RESUMEN
Introduction: Studies have shown the importance of self-efficacy in the domain of risky sexual behaviour. The aim of this study was to examine the association of unwanted sexual intercourse among secondary-school students with socio-demographic factors and perceived self-efficacy, and to assess the effectiveness of the programme on reproductive health. Methods: The study involved 5,026 second-grade students in 72 high schools in the Province of Vojvodina, Serbia (APV). They were surveyed before and after the implementation of the extracurricular 'Reproductive health education programme for secondary-school students in APV'. A questionnaire consisting of 57 questions (socio-demographic characteristics, knowledge, attitudes, and behaviour of students regarding reproductive health, and a general self-efficacy scale) was used as the research instrument. Results: One quarter of students had engaged in unwanted sexual intercourse on one or more occasions. Students with poor material status were twice as likely to engage in unwanted sexual intercourse (ÐR=2.01; 95%CI=1.07-3.75) as students with average or good material status. Students who did not engage in unwanted sexual intercourse had a higher self-efficacy score than students who who did (t=2.903; p<0.01). After the programme was completed, there was an increase in general self-efficacy. Conclusion: Poor material status is a predictor of unwanted sexual intercourse. Students who have a higher level of self-efficacy engaged to a lesser degree in unwanted sexual intercourse. The programme is effective in terms of increasing general self-efficacy, and can be applied to encourage responsible sexual behaviour.
RESUMEN
OBJECTIVES: To conduct international comparisons of self-reports, collateral reports, and cross-informant agreement regarding older adult psychopathology. PARTICIPANTS: We compared self-ratings of problems (e.g. I cry a lot) and personal strengths (e.g. I like to help others) for 10,686 adults aged 60-102 years from 19 societies and collateral ratings for 7,065 of these adults from 12 societies. MEASUREMENTS: Data were obtained via the Older Adult Self-Report (OASR) and the Older Adult Behavior Checklist (OABCL; Achenbach et al., ). RESULTS: Cronbach's alphas were .76 (OASR) and .80 (OABCL) averaged across societies. Across societies, 27 of the 30 problem items with the highest mean ratings and 28 of the 30 items with the lowest mean ratings were the same on the OASR and the OABCL. Q correlations between the means of the 0-1-2 ratings for the 113 problem items averaged across all pairs of societies yielded means of .77 (OASR) and .78 (OABCL). For the OASR and OABCL, respectively, analyses of variance (ANOVAs) yielded effect sizes (ESs) for society of 15% and 18% for Total Problems and 42% and 31% for Personal Strengths, respectively. For 5,584 cross-informant dyads in 12 societies, cross-informant correlations averaged across societies were .68 for Total Problems and .58 for Personal Strengths. Mixed-model ANOVAs yielded large effects for society on both Total Problems (ES = 17%) and Personal Strengths (ES = 36%). CONCLUSIONS: The OASR and OABCL are efficient, low-cost, easily administered mental health assessments that can be used internationally to screen for many problems and strengths.
