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Alcohol abuse and other factors associated with risky sexual behaviors among adolescent students from the poorest areas in Costa Rica

  • Original Article
  • Published:
International Journal of Public Health

Abstract

Objectives

We applied the Integrative Model of Behavioral Prediction to analyze factors associated with risky sexual behaviors for adolescent students living in the poorest segments in Costa Rica.

Methods

We used data from a school-based knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors survey from the poorest districts of Costa Rica, collected for Salud Mesoamerica Initiative. We analyzed responses of 919 male and female students (12–19 years old) to determine factors associated with sexual intercourse and condom use.

Results

One of every four students reported being sexually active. Students that reported being sexually active were more likely to consume excessive alcohol (OR 3.04 [95 % CI 1.94–4.79]). While 88.0 % [95 % CI 73.5–95.1] of sexually active adolescents said they would use a condom the next time they have sex, only 53.1 % [95 % CI 39.3–66.5] reported condom use the last time. Non-condom-users felt purchasing condoms was uncomfortable (OR 0.34 [95 % CI 0.12–0.93]).

Conclusions

Poor adolescents in Costa Rica begin sexual activities early and undertake behaviors that increase their risk for unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections. We found the urgent need to address alcohol abuse, and recognize gender differences in youth health programs.

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank the team by the University of Costa Rica, directed by Eyleen Alfaro Porras, for conducting in-country data collection, and the Ministries of Health and Education in Costa Rica for their support to complete this study.

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Author notes

    Authors and Affiliations

    1. Salud Mesoamérica Initiative/Inter-American Development Bank, Panama City, Panama

      Diego Rios-Zertuche, Paola Zúñiga-Brenes & Emma Iriarte

    2. University of California, Los Angeles, USA

      Jose Cuchilla

    3. Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington, Seattle, USA

      Bernardo Hernández & Ali H. Mokdad

    4. Inter-American Development Bank, Santiago, Chile

      Patricia Jara

    Authors
    1. Diego Rios-Zertuche
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    2. Jose Cuchilla
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    3. Paola Zúñiga-Brenes
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    4. Bernardo Hernández
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    5. Patricia Jara
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    6. Ali H. Mokdad
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    7. Emma Iriarte
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    Corresponding author

    Correspondence to Diego Rios-Zertuche.

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    Conflict of interest

    All authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.

    Funding

    This study was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Carlos Slim Foundation, and the Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation, through the Inter-American Development Bank. The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Inter-American Development Bank, its Board of Directors, or the countries they represent.

    Ethical approval

    All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

    Informed consent

    Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

    Additional information

    A. H. Mokdad and E. Iriarte are joint senior authors.

    This article is part of the special issue “Development and Public Health”.

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    Rios-Zertuche, D., Cuchilla, J., Zúñiga-Brenes, P. et al. Alcohol abuse and other factors associated with risky sexual behaviors among adolescent students from the poorest areas in Costa Rica. Int J Public Health 62, 271–282 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-016-0859-z

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    • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00038-016-0859-z

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