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A Person‐Centered Approach to the Study of Black Adolescent Religiosity, Racial Identity, and Sexual Initiation
Author(s) -
Taggart Tamara,
Powell Wizdom,
Gottfredson Nisha,
Ennett Susan,
Eng Eugenia,
Chatters Linda M.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
journal of research on adolescence
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.342
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 1532-7795
pISSN - 1050-8392
DOI - 10.1111/jora.12445
Subject(s) - religiosity , psychology , ethnic group , identity (music) , sociocultural evolution , sexual identity , developmental psychology , sexual intercourse , adolescent health , clinical psychology , social psychology , human sexuality , gender studies , demography , population , sociology , medicine , physics , nursing , anthropology , acoustics
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.