Stanton B, Romer D, Ricardo I, Black M, Feigelman S, Galbraith J
Department of Pediatrics, University of Maryland Medical School, Baltimore 21201.
Pediatrics. 1993 Jul;92(1):13-9.
High rates of adolescent homicide, pregnancy, substance abuse, and sexually transmitted diseases underscore the importance of interventions designed to reduce problem behaviors. However, the definition of "problem" behavior and the association with other activities may change between youth cultures. Therefore, greater attention to defining the "problem" behaviors to be targeted will permit more effective utilization of primary vs secondary intervention strategies and identification of high-risk individuals.
Two studies of African-American adolescents regarding sexual intercourse, school truancy, substance abuse, and drug trafficking are presented. The first study involved 57 youths (10 to 14 years of age) from a pediatric primary health center and gathered data through pile-sorting. The second study of 300 youths (9 to 15 years of age) from six public housing sites used a questionnaire administered by a "talking" computer. Both studies assessed different self-reported behaviors, feelings about engaging in specific behaviors, and perceptions of friends' behaviors.
While 40% of subjects reported having had sex, substantially smaller proportions reported school truancy (14%), illicit drug use (2% to 6%), or drug trafficking (6%). Analyses of reported behaviors, feelings, and perceived peer norms revealed that sex was consistently depicted as forming a different domain from other problem behaviors.
Interventions that rely on primary prevention strategies for sexual intercourse and that identify sexually active youths as at risk for problem behaviors may not be appropriate for African-American adolescents growing up in resource-depleted urban areas.
青少年中高发生率的杀人、怀孕、药物滥用和性传播疾病凸显了旨在减少问题行为的干预措施的重要性。然而，“问题”行为的定义以及与其他活动的关联在不同青年文化中可能会有所变化。因此，更加关注界定要针对的“问题”行为，将能更有效地利用一级预防与二级预防策略，并识别出高危个体。
呈现了两项针对非裔美国青少年的关于性交、逃学、药物滥用和毒品交易的研究。第一项研究涉及来自一家儿科初级保健中心的57名青少年（10至14岁），通过分类排序收集数据。第二项研究针对来自六个公共住房小区的300名青少年（9至15岁），使用由一台“会说话”的计算机管理的问卷。两项研究均评估了不同的自我报告行为、对参与特定行为的感受以及对朋友行为的看法。
虽然40%的受试者报告有过性行为，但报告逃学（14%）、非法药物使用（2%至6%）或毒品交易（6%）的比例要小得多。对报告的行为、感受和感知到的同伴规范的分析表明，性行为一直被描绘为与其他问题行为构成不同的领域。
依赖于对性交进行一级预防策略且将性活跃青少年识别为有问题行为风险的干预措施，可能不适用于在资源匮乏的城市地区成长的非裔美国青少年。
