OBJECTIVE: To develop profiles of sexual risk behavior among rural adolescents by examining multiple risk and protective factors.
METHODS: Data are from the Rural Adolescent Health Survey conducted with 14-19 year-olds (N = 322) in frontier counties of a Midwestern state. Logistic regression was used to create separate probability profiles comparing the likelihood of engaging in sexual risk behaviors given combinations of risk and protective factors.
RESULTS: The likelihood of each sexual risk behavior decreased with the presence of protective factors and was sustained even in the presence of salient risk factors.
CONCLUSIONS: Findings demonstrate the dramatic risk reduction that can occur by mitigating risk factors and increasing protective factors.