Methods: This research is a secondary analysis of four waves of data (2009, 2011, 2013, 2015) from the National YRBS (N = 61,042), to estimate measures of additive interaction between sexual initiation and gender on school violence measures among a nationally representative sample of US high school students (CDC, 2016). The five self-report dependent variables were bullied on school property, electronically bullied, threatened or injured with a weapon on school property, possession of a weapon on school property, and involvement in a fight on school property. Data were analyzed using multivariate logistic regression and additive interaction measures with SPSS 24 Complex Samples ™, which correctly incorporates the three-stage sampling design and sampling weights to enable nationally representative estimates of standard errors and confidence intervals.
Results: Results showed that male and female students both had a significant positive relationship between the initiation of sexual activity and four of the five violence measures: electronic bullying victimization, being threatened or injured with a weapon, involvement with a fight on school property, and possession of a weapon on school property. Female students only had a significant positive relationship between sexual initiation and school bullying. The magnitude of the association between sexual initiation and school violence varied significantly by gender depending on the type of violence. In order to measure additive interaction we estimated the Relative Excess Risk due to interaction (RERI), [95% CI] (Ahlbom & Alfredsson, 2005; Andersson, Alfredsson, Källberg, Zdravkovic, & Ahlbom, 2005). Results showed that the relationships between initiation of sex and both types of bullying victimization were significantly greater for females than for males: school-bullying victimization RERI=0.64 [0.47, 0.81] and electronic bullying victimization RERI=2.45 [1.93, 2.97]. However, the relationships between initiation of sexual activity and the other violence measures were significantly greater for males than for females: threatened or injured with a weapon at school, RERI=1.37 [0.91, 1.82], involved in a fight at school, RERI=2.82 [2.14, 3.50], and carrying a weapon at school on school property, RERI=4.87 [3.17, 6.57].
Conclusion: Results provide limited support for the, sexual double standard. Consistent with the sexual double standard, the association between sexual initiation and school bullying or electronic bullying was significantly greater among females than among males. Inconsistent with the sexual double standard, the association between sexual initiation and receipt of threats or injuries with a weapon was significantly greater among males than among females. In addition, there was inconsistent support for the hypothesis that for male students, sexual initiation was not a risk factor for violence victimization. Although there was no significant relationship among males between sexual initiation and school bullying, there were significant associations among males between sexual initiation and electronic bullying victimization and the receipt of threats or injuries with a weapon. Current violence prevention programs have seen some success, but further research is needed to explore the relationship between sexual activity and school violence among adolescents, and the upstream measures to mitigate it.
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