| The current dissertation explored and sought to understand the relationship of several religious and/or spiritual (RS) variables to sexual health-related variables via traditional linear regression analyses and structural equation modeling. These analyses were performed as a sub-study of the National Institute of Mental Health-funded grant titled "Targeting Mass Media Campaigns for Risky Sexual Behavior" with Drs. Rick S. Zimmerman and Philip Palmgreen as Principal Investigator (PI) and Co-PI, respectively. The sub-sample of 453 heterosexually active young adults responded to the questionnaire of the main study including items about individual differences as well as condom-related attitudes, norms, self-efficacy, intentions, and behavior, they also responded to RS items designed especially for this sub-study measuring organizational and nonorganizational religiousness, religious history and relative importance of religion/spirituality, religious commitment, and perceived influence of religion and partner sexual communication (PSC) items, some from the main study and others designed especially for this sub-study, measuring PSC about condom use and partner risk.; Results of exploring the relationships of RS variables to sexual health-related variables via preliminary correlational analyses and traditional linear regression analyses indicated promising connections to sexual sensation seeking and sexual decision-making style as well as the outcome variable of condom use intentions. Two sets of structural equations were also modeled for the current sub-study. First, the Full Model adapted and tested an innovative theory-based model called the Multiple Domain Model of Health-Related Behavior (MDM) proposed by Zimmerman, Cupp, Atwood, Dekhtyar, Feist-Price, and Anderman (2005). Second, the Focused Model addressed how well the most central variables of interest to this dissertation, RS and PSC variables, predicted the outcome variable, condom use intentions. The results of testing these two sets of structural equations modeled for the current dissertation indicated that although the current RS variables did not function as significant environmental variables in the Full Model, they did significantly predict condom use intentions in the Focused Model. Several measurement-related and other limitations are discussed and suggestions for future research on religiousness and/or spirituality and sexual health are recommended to advance this important area of investigation. |
