Nancy A Dodson1, Heather L Corliss2, Vishnudas Sarda3, S Jean Emans4, Alison E Field5. 1. Division of Adolescent Medicine, Department of Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. Electronic address: nancy.dodson@childrens.harvard.edu. 2. Division of Adolescent Medicine, Department of Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Division of Health Promotion and Behavioral Science, San Diego State University Graduate School of Public Health, San Diego, CA, USA. 3. Clinical Research Center, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, MA, USA. 4. Division of Adolescent Medicine, Department of Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. 5. Division of Adolescent Medicine, Department of Medicine, Boston Children's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Channing Division of Network Medicine, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA; Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
Abstract
STUDY OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between self-reported sense of mission and sexual health behaviors in a geographically diverse cohort of U.S. young adult females in the Growing Up Today Study (GUTS). DESIGN: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of the 2007 wave of GUTS data from self-reported online or mailed surveys. Outcomes were early sex initiation and history of sexually transmitted infection (STI), which were analyzed as a binary outcome using logit link, and number of sex partners, which was analyzed as a continuous outcome. Models for number of sex partners and history of STIs were adjusted for age. PARTICIPANTS: There were 5,624 young women aged 20 to 25 years who participate in GUTS and who answered the question on "sense of mission." MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Age at sexual initiation, history of STIs, and number of lifetime partners. RESULTS: When asked whether they had a sense of mission in their life, 28.1% of women strongly agreed, 54.9% agreed, and 17% disagreed. Women with a low sense of mission had higher odds of reporting a history of STI (odds ratio 1.35, 95% confidence interval 1.08 to 1.70), and more lifetime sexual partners (β = .83, P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Having a high sense of mission is associated with lower sexual risk in young women. Interventions to increase sense of mission among young women may improve sexual health outcomes.
STUDY OBJECTIVE: To examine the association between self-reported sense of mission and sexual health behaviors in a geographically diverse cohort of U.S. young adult females in the Growing Up Today Study (GUTS). DESIGN: We conducted a cross-sectional analysis of the 2007 wave of GUTS data from self-reported online or mailed surveys. Outcomes were early sex initiation and history of sexually transmitted infection (STI), which were analyzed as a binary outcome using logit link, and number of sex partners, which was analyzed as a continuous outcome. Models for number of sex partners and history of STIs were adjusted for age. PARTICIPANTS: There were 5,624 young women aged 20 to 25 years who participate in GUTS and who answered the question on "sense of mission." MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Age at sexual initiation, history of STIs, and number of lifetime partners. RESULTS: When asked whether they had a sense of mission in their life, 28.1% of women strongly agreed, 54.9% agreed, and 17% disagreed. Women with a low sense of mission had higher odds of reporting a history of STI (odds ratio 1.35, 95% confidence interval 1.08 to 1.70), and more lifetime sexual partners (β = .83, P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Having a high sense of mission is associated with lower sexual risk in young women. Interventions to increase sense of mission among young women may improve sexual health outcomes.