Not All Norms Are Created Equal: Descriptive Vs. Injunctive Social Norms in Colombian Adolescents' Intentions to Have Sex

One factor that has been widely recognized as being related to health behavior in general, and particularly to sexual activity, is Social Norms, which can be defined as shared understandings about the appropriateness of a behavior. Specifically, two types of norms have been studied: Descriptive (DSN) and Injunctive (ISN). In general, DSN (i.e. perceptions about the prevalence of the behavior) have been found to be stronger predictors of adolescent health behavior than are ISN (i.e. perceptions of approval of the behavior by significant others). However, some studies have found that this difference depends on the cultural context. The purpose of this study is to assess whether DSN and ISN relate differently to intentions to have sexual intercourse in a sample of adolescents in Bogota, Colombia. 

Participants were 134 high school students (44% girls; Mean age= 15.8). DSN were measured using six items that assessed the perceived prevalence of sexual activity in six reference groups: female/male friends, classmates and adolescents in Bogota (e.g. “Think about all your female friends who are your age. How many of them do you think have had sexual intercourse?”; Alpha = .80). Items assessing ISN asked about the perception of approval of sexual intercourse by seven significant others: mother, father, girl/boyfriend, best friend, other friends, favorite teacher, and other teachers (e.g. “To what extent do you think your mother will approve of you having sexual intercourse before finishing high school?”; Alpha = .82). Five items were used to measure intentions to have sex (e.g. “I plan to have sexual intercourse before finishing high school”; Alpha = .94). Participants were also asked whether they had ever had sexual intercourse and the age of sexual onset. Non-sexually active students were asked the age at which they would like to start having sexual intercourse.

About a third of participants reported being sexually experienced (girls 36%; boys 31%). Mean age of sexual onset was 14.7 years (SD = .84, Min = 12, Max = 16). Average age at which non-sexually active participants would like to initiate sexual activity was 18.3 (SD = 2.13, Min = 15 Max = 25). In terms of DSN, sexual activity was considered to be much more prevalent among the general adolescent population of Bogota than among friends and classmates. Regarding ISN, adolescents perceived that their friends had more positive attitudes towards sexual activity than did adults. A regression analysis showed that only ISN were significant correlates of intentions, explaining 26% of the variance.

Findings support the differential importance of ISN vs. DSN in explaining intentions to have sex during adolescence. However, contrary to findings of most previous research, this study found that only ISN are significant correlations of intentions. This finding questions the effectiveness of social norms campaigns that aim at decreasing perceptions of prevalence of sexual activity among youth. It is possible that these campaigns may be more effective earlier in life, when a smaller percentage of youth is sexually active. It is also important to note that only about a quarter of the variance was explained, indicating that there are several other factors that should be included in our understanding of adolescent sexual behavior.