Combs Katie Massey, Lee Mackenzie Cook, Winter Virginia Ramseyer, Taussig Heather
Institute of Behavioral Science, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, 1440 15 St., CO 80309.
School of Social Work, University of Arkansas at Little Rock, 401 Ross Hall, Little Rock, AR 72204.
Child Youth Serv Rev. 2022 Sep;140. doi: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2022.106593. Epub 2022 Jul 5.
Youth with child welfare involvement experience disproportionate rates of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) risks and adverse outcomes. However, little is known about SRH protective factors among youth with child welfare involvement. This study examined whether birth control knowledge or SRH agency, norms, and expectancies differed by gender, age, race/ethnicity, or out-of-home care status among 245 youth, ages 12-15, with open child welfare cases due to maltreatment. Less than half of participants had received information on birth control or knew how to access birth control services; however, the majority reported high confidence in avoiding sex when not desired, strong peer norms for condoms, and few perceived benefits to unprotected sex. Males and younger adolescents had fewer protective attitudes and birth control knowledge, while Latinas had more protective attitudes. This study highlights the protective SRH attitudes already held by youth (ages 12-15) with child welfare involvement, as well as the need for early and gender-inclusive SRH education.
与儿童福利系统有接触的青少年面临性健康和生殖健康（SRH）风险及不良后果的比例过高。然而，对于与儿童福利系统有接触的青少年中的SRH保护因素，我们所知甚少。本研究调查了245名因虐待而有未结案儿童福利案件的12至15岁青少年，其避孕知识或SRH机构、规范和期望是否因性别、年龄、种族/族裔或家庭外照料状况而有所不同。不到一半的参与者接受过避孕信息或知道如何获得避孕服务；然而，大多数人表示在不想发生性行为时很有信心避免，对使用避孕套有很强的同伴规范，并且很少有人认为无保护性行为有好处。男性和较年轻的青少年的保护态度和避孕知识较少，而拉丁裔女性的保护态度较多。本研究强调了与儿童福利系统有接触的青少年（12至15岁）已经具备的SRH保护态度，以及开展早期和性别包容的SRH教育的必要性。
