Learning Objective #1: Identify the role of depression and self-efficacy in adolescents' engagement of sexual intercourse

Learning Objective #2: Describe the difference of depression and self-efficacy between adolescents with and without sexual experience

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The need for emphasizing the reduction of risky sexual behavior, a major contributor to the spread of HIV/AIDS, has become critical as the rate of HIV/AIDS infections among youth is increasing. Studies have indicated that delayed initial sexual intercourse experiences were related to less sexually transmitted disease, and the abstinence has been suggested as the most effective strategy to prevent HIV/AIDS. Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory proposed that individuals with higher self-efficacy to prevent HIV/AIDS infection are less likely to engage in the HIV/AIDS related sexual behavior. Also, the presence of depression may dynamically interact with the self-efficacy and risky sexual behavior. However, the relationship between self-efficacy and depression and their relationship to the occurrence of adolescents' sexual intercourse experiences had not previously been studied. This lack of understanding limits health providers to approach effective intervention for preventing adolescents' HIV/AIDS infections. This study driven by Bandura' Social Cognitive Theory was to compare self-efficacy and depression between 16-18 year-old Taiwanese adolescents who have had sexual intercourse experiences and those who have never had sexual intercourse experiences. A sample of 734 high school Taiwanese adolescents including 23.1% with sexual intercourse experiences participated in this cross-sectional comparative descriptive study. ANCOVA was used to analyze the data. Adolescents without sexual intercourse experiences have higher self-efficacy to prevent HIV/AIDS compared to those who have had sexual intercourse experiences. However, there is no difference in depression between adolescents with and without sexual intercourse experiences. While controlling for age and substance use, the sexually experienced girls who had more depressive symptoms produce lower self-efficacy to prevent HIV/AIDS. Self-efficacy and depression may contribute to whether adolescents engage in sexual intercourse, especially in girls. Therefore, while developing a program focusing on abstaining sexual intercourse for adolescents' HIV/AIDS prevention, both of the contributors should be considered.