Social Media Use and its Association with Sexual Risk and Parental Monitoring among a Primarily Hispanic Adolescent Population

Dina L Romo; Chelsea Garnett; Alayna P Younger; Melissa S Stockwell; Karen Soren; Marina Catallozzi; Natalie Neu

doi:10.1016/j.jpag.2017.02.004

Social Media Use and its Association with Sexual Risk and Parental Monitoring among a Primarily Hispanic Adolescent Population

J Pediatr Adolesc Gynecol. 2017 Aug;30(4):466-473. doi: 10.1016/j.jpag.2017.02.004. Epub 2017 Feb 17.

Authors

Dina L Romo¹, Chelsea Garnett², Alayna P Younger³, Melissa S Stockwell⁴, Karen Soren⁵, Marina Catallozzi⁶, Natalie Neu⁷

Affiliations

¹ Division of Child and Adolescent Health, Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University, New York, New York; NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, New York, New York. Electronic address: romod@nychhc.org.
² Columbia University, College of Physicians & Surgeons, New York, New York.
³ Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, New York, New York.
⁴ Division of Child and Adolescent Health, Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University, New York, New York; NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, New York, New York; Department of Population and Family Health, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, New York.
⁵ Division of Child and Adolescent Health, Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University, New York, New York.
⁶ NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, New York, New York; Department of Population and Family Health, Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, New York, New York; Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University, New York, New York.
⁷ NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, New York, New York; Pediatric Infectious Diseases, Department of Pediatrics, Columbia University, New York, New York.

PMID: 28216129
DOI: 10.1016/j.jpag.2017.02.004

Abstract

Study objective: In this study we assessed the association between social media (SM) use with sexual risk, and with parental monitoring among Hispanic adolescents.

Design: Self-administered anonymous survey.

Setting: Urban primary care clinics.

Participants: Primarily Hispanic adolescents ages 13-21 years old.

Interventions and main outcome measures: Chi-square and regression analyses controlling for age and gender were used to assess associations between SM use or sexting and sexual behaviors (kissing, touching genitals, vaginal oral, and anal sex), sexual risk (≥4 lifetime partners, >1 recent partner, inconsistent condom use, and history of sexually transmitted infection diagnosis) and contraceptive use. Similar analyses were used to assess relationships between adolescent-reported parental monitoring and SM use, and sexting.

Results: Participants with frequent SM use (social networking sites or apps) had greater odds of all sexual activity. Ever sexters had greater odds of penetrative sex only (oral, vaginal, and anal sex) as well as use of hormonal contraception (except long-acting reversible contraception). Approximately half of the participants reported parental access to profiles on SM. Female participants had higher odds of parental access to online profiles and having a parental discussion of privacy settings. Those having privacy discussions had greater odds of "private" profiles on SM and lower odds of ever sexting.

Conclusion: Frequent SM use and sexting was associated with an increase in all types of sexual behaviors; sexting alone was associated with more lifetime and recent sexual partners. Parental discussion of privacy settings was found to be protective. Providers and parents should be aware of the effect of SM use on sexual behaviors.

Keywords: Adolescent social media; Mobile apps; Parental social media monitoring; Sexting; Sexual risk behaviors; Social networking sites.

MeSH terms

Adolescent
Adolescent Behavior*
Contraception Behavior
Female
Hispanic or Latino
Humans
Male
Parenting
Parents
Risk-Taking
Sexual Behavior / ethnology
Sexual Behavior / statistics & numerical data*
Sexual Partners
Social Media / statistics & numerical data*
Surveys and Questionnaires
Young Adult