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. 2019 Jun;29(2):402-413.
doi: 10.1111/jora.12445.

A Person-Centered Approach to the Study of Black Adolescent Religiosity, Racial Identity, and Sexual Initiation

Tamara Taggart  1 , Wizdom Powell  2 , Nisha Gottfredson  3 , Susan Ennett  3 , Eugenia Eng  3 , Linda M Chatters  4
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A Person-Centered Approach to the Study of Black Adolescent Religiosity, Racial Identity, and Sexual Initiation

Tamara Taggart et al. J Res Adolesc. 2019 Jun.

Abstract

Decreasing the number of adolescents who have never had sexual intercourse is one way to address sexual health disparities. We used intersectionality to explore the joint effects of religiosity and racial identity on Black adolescent sexual initiation. Data originated from the National Survey of American Life-Adolescent (n = 1,170), a nationally representative study of Black adolescents. Latent profile analysis and survival analysis were used to evaluate study hypotheses. Results showed four distinct profiles of religiosity and racial identity. These profiles explained 19% of the variability in sexual initiation. Additional analyses revealed sociodemographic differences in profile membership. Findings contribute to understanding ethnic heterogeneity among Black adolescents and racial identity and religiosity as sociocultural factors that influence sexual initiation; and support reconceptualizing Black adolescent religiosity.

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Figure 1
Figure 1
Standardized mean values of religiosity and racial identity variables by religiosity-racial identity profile. Values were standardized to aid interpretability.
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