Another look at heterosocial behaviors: one side of the early intimate sexual behaviors coin.

The number of adolescent births is once again on the rise. Heterosocial competence described as successful interactions (i.e., heterosocial behaviors) with males (Grover, Nangler, & Zeff, 2005; Grover, Nangler, Serwik, & Zeff, 2007) is one emerging factor that has been found to be associated with adolescent sexual behavior. The aims of this cross sectional design study with 159 African American middle-school girls using the theory of reasoned action (Ajzen & Fishbein, 1980) were to describe and assess the relationship between heterosocial behaviors and sexual behaviors. Data was obtained using four surveys. The results suggest that heterosocial behaviors were a significant predictor of sexual behaviors (p < .001).