Tourism, personality, and risky behaviors among Ukrainian adolescents

Abstract

The aim of this paper was to determine whether engagement in tourism is associated with risky behaviors among Ukrainian adolescents. The study sample consisted of 1075 adolescents who were enrolled in the "Family and Children of Ukraine" birth cohort study. They self reported how they prefer to spend their leisure time as well as their smoking, drinking, and sexual behaviors. The adolescents also completed the revised Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI). Engagement in tourism was not associated with smoking or alcohol use. It was associated with ever having had sexual relations (OR=1.63; p=0.022) and with having had recent sexual relations (OR=1.67; p=0.037). These associations were stronger for males than females. Adolescents who had ever had sexual relations and those who had recent sexual relations had significantly higher extraversion scores on the EPI than adolescents who had not (18.16 vs 16.65; p=0.002 and 18.45 vs 16.72; p = 0.002, respectively). In multivariable analyses, ever having sexual relations and having recent sexual relations were significantly associated with male gender, age, and marginally associated with extraversion, but not with tourism. The authors conclude that among Ukrainian adolescents, the association between engagement in tourism and sexual behavior is mediated by personality, specifically higher extraversion.