Interesting Associations Among Sexual Health Services Utilization and School Exposure to Sexual Health Information

The purpose of this study was to examine associations of school exposure to sexual health information and the utilization of sexual health services using Wave I and II from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult National Probability Study. The analytic sample included 4819 participants who were adolescents at the time of survey administration. Logistic regression analyses were performed between school exposure data in Wave I and sexual health utilization in Wave II. Students who learned about pregnancy were 1.5 times more likely to get testing or treatment for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) (p<.045) but were not more likely to receive family planning. Students who learned about AIDS were not more likely to get testing or treatment for STDs or receive family planning; neither were students who learned about where to receive health services. These associations were unexpected, as learning about pregnancy should theoretically positively influence the receipt of family planning. Likewise, learning about AIDS should theoretically positively influence the receipt of testing and treatment for STDs. These are important preliminary results that will serve as further inquiry for studies that examine the impact of school-based health-related knowledge on sexual health service utilization among adolescents.Honors CollegePsychological, Health, and Learning Sciences, Department o