The Association between Substance Abuse and Sexual Misconduct among Macau Youths

T. Wing Lo; John W. L. Tse; Christopher H. K. Cheng; Gloria H.Y. Chan

doi:10.3390/ijerph16091643

The Association between Substance Abuse and Sexual Misconduct among Macau Youths

Research output: Journal Publications and Reviews › RGC 21 - Publication in refereed journal › peer-review

Overview

11 Scopus Citations

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Author(s)

Related Research Unit(s)

Department of Social and Behavioural Sciences

Detail(s)

Original language	English
Article number	1643
Number of pages	17
Journal / Publication	International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Volume	16
Issue number	9
Online published	11 May 2019
Publication status	Published - May 2019

Link(s)

DOI	DOI https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16091643 Final Published version
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Attachment(s)	Documents 31992610.pdf Final Published version, 939 KB, PDF Publisher's Copyright Statement This full text is made available under CC-BY 4.0. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Link to Scopus	https://www.scopus.com/record/display.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85066061349&origin=recordpage
Permanent Link	https://scholars.cityu.edu.hk/en/publications/publication(84905f59-4ea1-45eb-b9e5-a458f4474ce3).html

Abstract

This study investigates how peer influence, school attachment, and substance abuse are related to sexual behavior, with particular interest in exploring the relationship between substance abuse and sexual misconduct, while using a stratified random sample of adolescents in Macau. Mediation analyses were employed. The results show that substance abuse, apart from susceptibility to peer influence and school attachment/commitment, was significantly related to sexual misconduct. Substance abuse was the best predictor of sexual misconduct, and it significantly mediated the relationship between susceptibility to peer influence, as well as school attachment and sexual misconduct. This reflects that the use of substances, including drugs, alcohol, and cigarettes, can be viewed as a catalyst for triggering engagement in sexual misconduct. The implications of this study involve taking measures to reduce the rate of substance abuse as a way of decreasing sexual misconduct in adolescents. Future research directions in exploring the relationship between adolescent substance abuse and risky sexual behavior are discussed.