Publication Date
1-1-2026
Document Type
Article
Publication Title
International Journal of Sexual Health
Volume
38
Issue
2
DOI
10.1080/19317611.2025.2583153
First Page
580
Last Page
594
Abstract
Objective: The present study examines whether religious participation buffers the association between adverse adolescent experiences and condom use and whether findings might differ by sexual identity. Method: In this exploratory study, a cross-sectional survey, which was administered between August 2013 and January 2014 to 230 adolescents identifying as heterosexual and 56 identifying as sexual minorities in Chicago, is analyzed. The moderating role of religious participation is assessed to clarify how religious participation might buffer the association between adverse adolescent experiences (i.e., neighborhood violence exposure, bullying victimization, and witnessing adverse parental experiences) and condomless sex. Results: The results suggest that religious participation is significant in moderating condomless sex, but only for sexually minoritized respondents. Religious participation is significant in lower reported condomless sex for heterosexual respondents, but only when they also report neighborhood violence exposure. Conclusion: Implications of these findings for research and practice are discussed.
Funding Sponsor
Center for Health Administration Studies
Keywords
adverse adolescent experiences, African Americans, condom use, sexual minority, unsafe sex
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
Recommended Citation
Jun Sung Hong, Jinwon Kim, Dexter R. Voisin, and Lois M. Takahashi. "Adverse Adolescent Experiences and Condomless Sex Among Heterosexual and Sexually Minoritized African American Adolescents: Religious Participation as a Buffer" International Journal of Sexual Health (2026): 580-594. https://doi.org/10.1080/19317611.2025.2583153
Comments
This is an Accepted Manuscript version of the following article, accepted for publication in International Journal of Sexual Health. It is deposited under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License, which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.