The Role of Social Media, Health Literacy, and Parental Communication in Risky Sexual Behavior among Adolescentsin Surakarta, Central Java, Indonesia
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26911/Abstract
Background: Risk-taking sexual behavior among adolescents continues to increase, especially in Indonesia, and causes serious health problems such as unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases. In 2023, there were 402 cases of HIV in Surakarta, Central Java, Indonesia, with 2.91% of them being adolescents. This study aims to examine the relationship between the role of social media, health literacy, and parental communication with risky sexual behavior among adolescents, both directly and indirectly.
Subjects and Method: A cross-sectional study conducted from August to September 2025 on 200 high school/vocational school students in Surakarta, selected using multistage random sampling. The independent variables included the role of social media, health literacy, and parental communication; the dependent variable was risky sexual behavior. Data were collected through a structured questionnaire and analyzed univariate, bivariate (chi-square), and multivariate using path analysis.
Results: The results of the analysis show that negative social media use can increase risky sexual behavior (b= 0.87; 95% CI=0.24 to 1.51; p=0.007), high health literacy can reduce risky sexual behavior (b=−1.70; 95% CI=−2.38 to −1.02; p<0.001), and good parental communication can reduce risky sexual behavior (b=−0.76; 95% CI=−1.34 to −0.19; p=0.009). The path analysis model shows good fit (AIC= 502.38, BIC= 522.17).
Conclusion: The role of social media increases the risk of risky sexual behavior in adolescents, while health literacy and parental communication act as protective factors. This study shows that strengthening health literacy and parental involvement has important implications for efforts to prevent risky sexual behavior in adolescents.
Keywords:
literacy, social media, parental communication, sexual behaviorHow to Cite
References
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