Chronic conditions, subjective wellbeing and risky sexual behaviour among adolescents and young adults.

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study is to clarify the relationship between having a chronic condition (CC) and several types of risky sexual behaviour (RSB) among adolescents and young adults. We used data from a multicentre cross-sectional study carried out on 14,431 adolescents from 137 French schools. Logistic regression was used to assess the association between several types of RSB and CCs among the 2680 participants aged 17 years or over who reported sexual intercourse. Survival analysis was conducted to assess the association between CCs and age at first sexual intercourse across the whole sample. Analyses were conducted separately by gender with and without adjustment for the parents' education level, early menarche and subjective wellbeing (relationship with mother and father, depression, perceived health status and liking school). Among boys, having a CC was associated with a higher risk of RSB in both univariate (OR 1.58 [95% CI 1.10-2.27]) and multivariate analyses (aOR 1.62 [95% CI 1.11-2.38]). Among girls, the association between chronic condition and RSB in univariate analysis was non-significant (OR 1.30 [95% CI 0.97-1.76]) and disappeared after adjustment on subjective wellbeing (aOR 1.08 [95% CI 0.78-1.49]). There was no association between CC and age at first sexual intercourse.    Conclusion: There were major gender differences. Boys with a CC were more prone to engage in RSB independent of their subjective wellbeing, whereas in girls, subjective wellbeing seemed to mediate the relationship between CC and RSB. Clinicians should be aware of those gender differences in order to deliver preventive strategies regarding sexuality that target both genders. What is Known • Young people with chronic conditions have a higher likelihood of engaging in risky sexual behaviour. • Engaging in such behaviours can be much more costly, as it can weaken their underlying state of health. What is New • We found major gender differences. Boys were more prone to engage in risky behaviour independent of their subjective wellbeing, whereas in girls, it seemed to play an important role. • By understanding how risky sexual behaviour differs according to gender, clinicians can deliver prevention messages that target both genders.