Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2011 Jan;72(1):91-9.
doi: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2010.09.035. Epub 2010 Oct 19.

"When you got nothing to do, you do somebody": A community's perceptions of neighborhood effects on adolescent sexual behaviors

Aletha Y Akers  1 , Melvin R Muhammad, Giselle Corbie-Smith
Affiliations

"When you got nothing to do, you do somebody": A community's perceptions of neighborhood effects on adolescent sexual behaviors

Aletha Y Akers et al. Soc Sci Med. 2011 Jan.

Abstract

This study explores community members' perspectives regarding the relationship between neighborhood characteristics and adolescent sexual behaviors in two rural, African American communities. The data were collected as part of a community needs assessment to inform the development of HIV prevention interventions in two contiguous counties in northeastern North Carolina, USA. We conducted eleven focus groups with three population groups: adolescents and young adults aged 16-24 (N = 38), adults over age 25 (N = 42), and formerly incarcerated individuals (N = 13). All focus groups were audio-recorded, transcribed and analyzed using a grounded theory approach to content analysis and a constant comparison method. Six major themes emerged from the discussions linking neighborhood context and adolescents sexual behavior: the overwhelming absence of recreational options for community members; lack of diverse leisure-time activities for adolescents; lack of recreational options for adolescents who are dating; adolescent access to inappropriate leisure time activities that promote multiple risk behaviors; limited safe environments for socializing; and cost-barriers to recreational activities for adolescents. In addition, lack of adequate parental supervision of adolescents' time alone and with friends of the opposite sex, as well as ineffective community monitoring of adolescent social activities, were thought to create situations that promoted sexual and other risk behaviors. These findings allowed us to develop a conceptual model linking neighborhood structural and social organization factors to adolescent sexual behaviors and provided insights for developing interventions tailored to address local socioeconomic realities.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Conceptual model linking neighborhood characteristics to adolescent sexual behaviors
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Adimora AA, Schoenbach VJ, Martinson FE, Donaldson KH, Fullilove RE, Aral SO. Social context of sexual relationships among rural African Americans. Sex Transm Dis. 2001;28(2):69–76. - PubMed
    1. Aronowitz T, Rennells RE, Todd E. Ecological influences of sexuality on early adolescent African American females. J Community Health Nurs. 2006;23(2):113–122. - PubMed
    1. Averett SL, Rees DI, Argys LM. The impact of government policies and neighborhood characteristics on teenage sexual activity and contraceptive use. Am J Public Health. 2002;92(11):1773–1778. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Billy JO, Brewster KL, Grady WR. Contextual Effects on the Sexual-Behavior of Adolescent Women. Journal of Marriage and the Family. 1994;56(2):387–404.
    1. Brooks-Gunn J, Duncan GJ, Klebanov PK, Sealand N. Do neighborhoods influence child and adolescent develoment? American Journal of Sociology. 1993;99(2):353–395.

Publication types

MeSH terms