ATHLETIC PARTICIPATION AND SEXUAL-BEHAVIOR IN ADOLESCENTS - THE DIFFERENT WORLDS OF BOYS AND GIRLS

Using multivariate analysis of covariance to test hypotheses about the effects of sports and sexual behavior on a sample of 611 Western New York adolescents, this study concludes that athletic participation and gender interact to influence adolescent sexual outcomes. Female athle tes report significantly lower rates of sexual activity than female no nathletes; male athletes report slightly (though not significantly) hi gher rates than male nonathletes. The gender-specific effect of sports on sexual behavior remains, net of the impacts of race, age, socioeco nomic status, quality of family relations, and participation in other extracurricular activities. This paper introduces cultural resource th eory to explain how athletic participation influences bath traditional cultural scripts and exchange resources, which, in turn, condition th e sexual bargaining process and its outcomes for adolescents.