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Negative Substance Use Consequences Associated With Noncondom Use Among Male, but Not Female, Alternative High School Students
Author(s) -
Grigsby Timothy J.,
Forster Myriam,
Tsai Jennifer,
Rohrbach Louise A.,
Sussman Steve
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
journal of school health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.851
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1746-1561
pISSN - 0022-4391
DOI - 10.1111/josh.12640
Subject(s) - logistic regression , substance use , psychology , intervention (counseling) , population , multivariate analysis , clinical psychology , cross sectional study , demography , psychological intervention , medicine , developmental psychology , psychiatry , environmental health , pathology , sociology
BACKGROUND Alternative (or continuation) high schools are institutions designed for students at risk for not graduating due to behavioral, educational, or medical problems. The present study explored the relationship between negative substance use consequences (eg, having trouble at school or work) and noncondom use in this at‐risk population and whether these associations varied by sex. METHODS Participants (N = 1101; 62.9% Hispanic; M age = 16.85) were sampled from 24 alternative high schools in California, and data were analyzed using cross‐sectional multivariate logistic regression models. RESULTS We observed a relationship between the number of negative substance use consequences and probability of noncondom use at the last sexual encounter for boys (p < .001) but not girls (p > .05). There were significant associations between specific social consequences (missing school/work) and dependence symptoms (selling personal items to get alcohol or drugs) with noncondom use for boys only. There was a similar association between substance use frequency and noncondom use for boys. CONCLUSIONS These findings suggest that substance use consequences may be a useful and advantageous indicator of risky sexual behaviors such as noncondom use for boys, but not girls, in alternative high school settings. Future research and intervention programming recommendations are discussed.