Adolescent sexuality and positive youth development: the influence of youth extracurricular activity participation on attitudes regarding sex
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The Department of Human Development and Family Studies focuses on the interactions among individuals, families, and their resources and environments throughout their lifespans. It consists of three majors: Child, Adult, and Family Services (preparing students to work for agencies serving children, youth, adults, and families); Family Finance, Housing, and Policy (preparing students for work as financial counselors, insurance agents, loan-officers, lobbyists, policy experts, etc); and Early Childhood Education (preparing students to teach and work with young children and their families).
History
The Department of Human Development and Family Studies was formed in 1991 from the merger of the Department of Family Environment and the Department of Child Development.
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1991-present
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- College of Human Sciences (parent college)
- Department of Child Development (predecessor)
- Department of Family Environment (predecessor)
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Abstract
This study explored relationships among individual factors, parental factors, and youth activity involvement factors and the outcome variable, attitudes regarding sex, in 304 adolescent participants. Multiple regression results suggested that parental influence contributed the most influence on adolescent attitudes regarding sex. Other significant factors included self-esteem, sexual experience, family living arrangement, and amount of time spent in non-school based extracurricular activities. Support for the idea that Positive Youth Development (PYD) research and programming should include promoting healthy sexuality is suggested. PYD theory and literature tends to focus on outcomes such as citizenship, leadership, altruism, and initiative. While these outcomes are important, it seems reasonable to address a broader array of influences as well as outcomes of adolescent development, in particular healthy sexuality, which includes sexual attitudes.