THE CONTRIBUTION OF ASPECTS OF INDIVIDUAL RESILIENCE IN EXPLAINING ADOLESCENTS’ RISKY SEXUAL BEHAVIOR

Svrha ovog rada je utvrditi doprinos individualnih čimbenika otpornosti u objašnjenju rizičnog seksualnog ponašanja kao temelja planiranja znanstveno utemeljenih intervencija za promociju pozitivnog razvoja/prevenciju rizičnih ponašanja mladih. Istraživanje je provedeno na uzorku od 1 647 učenika iz Varaždinske županije, a raspon dobi kreće se od 14 do 19 godina. U svrhu ostvarivanja cilja ovog istraživanja, korištena je metoda deskriptivne statistike (aritmetička sredina, frekvencije odgovora) i multivarijantna logistička regresijska analiza s complex sampling dizajnom. Podaci pokazuju kako je 8,9% ispitivanih mladih imalo spolne odnose do 14. godine života, a 33,4% prije 16. godine života. Ujedno, 21% onih koji navode da su imali iskustvo spolnog odnosa imalo je više od 3 partnera, dok 43,9% mladih navodi da ne koriste uvijek kondome. Dobiveni podaci pokazuju da je od individualnih čimbenika otpornosti kod sudionika najviše izražena komponenta ciljevi i aspiracije te samoučinkovitost, dok su najmanje izražene komponente suradnja i komunikacija te rješavanje problema. Nadalje, provedenom multivarijantnom logističkom regresijskom analizom s complex sampling dizajnom utvrđeno je da se na temelju suradnje i komunikacije, samoučinkovitosti, empatije, rješavanja problema, samosvijesti te ciljeva i aspiracija zajedno može djelomično objasniti rizično seksualno ponašanje mladih. Rezultati pokazuju da je kod mladih koji svoju samoučinkovitost procjenjuju višom od drugih veća vjerojatnost pripadanja skupini seksualno rizičnih u odnosu na skupinu seksualnu nerizičnih sudionika, dok one koji procjenjuju da imaju više ciljeve i aspiracije od drugih obilježava manja vjerojatnost pripadanja skupini seksualno rizičnih u odnosu na skupinu seksualno nerizičnih sudionika.The purpose of this paper is to determine the contribution of aspects of individual resilience in explaining risky sexual behaviors as a basis for evidence-based intervention planning to promote positive development/prevention of risky behaviours in young people. The sample of the study included 1,647 students from the Varaždin County, Croatia, and the age of the participants ranged from 14 to 19 years. To achieve the objectives of this work, descriptive statistics methods (arithmetic mean, frequencies) and a multivariate logistic regression mo del with a complex sample design were used. The data showed that 8.9% of adolescents reported having had sexual intercourse at the age of 14 years and 33.4% before the age of 16 years. Among adolescents who reported experience with sexual intercourse, 21% reported having had sexual intercourse with more than three partners, while 43.9% reported not always using condoms. The data showed that among the study participants, the most salient components of individual resilience were goals and aspirations and self-efficacy, while the least salient components were cooperation and communication and problem-solving skills. In addition, the multivariate logistic regression model conducted with a complex sample design revealed that cooperation and communication, self-efficacy, empathy, problem-solving skills, self-awareness, and goals and aspirations together could partly explain risky sexual behavior. The results suggest that the adolescents who rate their self-efficacy higher than others are more likely to belong to the risky sexual behavior group than to the non-risky sexual behavior group, while the adolescents who report having higher goals and aspirations are less likely to belong to the risky sexual behavior group than to the non-risky sexual behavior group