Dominance analysis revealed that peer relationship (36.1%) and parent-adolescent communication about sex (34.2%) were the most important socio-ecological factors influencing psychosexual health among secondary vocational school students, followed by general self-efficacy (14.5%), sexual refusal self-efficacy (9.6%), and parental monitoring (5.9%).
Peer relationship was the most important socio-ecological factor influencing psychosexual health among secondary vocational school students.
Parent-adolescent communication about sex was the second most important factor influencing psychosexual health.
General self-efficacy was the third most important factor influencing psychosexual health.
Sexual refusal self-efficacy contributed less to psychosexual health than general self-efficacy but more than parental monitoring.
Parental monitoring was the least important socio-ecological factor influencing psychosexual health in this sample.
The study used dominance analysis to rank the relative importance of multiple socio-ecological predictors of psychosexual health simultaneously.
This research surveyed nearly 2,900 students at secondary vocational schools in Shandong province, China, to understand which social and personal factors matter most for adolescents' psychosexual health — defined as having appropriate sexual knowledge, healthy values, acceptance of bodily changes, and the ability to regulate sexual behavior in ways consistent with social norms. The researchers measured five key factors: peer relationships, parent-teen communication about sex, general self-confidence (self-efficacy), the ability to refuse unwanted sexual advances (sexual refusal self-efficacy), and how closely parents monitor their children's activities. They used a statistical technique called dominance analysis to rank how much each factor contributed to psychosexual health. The results showed that the quality of peer relationships was the single most important factor, accounting for about 36% of the influence on psychosexual health, followed closely by how openly parents and teens communicate about sex (34%). General self-efficacy contributed about 15%, sexual refusal self-efficacy about 10%, and parental monitoring about 6%. Together, peer and family communication factors dominated, accounting for more than 70% of the combined influence. This research suggests that efforts to improve adolescent psychosexual health should prioritize helping young people build positive peer relationships and encouraging open, constructive conversations between parents and teens about sex. Building adolescents' general confidence and their specific ability to refuse unwanted sexual situations also appear meaningful, while parental monitoring alone plays a comparatively smaller role. These findings may be particularly relevant for secondary vocational school populations, who are a distinct group within the Chinese education system and may have different support structures than students in traditional academic high schools.
Fang X, Zhang M, Yang M, Liu W, Dong L, Ren Y, et al.. (2025). The relative importance of socio-ecological factors in regard to psychosexual health among adolescent students: based on dominance analysis.. Sexual health. https://doi.org/10.1071/SH25001