Results tagged “Respect Rx” from Pregnant Pause
Nov 05 2009
Weighty Matters
An interesting study by the University of Pittsburgh published in the November issue of Pediatrics found a link between teen girls' body weight (actual and perceived) and their likelihood of engaging in risky sexual behaviors. These included having intercourse before turning 13, having sex with more than four partners, consuming alcohol in connection with sex, and having unprotected sex. The study surveyed 7,200 high school girls, with half reporting that they had ever had sex.
Some key points:
- Caucasian girls who believed they were underweight were more likely to have had sex and to have had four or more sexual partners than girls who considered themselves at a normal weight.
- Caucasian girls who were actually overweight were less likely to use condoms.
- African-American girls who were underweight were less likely to use condoms than those of normal weight, and overweight African-American girls were more likely to report four or more sexual partners.
- Latina girls of all weights were more likely to engage in a wide variety of risky sexual behaviors, from lack of condom use and sex before age 13 to having more than four sexual partners during their teens and using alcohol.
Aug 10 2009
Pregnancy Prevention: Self-Respect Matters
This piece was written by Courtney Macavinta, founder and CEO of Respect Rx and award-winning and nationally recognized journalist, coach, speaker and co-author of RESPECT. It is cross-posted from RespectRx.com.
Preventing unplanned pregnancy is not just about having the "talks" about how babies are made, STDs and the perils of parenting without resources. Kids need to be supported--and invested in--on so many levels before the day even comes for those talks.
Based on my own risky journey with sex as a teen, to me a big part of the "solution" (there isn't one cure-all) comes down to boosting self-respect from many fronts. Imagine from age 0 that kids have a community, role models, school, organizations, family, friends and values around them that support the development of healthy self-respect. Well then risky choices become less of a risk factor, right? This is true for all the biggies that can derail a teen down the line from dating violence to drug abuse to, yes, unplanned pregnancy.
