescents who reported experience with sexual intercourse, 21% reported having had sexual intercourse with more than three partners, while 43.9% reported not always using condoms. The data showed that among the study participants, the most salient components of individual resilience were goals and aspirations and self-efficacy, while the least salient components were cooperation and communication and problem-solving skills. In addition, the multivariate logistic regression model conducted with a complex sample design revealed that cooperation and communication, self-efficacy, empathy, problem-solving skills, self-awareness, and goals and aspirations together could partly explain risky sexual behavior. The results suggest that the adolescents who rate their self-efficacy higher than others are more likely to belong to the risky sexual behavior group than to the non-risky sexual behavior group, while the adolescents who report having higher goals and aspirations are less likely to belong to the risky sexual behavior group than to the non-risky sexual behavior group. Key words: aspects of individual resilience; risky sexual behavior; adolescents